Tragedies do not cease within the Norwegian royal family. Less than a week after the death of King Harald V and amid the monarch’s farewell ceremonies, the health of Queen Consort Mette-Marit returns to be the center of concern. The situation goes back a long way: in 2018 she was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis that progressively worsened over the years until, in June 2026, she had to undergo a lung transplant.
Although everything seemed stabilized, the situation became alarming again when on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 1, King Haakon was seen leaving with Mette-Marit in the car bound for the National Hospital, where just a few days earlier they had been bidding farewell to the sovereign’s father. Shortly after, the king left the premises, this time without the company of Mette-Marit, which led to the belief that the queen remained admitted inside.
This worrying incident took place on a historic day for the Norwegian royal family. That same morning the king swore the Constitution in the National Parliament, the first major institutional act in the new role. However, his wife could not accompany him to the ceremony, as did the heir princess Ingrid Alexandra, who occupied a leading role sitting beside her father. Also present were her son, Sverre Magnus, and her mother, Queen Sonja.
At first glance, Mette-Marit’s absence at the Constitutional oath did not seem remarkable. On August 29, a day after Harald V’s death, the Royal House issued a statement informing that, for health reasons, the queen would not be able to attend all the events that would take place in the following days. Seeing her the day before in the funeral procession around the Royal Palace, it was presumed that her absence at this moment so important to her husband was within the leave planned from the outset.
Aware of the gravity of the matter, before Haakon’s act the Norwegian Royal House issued a statement authored by doctor Are Holm warning that complications after a lung transplant “are not uncommon” and that therefore the queen must remain “under observation all day.” Still, what happened a few hours later is concerning. On such a special day for the king and his family, the abrupt interruption of the schedule to move again to the hospital sets off all alarms about Mette-Marit’s health, which, though she has always been delicate, given the latest events is even more unsettling.
Mette-Marit and Haakon of Norway in an archival photo
All fronts open in the Norwegian royal family
The health of Mette-Marit is, unfortunately, not the only shadow looming over the Norwegian royal family. In addition to the uncertainty about the queen’s condition and the recent death of King Harald, there is another situation of no less importance. This time, it concerns Durek Verrett, Märtha Louise of Norway’s husband, who had to undergo a kidney transplant a few days before his father-in-law’s death, in the same hospital to which Mette-Marit went yesterday and where Harald V spent his final days.
Although the recovery is progressing well, this intervention has prevented Verrett from being present at Harald’s farewell events, to whom he was very close. And Märtha Louise’s husband, whom she married in August 2024, did not want to miss the opportunity to publicly bid farewell to her father with continual posts on social media that reveal his bond with the family from the hospital.
But medical issues are not the only ones that put the Norwegians on alert. The Marius Borg affair is hotter than ever in these last days. The reason? His appearance in the funeral procession through the halls of the Royal Palace, bearing Harald’s remains alongside his children and grandchildren. To understand why it is so controversial, it is worth recalling his situation: Borg, Mette-Marit’s eldest son, was found guilty of 34 crimes, including rape and abuse of his ex-partners, and sentenced to 4 years in prison.
Despite everything, Marius obtained permission to attend this ceremony, as well as permission to attend the State funeral that will take place on September 9. The son of Mette-Marit, who was 3 years old when his mother began her relationship with Haakon of Norway, is serving this sentence under house arrest and wears an electronic bracelet to attend these events for which he has obtained permission. Even so, his situation remains controversial and awakens all kinds of opinions ranging from whitewashing to the monarchy’s intention to safeguard its image.
