Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been suffering with pulmonary fibrosis, with her husband revealing that her health has ‘gotten worse’ in recent weeks
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway has shared an update on his wife’s failing health, as the Norwegian Royal Family continues to battle turbulent times.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been suffering from pulmonary fibrosis, with her husband now revealing to local media that her health has deteriorated further, saying she has “gotten worse”. Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition that causes progressive lung scarring and increasing difficulty breathing, of which there is no cure.
The Crown Prince said: “The Crown Princess is gravely ill, and I find that her condition has deteriorated significantly recently. So, I’m worried about her health. She uses oxygen daily, and that helps a bit, but it’s obviously not an entirely satisfactory solution.”
READ MORE: Prince William ‘sure England will do well’ at World Cup in special message to Three Lions staff and playersREAD MORE: Beatrice and Eugenie ‘will likely skip’ royal wedding after new Andrew allegations
The Crown Princess was diagnosed in 2018, and has repeatedly had to take a step back from her royal duties as she battles the illness. During recent engagements, she has been seen wearing an oxygen mask to help her breathe.
In December, the Norwegian Royal Family also revealed that she may need to undergo a lung transplant. Aside from her health struggles, Crown Princess Mette-Marit has had a difficult few months.
The princess’s son, 29-year-old Marius Borg Høiby, has been charged with 32 counts, including alleged rape, abuse in a close relationship against one former partner, and acts of violence against another, making death threats, and numerous traffic violations.
The seven-week trial concluded in March, and Høiby has been awaiting the ruling and sentencing from a prison in Oslo. In May, Høiby requested to be moved from prison to a royal residence while he awaits sentencing, which was denied by the court.
According to local media, the step-son of Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon petitioned to the court to be allowed to leave prison and complete his remand at the royal estate of Skaugum, where his mother and stepfather live. Høiby argued that his mother’s chronic lung condition made visiting him in prison difficult.
During Høiby’s trial, it also emerged that Crown Princess Mette-Marit had a friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after she was named in the so-called Epstein files. The princess spoke out to local media in March, saying she was “manipulated and deceived” by the billionaire paedophile.
The crown princess’ name appeared several times in the Epstein files, with emails between the pair implying a years-long friendship. During the 20-minute interview, just weeks after her links to Epstein were exposed, the Norwegian royal said she wished she had never met the late financier.
“I feel so manipulated, and when you are manipulated, you don’t realise it from the start,” Mette-Marit said. “It is incredibly important for me to take responsibility for not checking his background more carefully. And to take responsibility for being so manipulated and deceived as I was.”
“Of course I wish I had never met him,” the princess added, stressing that Epstein’s victims deserved justice for the great abuse they had suffered, adding that she felt great anger they had not yet received it.
Mette-Marit said that she “didn’t know he was a sex offender or a predator” at the time of their friendship, as she said: “I can’t remember this; it was 15 years ago, to be honest.”
