Norway's crown princess undergoes successful lung transplant, palace says

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has undergone a successful lung transplant and is recovering after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018.

​Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has ​undergone a successful lung ‌transplant and ​is recovering from the procedure, the royal household said in a statement on Wednesday.

The 52-year-old wife of ‌Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the Norwegian throne, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs and ‌leads to a reduced oxygen uptake. Oslo University Hospital on June 5 ‌said Mette-Marit had been placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant after a significant deterioration in her health that likely gave her only a year left to live ⁠without the ​surgery.

"Like all newly ⁠transplanted patients, the crown princess will remain at the hospital for several weeks to ⁠come," Oslo University Hospital Professor Are Holm said in a statement provided by the palace. Crown ​Prince Haakon in December said the family had noticed a change in ⁠Mette-Marit's condition and that she was struggling more to breathe.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere ⁠had ​praised the crown princess for being open about her condition and said this could help others suffering from similar problems. Mette-Marit was 25, an ⁠unmarried single mother and a commoner when she met Haakon at a music ⁠festival in 1999, ⁠the beginning of an unlikely royal romance that started with a media furore and ended up winning over the ‌bulk of ‌the nation.