Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon scales back royal duties for wife Mette-Marit awaiting lung transplant

OSLO, June 17 — Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon will limit royal duties to spend more time with his seriously ill wife Mette-Marit, who needs a lung transplant, the palace yesterday.

The future king cancelled official engagements scheduled for yesterday and today, media noted, and last week he pulled out of the government’s weekly cabinet meeting on Friday.

“Due to the crown princess’s health, the crown prince will adjust his schedule in the future so that he can spend more time with his wife,” the palace told AFP in an email.

Mette-Marit, 52, was diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis, or scarring of the lungs, that causes breathing difficulties.

Her condition has deteriorated significantly over the past six months and her doctors announced on June 5 that she had been placed on the waiting list for a lung transplant.

Doctors said that was a last resort when a patient is believed to have less than two years to live.

The palace’s statement came a day after an Oslo court sentenced the crown princess’s 29-year-old son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Hoiby, to four years in prison for two counts of rape and 32 other offences.

Hoiby has denied the most serious charges, and his lawyers have said they will appeal. — AFP