Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit placed on lung transplant waiting list as health deteriorates

A serious turn in a chronic illness

The Norwegian royal court announced on Friday that Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been placed on the waiting list for a lung transplant. The 52-year-old was diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that causes breathing difficulties and has forced her to reduce her official duties over the years. Her health has recently deteriorated, prompting the medical decision to list her for a transplant.

The course of the Crown Princess's lung disease is serious. After a comprehensive medical assessment, she has now been placed on the list of people who will undergo a lung transplant as soon as possible.

Professor Are Holm, a pulmonary specialist at Oslo University Hospital (Rikshospitalet), made the statement in a palace communiqué. The national hospital is the only facility in Norway where lung transplants can be performed. According to the Norwegian news agency NTB, eligibility criteria for a lung transplant are very strict, and patients are only officially placed on the waiting list when their life expectancy without surgery is no more than one to two years. Currently, barely eight people are on this waiting list in all of Norway.

Immediate impact on royal duties

Until the operation is completed, the Crown Princess will be unable to work or carry out her official engagements as usual. The palace stated that her health condition will also affect the programme and activities of Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, and Prince Sverre Magnus. The couple's silver wedding anniversary celebration, originally planned for August 2026, has been postponed. The Crown Princess will also not attend a county visit scheduled for September.

Crown Prince Haakon will adjust his schedule to spend more time with his wife. He will limit longer trips both within Norway and abroad before and after the surgery. As a result, he will not attend the golden wedding anniversary celebration of the Swedish king and queen in Stockholm on 13 June as planned. Haakon had been on an official visit to Japan from 1 to 3 June and cut his trip short by one day to be with her.

Family returns to Norway

Princess Ingrid Alexandra has returned to Norway to be closer to her family. She had originally planned to spend the autumn semester of 2026 at the University of Sydney but will instead participate in an exchange programme at the University of Oslo. Prince Sverre Magnus, 20, plans to begin his studies in Europe this autumn and will return to Norway as soon as the situation requires.

A difficult period for the Crown Princess

Beyond her health struggles, Mette-Marit has faced a challenging period in recent months. Documents released in the United States at the end of January revealed extensive and sometimes intimate correspondence between her and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014. She has also had to contend with the legal troubles of her son, Marius Borg Høiby, who was born from a relationship prior to her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon.

Høiby is currently in pre-trial detention awaiting a verdict expected on 15 June. According to Norwegian media, he applied for release from custody in exchange for an electronic ankle monitor so he could return home to support his mother. Police attorney Oda Karterud confirmed that the application for release was denied.

During recent public appearances, the Crown Princess has been seen wearing a breathing assistance device with nasal cannulas connected to an oxygen apparatus. She was observed by Norwegian media entering Rikshospitalet in Oslo on Thursday afternoon, accompanied by her husband.