This news caused great uncertainty about her health condition.
The 52-year-old princess was diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis, causing breathing difficulties. For this reason, she has repeatedly had to take sick leave or limit her official duties.
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At a press conference held on Friday afternoon, Are Holm, a pulmonologist at Oslo University Hospital “Rikshospitalet”, announced that her condition had significantly worsened over the past six months.
“We see a noticeable increase in scar tissue in her lungs over the past year. Lung function tests show that her lung function has significantly weakened in the last three months alone,” A. Holm told reporters.
Lung scarring, called pulmonary fibrosis, occurs when the alveoli (small air sacs) and the tissue between them are damaged and thicken. This causes the lungs to stiffen and hinders oxygen from entering the blood.
“This is dangerous,” A. Holm stated.
The doctor added that this is why she was “placed on the lung transplant waiting list.”
To be on this list, a patient must have a sufficiently severe form of the disease – it is intended for those who are believed to have only about a year to live without a transplant – but their condition must still be good enough to withstand such a complex procedure and recover.
No guarantees
For the operation to take place, a compatible donor must first be found – lungs of the right size and blood type to avoid organ rejection, and the patient must be the sickest person on the list.
Therefore, there is no guarantee that Mette-Marit will be given priority, the doctor noted. However, he added that the waiting time for lung transplants has significantly shortened in recent months.
While awaiting the operation, the Crown Princess will not be able to carry out her official duties, according to a palace statement. It adds that her poor health will also affect the duties and activities of the Crown Prince and the rest of the family.
The palace announced back in December that the Crown Princess might need a lung transplant.
The celebration of the royal couple’s silver wedding anniversary, which was supposed to take place in August 2026, will be postponed, and the couple will not be able to attend the Swedish royal couple’s golden wedding anniversary in Stockholm on June 13, the palace announced.
The Princess’s husband, Crown Prince Haakon, recently cut short a trip to Japan to be with his wife.
Their daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, also decided to interrupt her social science studies at the University of Sydney to return to her mother in Norway and plans to continue her studies in Oslo.
The Crown Princess has recently appeared in public with a breathing tube connected to an oxygen machine, which was carried by a palace employee.
Mette-Marit, who married Haakon in 2001, has been going through a difficult period in the public eye in recent months.
In January, documents were released revealing her friendship and frequent contacts with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014.
In addition, her son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Hoiby, appeared in court earlier this year on rape charges, which he denies.
A verdict in his case is expected on June 15.
M. B. Hoiby requested to be released on bail while awaiting the verdict, due to his mother’s health condition, his lawyer Petar Sekulic told Norwegian media on Friday.
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Norwegian police rejected this request, so the decision will have to be made by the court.
