It was October 2018 when the Norwegian Royal House announced that Princess Mette-Marit was suffering from an incurable illness. Since then, the chronic pulmonary fibrosis of Prince Haakon’s wife has forced her to limit the fulfillment of her official schedule on several occasions. Now, however, her health has suffered a dramatic deterioration according to her medical team, and concern is spreading among her family and fellow citizens.
Mette-Marit has just been placed on the waiting list for a lung transplant, after this possibility was announced last December. According to doctors at Oslo University Hospital, if she does not undergo this surgical intervention, one year of life at most.
“It is an important and demanding operation, and one has to be sick enough to need it, while at the same time healthy enough to endure the surgery and the difficult treatment process,” explained Dr. Are Holm at a press conference. A few days ago Prince Haakon also conveyed his concern for his wife, explaining that “she uses oxygen on a daily basis and that helps her a little,”
For its part, the Royal Palace has stated in a press release that Mette-Marit’s health status is “critical” at the moment. This situation forced Crown Prince Haakon to shorten his official visit to Japan and return home early to be by his wife’s side. Likewise, the couple’s daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, flew back to Oslo from Sydney, where she is pursuing her university studies.
Mette-Marit, without privileges
In Norway, a country of 5.6 million inhabitants, between 30 and 35 lung transplants are performed each year. To put the figure in context, last year 623 were performed in Spain. The heir to the throne Mette-Marit has joined the waiting list like any other patient, according to the hospital. The current waiting list is short, added Dr. Holm, before explaining that for a transplant to be successful, it must meet specific criteria.
The Princess Mette-Marit, in an official portrait.
“It has to be the right size, it must be the correct blood type, and we have to make sure that the recipient does not have antibodies against the tissue type of the organ,” the doctor noted. “This is about obtaining the right organ for the right person. This means that many factors must align to increase the chances of success.”
According to data provided by the hospital itself, up to 90% of lung transplant patients in Norway survive the first year after the intervention, while around 55% remain alive after ten years. After this news became known, the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, praised Crown Princess Mette-Marit for speaking openly about her illness and noted that this could help other people suffering from similar problems.
An Anniversary Delayed
The fragile health of Norway’s future queen has forced the heir couple to postpone the celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary, which was scheduled for August this year, the palace added. Mette-Marit was 25, a single mother and a commoner when she met Haakon at a music festival in 1999. That was the beginning of an improbable royal romance that started with a great media buzz, but which ultimately earned the nation’s affection.
That affection is currently going through its darkest hours. Mette-Marit’s popularity is at an all-time low due to her son Marius Borg’s legal troubles and her links to Jeffrey Epstein. Two circumstances that have led many Norwegians to doubt whether she is qualified to ascend the throne alongside her husband in the near future.
