Strange Rumor Spreads About King Harald’s Death

A strange rumor about King Harald’s death began circulating before the palace officially announced that his condition had worsened, Dagbladet reported.

Harald died early on Aug. 28 at the hospital where he had spent 10 days receiving treatment. Readers who contacted Dagbladet claimed the hospital had known about his death one day earlier. They said they had received the information from “reliable sources.”

On the morning of Thursday, Aug. 27, the Royal Palace announced that the king’s health had deteriorated and that his condition was serious. About half a day later, the palace issued another statement saying his condition remained unchanged. Dagbladet suspects the statements may have been intended to counter rumors that had spread within a few hours.

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In general, we want to say that we take patient privacy seriously and handle matters related to patient data according to protocol.

The newspaper emphasized that the claims came from secondary sources and could not be considered reliable. It said it knew of no case in which a hospital employee had publicly discussed Harald’s condition. An Oslo University Hospital representative also declined to comment on rumors circulating on social media.

The hospital told Dagbladet, “In general, we want to say that we take patient privacy seriously and handle matters related to patient data according to protocol.” It added that patient privacy is extremely important to healthcare professionals and a fundamental part of professional ethics. “Patients must be confident that their information will be handled confidentially and not shared.”

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Patients must be confident that their information will be handled confidentially and not shared.