World3 min(s) read
Published 11:21 08 Jun 2026 GMT
The future queen of Norway is suffering from a life threatening condition with no cure and has recently been told she may have only a year left to live.
Palace officials confirmed that Mette-Marit, 52, has been placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant to help treat pulmonary fibrosis.
In 2018, the Crown Princess was diagnosed with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis that causes breathing difficulties and creates scar tissue that stiffens the lungs, making it difficult to breathe and for oxygen to enter the bloodstream.
She has even been forced to suspend official duties due to the disease and has been seen using oxygen during recent engagements.
In a statement from the Norwegian royal family, the palace stressed that she requires a transplant as “soon as possible”.
According to the statement released last week, an update on Mette-Marit’s health will be provided after the lung transplant has taken place, although a date for the procedure was not disclosed.
The statement on the princess’s health said that after being discharged from the hospital, “there will be a longer period of rehabilitation and training” and “there will initially be no updates”.
Norwegian news outlet NKR reported that a lung specialist from Oslo University Hospital, Are Holm, confirmed that patients on the list for lung transplantation are considered so sick that they likely only have one year left to live.
He said: “The Crown Princess has had a significant worsening of her pulmonary fibrosis over the past six months.
“We see in the pictures that much more scar tissue has developed over the past year.”
Holm also revealed that it was not possible to predict when Mette-Marit would be able to undergo the transplant, as the hospital has guidelines for prioritising people on the waiting list.
He explained that it all depends on when a “suitable organ becomes available.”
Although in a glimmer of hope for the royal family, he added that there are currently short waiting times and they will “follow protocol exactly in this case”.
The mother-of-three’s condition has forced her to step back from royal duties, and in December she tragically revealed that her condition has developed “faster than I had hoped”.
Last month, her husband, Crown Prince Haakon, said: “The Crown Princess is seriously ill, and I think she has got a bit worse lately.
“So I am worried about her health. And these six months have gone pretty well, I think. But there are different phases.
“So we just have to try to solve it as best we can.”
The news of Mette-Marit's health has come at a particularly bad time for the royal couple as they reel in the aftermath of the horrifying rape and sexual abuse charges faced by their son, Marius Borg Høiby.
