Norway’s crown princess to go on sick leave for lung treatment

Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit speaks on the occasion of the commemoration of the 34th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Berlin Wall Memorial, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Oslo, Norway — Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who suffers from a chronic lung condition, will cancel her public engagements in October in order to undergo treatment, the palace said Friday.

The 52-year-old wife of Crown Prince Haakon announced in October 2018 that she had been diagnosed with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable disease that causes scarring of the lungs and shortness of breath.

In a statement on Friday, the royal palace said the crown princess “will undergo a month of pulmonary rehabilitation in Norway starting in early October.”

As a result, her public appearances for the month of October have been cancelled, with the exception of a dinner with members of Norway’s parliament on October 23, the palace said.

She was expected to resume her royal duties in November.

Mette-Marit has been in the Norwegian headlines in recent months after her 28-year-old son Marius Borg Hoiby, who was born of a relationship prior to her marriage to the crown prince, was charged with raping four women.

Hoiby is scheduled to go on trial in February and faces up to 10 years in prison.

AFP