Norway's Crown Prince Haakon opens up about his dad's heart operation as King Harald V is discharged from hospital

King Harald V of Norway has been discharged from Rikshospitalet in Oslo, following a successful heart operation.

However the 83-year-old will be taking time off to recover until the end of October, The Royal Court confirmed yesterday. In the meantime, Crown Prince Haakon will continue filling in for his father on official duties.

The 47-year-old heir-to-the-throne spoke about his father's health following the operation and admitted "it was a relief to hear that it went well".

"He is fine. Both the doctors and my father are happy, and he is in good recovery it seems," Crown Prince Haakon said on Sunday, according to Royal Central.

"I would like to thank the entire team from the hospital with Bjørn Bendz, the king's doctor, in the lead who has done an incredible job. We knew they were very good, but still it was very nice to know that everything went well."

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When a Norwegian journalist asked about his father's breathing, which had been the thing that first landed the King in hospital last month, he said it would be a few days before they know the answer to that.

"He has probably not been able to test it properly yet, but it will probably come in the next few days when he starts to be a little more active.

"I admit that it was a relief to hear that it went well. One gets a little uneasy in these situations."

The King was first hospitalised after difficulty breathing and doctors were quick to rule out COVID-19. The 83-year-old was then operated on last Friday to replace a heart valve he originally received during a 2005 operation.

The palace said the operation was not an open heart surgery and that the King was awake during the the operation, which was performed via the groin with local anaesthesia.