Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s health is getting worse, husband Crown Prince Haakon reveals as Queen Sonja suffers heart failure

Norway’s next king has admitted he is ‘worried’ about his wife fight against chronic lung disease that limits her ability to breathe.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 52, was seen using a nasal breathing tube connected to an oxygen tank as she and her family celebrated National Day earlier this monthmarking the second time the royal family has worn the aide during an official engagement.

Crown Prince Haakon was asked about his wife on Tuesday when he visited the University of Oslo, two days after his mother, Queen Sonja, was diagnosed with heart failure.

The Norwegian royal family is confrontedhealth crises on various frontsas she made headlines around the world after the Crown Princess former friendship with Jeffrey Epstein was unveiled earlier this year.

Meanwhile, her eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby, is waiting for the verdict of a criminal trial and faced a seven-year prison sentence after being charged with rape and sexual assault.

Crown Prince Haakon was asked about his wife’s health after attending an awards ceremony in Norway’s capital.

“The Crown Princess is seriously ill and I think she has gotten a bit worse recently, so I am concerned about her health,” Haakon told Norwegian media.

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“She uses oxygen in her daily life and it helps a little, but it’s not a perfect solution.”

Crown Princess Mette-Marit was diagnosed in 2018 with pulmonary fibrosis, which causes scarring in the lungs and makes breathing difficult.

Last year she underwent pulmonary rehabilitation which helped temporarily, but in December the Royal House announced that the Crown Princess’s condition had deteriorated.

Her medical team confirmed she would be assessed for a stroke possible lung transplant in the future. Mette-Marit’s doctors insisted she would not be put on the transplant waiting list because of her place in the royal family.

“They are the ones who decide when it should be done and when it is right,” Crown Prince Haakon said on Tuesday.

On May 17, Mette-Marit took part in Constitution Day celebrations from Skaugum, the family’s private royal estate, and was seen using a breathing aid just weeks after using it at another appearance at the Royal Palace.

In March, the Crown Princess did an interview with The Norwegian national broadcaster NRK which had to be limited to 20 minutes because she was unable to talk for an extended period of time.

“I live with a serious illness, and that is what characterizes my daily life now,” said Mette-Marit.

“It’s what determines whether I can stay in my role at all or not.

“I have great confidence in the importance of the monarchy in Norway. And I have great confidence that trust is one of the most beautiful values ​​of our society. And I really hope that in the long term this will not weaken confidence in the institution. That would be very sad for me.

“And Haakon is the person I respect the most in the whole world. I have great confidence in him. So I want to be next to him in that project, yes. If I get the chance with my health.”

Crown Prince Haakon added: “We have been together for over 25 years now. And fortunately we have been able to build it up in such a way that we stand together.

“And when you get married, it’s for good days and bad days.”

Meanwhile, 89-year-old King Harald V of Norway has started a tour of Vestland in the west of the country. He was supposed to be accompanied by his wife, Queen Sonja, but she has been diagnosed with heart failure and heart fibrillation.

The 88-year-old is now on a week’s medical leave and is recovering at the Royal Palace, not in hospital.

The queen received a pacemaker in early 2025 after being diagnosed with heart fibrillation after a ski trip.

King Harald, who was that On the Norwegian throne for 35 years and is Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, was fitted with a pacemaker in 2024 after falling ill while on holiday in Malaysia. In February he was hospitalized due to an infection during a holiday to Tenerife.

The king has scaled back his public duties, but will continue his tour of Vestland this week on board the royal yacht.