This Tuesday, King Harald V of Norway ruled out abdicating as Queen Margaret II of Denmark recently did and He reiterated that he will remain on the throne until his death. “I stand by what I have said all along: I took an oath to Parliament and it is for life,” she said during a visit to the Press House in Oslo.

Margaret II unexpectedly announced in her New Year’s Eve speech that she would abdicate in favor of her eldest son, Frederick, on January 14, when he turned 52 years on the throne. The Danish monarch had repeated several times before that she would never abdicate, because there is no tradition in Scandinavia and because hers was her lifelong task, but she changed her mind due to health problems and to make way for the new generation.

The abdication of Margaret II, until then the living monarch with the longest time on the thronewas formalized a week ago in a Council of State and in the subsequent proclamation from the balcony of Christiansborg Castle before thousands of Danes of the new king, Frederick X.

“I haven’t really made any new reflections on that,” added Harald V, 86 years old and three years older than Margaret II, when asked if her abdication had made him consider retirement. Harald V has gone through several health problems in recent years, with several hospitalizations for infections of various types.

The Norwegian monarch underwent surgery for the last time in 2021 on a ligament in his knee, and A year earlier, the heart valve implanted in 2005 had been replaced., two years after having a bladder tumor removed. The heir to the Norwegian Crown is Prince Haakon, 50 years old, five years younger than Frederick X.