However, her condition has worsened and now requires significant surgical intervention.
‘We are approaching the time when a lung transplant must be carried out, and we are making the necessary preparations so that it will be possible when the time comes,’ Are Martin Holm, head of pulmonary medicine at Oslo University Hospital, said in a statement from the palace on Friday.
News of the Princess’s health condition was first made public in 2018 when the royal released a statement saying that the condition ‘meant her working capacity would vary’ to accommodate treatment. ‘For a number of years, I have had health challenges on a regular basis, and now we know more about what is involved,’ she said.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon with their daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on December 10
OLE BERG-RUSTEN/Getty Images
‘The condition means that my working capacity will vary. The Crown Prince and I are choosing to make this public now partly because in future there will be a need to plan periods of time without an official programme to accommodate treatment and when the disease is more active.’ She added, ‘Even if such a diagnosis will limit my life at times, I am glad that the disease has been discovered so early. My goal is still to work and participate in the official programme as much as possible.’
The royal couple have rarely spoken of Mette-Marit’s disease, although Crown Prince Haakon opened up about his wife’s condition in an official autobiography published in 2023. He penned, ‘She will never be cured, but the illness is not deteriorating very rapidly, which is what the doctors are aiming for. She has many good days. But the uncertainty is always there. Do we have to cancel? We never know. Illness is also a part of life, as is addressing challenges together.’