Norway’s Crown Princess Mette‑Marit, 52, has had a successful lung transplant at Oslo’s royal hospital, according to a palace statement released on Thursday.
Diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis that has progressively damaged her lungs, Mette‑Marit’s condition had worsened in recent months. The transplant was performed after she had been placed on the waiting list twelve days earlier, a status usually given to patients with an estimated one‑year life expectancy.
"We are delighted that everything has progressed well so far," said Are Holm, the lung specialist overseeing the surgery. He added that the princess would remain in Toronto for several weeks of observation, a standard procedure for transplant recipients.
Queen Harald and King Harald’s daughter will adjust her official schedule to support the princess, the palace noted. Her recovery will be delicate, requiring lifelong immunosuppression to prevent organ rejection.
The transplant follows a tense year for the Norwegian royals, including a 2023 controversy over the princess’s past contact with the late Jeffrey Epstein and an indictment involving her son, Marius Borg Høiby, who was sentenced to four years in prison.
"The operation was a turning point for the Crown Princess’s health and for the Kingdom of Norway," said historian Ole‑Jørgen Schulsrud‑Hansen.
Over the first year after transplant, one in eight recipients do not survive, while about half are alive after ten years, according to the specialist. The princess’s remaining recovery will be closely monitored by her medical team.
Mette‑Marit never missed a public engagement again after her surgery and is expected to resume many of her duties gradually as her condition improves.
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Crown Princess Mette‑Marit was last seen in public on 17 May wearing a breathing tube connected to an oxygen device.
