OSLO, Norway — Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has successfully undergone a lung transplant at an Oslo hospital, according to an announcement made Wednesday by the Norwegian royal house.
The 52-year-old princess was diagnosed in 2018 with pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive illness that causes damage and scarring to lung tissue, leading to serious breathing difficulties. There is currently no known cure for the condition.
Earlier this month, the royal house revealed that Mette-Marit had been placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant. Wednesday’s statement confirmed she received the transplant at the Rikshospitalet in Oslo.
Are Holm, who heads the hospital’s pulmonary department, said in the statement that “we are very pleased that everything has gone well so far.”
Holm noted that, like other patients who receive organ transplants, the crown princess will need to stay in the hospital for “several weeks.” He explained that “this is standard procedure to adjust medications, manage any complications and conduct rehabilitation.”
The royal house said Crown Prince Haakon, who is next in line to the Norwegian throne, will “adjust his schedule” so he can be by his wife’s side throughout her recovery. The royal house also indicated it plans to provide the next health update when she is released from the hospital.
Mette-Marit’s health has been declining in recent months, a period that has also brought significant personal difficulties.
Her eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby, was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of rape — charges he denied — along with other offenses. His attorneys have indicated they will appeal both the rape and domestic abuse convictions.
Høiby, who was born from a previous relationship and holds no royal titles or official duties, became the center of a high-profile six-week trial that drew significant attention to the royal family.
At the same time, Mette-Marit faced renewed public scrutiny regarding her past connections to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, raising questions about her judgment, though she has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
She issued an apology in February for the position she had put the royal family in, as part of a broader expression of regret to all those she felt she had “disappointed.” During a television interview in March, she stated that she had been manipulated and deceived by Epstein and that she felt unsafe during a 2013 meeting with him at his Palm Beach, Florida, mansion.
