Norwagian king on sick leave

Norway's 87-year-old ailing King Harald was released from hospital on Thursday after being fitted with a permanent pacemaker and will remain on sick leave until April, the palace said.

Europe's oldest reigning monarch, King Harald had to be repatriated to Norway on a medical transport flight on March 3 after contracting an infection while on holiday on the Malaysian island of Langkawi.

Upon his return, he was admitted to the Oslo University Hospital, where on Tuesday he received a permanent pacemaker to replace the temporary one that was fitted while he was in Malaysia.

"His Majesty The King has today been discharged from Rikshospitalet and is doing well," the palace said in a statement.

"The King is on sick leave until Monday, April 8, for rest and recuperation."

Crown Prince Haakon, 50, has stepped in as regent in the king's absence.

Harald needs crutches to get around and has suffered a series of health issues in recent years, but has dismissed speculation that he would follow the lead of his 83-year-old distant cousin Queen Margrethe II in Denmark and abdicate.