Norway’s King Harald, Europe’s oldest monarch, has returned to work after having a pacemaker implanted

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Europe’s oldest monarch, King Harald V of Norway, returned to work Monday after a long sick leave following two pacemaker implant surgeries.

The first scheduled task for Harald, 87, is to receive Norwegian military officers at the Royal Palace in Oslo, according to the Norwegian royal calendar.

At the end of February, Harald fell ill during a private holiday with his wife Queen Sonja on the Malaysian holiday island of Langkawi. There he received a temporary pacemaker on March 2 due to a low heart rate.

Harald returned to Norway on board a medical plane and was immediately transferred to a hospital. He underwent a second operation to receive a permanent pacemaker ten days later at Oslo University Hospital.

He was initially expected to be on sick leave for two weeks, but that was extended several times. During that time, his 50-year-old son, Crown Prince Haakan, has assumed the duties of the king.

Harald has repeatedly said he has no plans to step down, unlike his second cousin, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who stepped down earlier this year.

Harald’s duties as head of state of Norway are ceremonial and he has no political power. He ascended the throne after the death of his father, King Olav, in 1991.