Norway’s Queen Sonja hospitalized with heart failure

Norway’s Queen Sonja has been hospitalized with heart failure and atrial fibrillation and will remain at a hospital in Oslo for several days for tests and observation, the Royal House said. She is 88.

The queen was admitted to Rikshospitalet, Norway’s national hospital, after being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and heart failure, according to the palace. No further details about her condition were immediately released.

The announcement came three days after the palace said Queen Sonja had been placed on medical leave for one week because of the same conditions. At the time, officials said she needed rest and an adjustment of her medication but would stay at home.

“The Queen is in good spirits,” the Royal House said in Sunday’s statement.

Because of the medical leave, Queen Sonja did not accompany King Harald V on a scheduled trip in western Norway.

Queen Sonja, the wife of King Harald, has been queen of Norway since 1991. She married then-Crown Prince Harald in 1968 after years of opposition because she was a commoner, later becoming one of the country’s most visible royal figures.

The queen was briefly hospitalized in January 2025 after experiencing atrial fibrillation during a ski trip and later received a pacemaker at Rikshospitalet to help stabilize her heart rhythm.

Three months later, in April 2025, she was again taken to Rikshospitalet after experiencing shortness of breath while staying at the royal family’s mountain residence in Sikkilsdalen. The palace said at the time that tests showed her condition had normalized, and she was discharged after a short stay.