Queen Mette-Marit misses Norwegian parliament opening due to respiratory infection

Last-minute cancellation at the Storting

Queen Mette-Marit of Norway withdrew from the ceremonial opening of the 171st Storting on Friday, 2 October 2026, following the diagnosis of a respiratory infection. The Royal Court announced the cancellation on Friday morning in communications sent to public broadcaster NRK, the NTB news agency, and national newspapers. Until Friday morning, the 53-year-old queen had been scheduled to attend both the Council of State meeting at 11:00 and the formal parliamentary session at 13:00 in Oslo. Royal officials issued an official statement confirming her inability to participate in the day's events.

Her Majesty the Queen unfortunately cannot attend the opening of the Storting today, Friday, 2 October, due to a respiratory infection.

Ongoing recovery from lung transplantation

The respiratory illness poses heightened medical considerations for Mette-Marit following a lung transplant on 17 June 2026 at Rikshospitalet in Oslo. She was initially diagnosed in 2018 with chronic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition characterized by progressive scarring of lung tissue and chronic respiratory distress. After her condition deteriorated in the early summer of 2026, medical specialists placed her on the organ transplant waiting list in early June. Her pulmonologist, Are Holm, who serves as head of the pulmonology department at Rikshospitalet, stated that the queen's broader recovery regimen remains on schedule despite the temporary setback.

The queen is participating in the scheduled rehabilitation therapy, and we are satisfied with the development.

Holm clarified that patients undergoing this surgical intervention require an extensive recovery timeframe, noting that her overall rehabilitation program is expected to last approximately one year.

First parliamentary opening for King Haakon VIII

The parliamentary ceremony represented King Haakon VIII's first opening of the Storting as sovereign monarch following the death of his father, King Harald V, at the age of 89 in late August 2026. Under the Norwegian constitutional system, the parliamentary opening carries greater ceremonial weight than similar events in Sweden or Denmark, with the monarch taking the throne to read the government's official address. Haakon had previously presided over the ceremony in 2020 while substituting for his father during an illness. With Mette-Marit absent, the queen's ceremonial chair, which had returned to the parliamentary chamber in 2023 after extensive restoration work, remained empty. Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, aged 22, accompanied her father and took the designated seat for the heir to the throne.

Official mourning and public demonstrations

The opening of parliament took place while the royal household observed an official mourning period for King Harald V, which extends through 9 October 2026. All non-constitutional royal engagements have been suspended during this time, though the monarch's formal presence at the legislature proceeded as mandated. Mette-Marit had previously missed Haakon's official swearing-in on 1 September 2026 due to her health complications. Outside the parliament building in central Oslo, activist organization Dieselbrølet staged a planned demonstration during the ceremony. Group leader Jan-Erik Rafoss told broadcaster NRK on Thursday, 1 October, that members hoped thousands would assemble to voice their protests, though specific attendance totals remained uncertain prior to the event.