Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit undergoes lung transplant

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit underwent a lung transplant on June 17, 2026, a procedure that had been announced in December 2025 when it became clear that her chronic lung disease was progressing faster than expected. The operation took place shortly after Crown Prince Haakon cut short an official visit to Japan due to his wife's sudden deterioration in health. Mette-Marit will remain in hospital for several weeks and faces a lengthy recovery period.

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit underwent a lung transplant on June 17, 2026. She herself announced the need for the operation in an interview in December 2025, noting that her pulmonary fibrosis was progressing faster than expected and that doctors intended to place her on the waiting list for donor organs.

Serious illness since 2018

The Crown Princess was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018. The condition involves lung tissue gradually being replaced with scar tissue, making breathing increasingly difficult. In most cases, the disease is incurable and the only solution is a lung transplant. In recent years, Mette-Marit has frequently appeared in public with oxygen tubes and devices.

In December 2025, shortly after the Crown Princess's interview, 930 people registered as organ donors in Norway-ten times more than usual. The wave of registrations continued in the following days. In early June, when Mette-Marit's condition deteriorated sharply and she was officially placed on the waiting list, nearly 12,000 Norwegians registered as organ donors within ten days-180 times more than the entire previous month.

Operation and recovery

The operation was successful and the Crown Princess will remain in hospital for several weeks. The identity of the donor is not disclosed; as in most countries, posthumous organ donation in Norway is anonymous. Going forward, Mette-Marit must take immunosuppressive medication for life to prevent rejection of the transplanted lungs. According to Norwegian statistics, at least 90% of patients survive one year after lung transplantation, and 55% exceed the ten-year mark.

Her daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who began her studies in Sydney in 2025, returned to Oslo to support her mother.

Dramatic background

Mette-Marit's path into the Norwegian royal household has been turbulent. She met Crown Prince Haakon in 1999 at a music festival, and their relationship initially attracted considerable criticism: Mette-Marit worked as a waitress at the time, lacked higher education, and one of her former partners, including the father of her son Marius, had received convictions related to narcotics. The couple married in 2001.

The Crown Princess has recently been struck by multiple scandals. In January 2026, it emerged that the recently published Jeffrey Epstein documents contained friendly correspondence between her and Epstein from 2011-2014. Mette-Marit apologized and confirmed that she was unaware of Epstein's crimes, but said she should have inquired more thoroughly about her acquaintances. Due to the scandal, 44% of Norwegians surveyed found the Crown Princess unsuitable to be queen.

Another concern emerged regarding Mette-Marit's older son, Marius, who is not an official member of the royal family: he was charged in 2025 on 40 counts, including rape and assault. Around the same time his mother underwent her lung transplant, Marius Borg Høiby was sentenced to four years in prison. The Crown Princess and Crown Prince had previously stated they would not attend court proceedings.