Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has undergone a lung transplant after her chronic pulmonary fibrosis worsened and her condition became life-threatening, the royal household said on Wednesday. Pulmonary fibrosis is an incurable lung disease that scars tissue and makes breathing difficult.
Crown Prince Haakon had already said in Oslo in May that his wife was “very ill” and that he feared her condition had recently deteriorated. He added that she was using an oxygen cylinder, which helped only somewhat. The royal palace now says the operation was successful.
Rene Tjiana, head of thoracic surgery at Rikshospitalet, said the transplant had gone well and thanked the staff involved. “We are very pleased that everything went smoothly,” she said, adding that, like other transplant patients, the princess will remain hospitalized for the coming weeks. Aarthi Holme, head of the hospital’s lung department, said the procedure is routine to adjust medication, treat possible complications and support rehabilitation.
The announcement came days after Marius Borg Høiby, Mette-Marit’s eldest son, was convicted of two rapes, one in the basement of Crown Prince Haakon’s home, and sentenced to four years in prison. His trial lasted six weeks, ended in March, and involved 38 charges in total, including four rape counts involving women between 2018 and 2024, as well as drug offenses, abuse in a relationship, death threats, vandalism, traffic offenses, violating restraining orders and secretly filming women’s genitals. Prosecutors had sought seven years and seven months, while defense lawyers asked for 18 months on the lesser offenses he admitted. His lawyers said he will appeal.
Before marrying Haakon, Mette-Marit worked as a waitress and was known for her nightlife, and she previously had a relationship with Morten Borg, a convicted offender. Their son Marius was born in January 1997.
