Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit to Undergo Lung Transplant

Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway

Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been placed on the organ donor register for a lung transplant due to life-threatening chronic lung disease, the Norwegian royal family has announced.

The 52-year-old princess will step back from official duties for the foreseeable future, according to a Buckingham Palace-style statement released on Friday. The Princess, who is married to the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon, was diagnosed in 2018 with pulmonary fibrosis—a progressive lung condition with a poor long-term outlook.

‎“The progression of The Crown Princess’s lung disease is serious,” Are Holm, a consultant lung specialist at Oslo’s Rikshospitalet, said in the statement. “Following a comprehensive medical assessment, she has now been placed on the waiting list for patients who will undergo a lung transplant as soon as a suitable donor becomes available.”

The palace confirmed that while Princess Mette-Marit awaits a donor, she will be unable to carry out any official engagements.

Her illness also impacts her husband, the Crown Prince, who cut short an official visit to Japan this week to fly home, Reuters reported. The couple have postponed their silver wedding anniversary celebrations in August, and the Princess has pulled out of a planned tour of Norway in September.

‎“The Crown Prince will adjust his program in the period ahead to spend more time with The Crown Princess,” the palace said. He will also limit the time spent on trips, both at home and overseas, in the run-up to and after the operation.

The couple’s daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, has returned to Norway from her studies in Australia. The palace confirmed she will spend the autumn term at the University of Oslo. Meanwhile, her brother, Prince Sverre Magnus, is due to start university in Europe this term, but “will return to Norway whenever the situation requires.”

Princess Mette-Marit was a single mother when she met Prince Haakon at a music festival in 1999. She became Crown Princess two years later, marrying the heir to the throne at Oslo Cathedral in front of 800 guests and a television audience of millions.

The Norwegian royal family has faced intense media scrutiny in recent months. The Crown Princess’s eldest son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, is currently on trial for rape, with a verdict still pending. Separately, the Princess herself has faced criticism following revelations in the unsealed Epstein files regarding her past association with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.