26 NOVEMBER 2003
King Harald V of Norway has been released from Oslo's National Hospital, where he was admitted on Tuesday.

Few details of his condition have been revealed to the public, but the 66-year-old monarch is said to be suffering from haematuria, which, in layman's terms, is blood in the urine. The condition can be a symptom of many disorders, from a simple infection to cancer.

Because King Harald will be shelving official duties this week – taking the first sick leave of his 12-year reign – the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, act as regent.

Thirty-year-old Haakon, along with his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Martha Louise and Queen Sonja, visited the king in hospital late Tuesday evening, a few hours after the monarch was admitted.