Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway smiles as she arrives for a reception of the Norwegian athletes who took part in the Paralympics in Milano Cortina 2026, at the Royal Palace in Oslo, Norway, on April 10, 2026. Photo: AFP
Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who suffers from an incurable lung disease, has been placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant, ushering in a period of great uncertainty regarding her health.
Mette-Marit, 52, was diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis that causes breathing difficulties, which has repeatedly forced her to take sick leave or scale back her official duties.
Her condition has deteriorated significantly over the past six months, Are Holm, a lung specialist at the Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, told a press conference Friday afternoon.
“We can see that there has been a significant increase in scar tissue in her lungs over the past year. And lung function tests show that her lung function has declined considerably in the last three months alone,” Holm told reporters.
