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, following a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis in 2018 that significantly deteriorated her health.

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.

"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. The surgery comes at a strained time ‌for the royal family: earlier this week, Mette-Marit's 29-year-old son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Hoiby, was convicted of rape ‌and domestic violence and sentenced to four years in prison.

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 to live without the surgery. The crown prince and crown princess thanked the ⁠public ​for the warm and kind greetings they ⁠had received recently, the palace said. The next public update on her health is only expected when she is discharged from hospital, it added.

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 illness, saying this could help others suffering from similar conditions.

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 much of the nation. ROYAL FAMILY HIT BY SCANDALS

But support for Norway's monarchy has taken a hit this year, opinion polls have shown, as several scandals hit at once. Hoiby's conviction on Monday followed a highly ⁠publicised trial that dominated headlines.

Meanwhile, the crown princess has apologised to the king and queen for her contact with late U.S. sex ⁠offender Jeffrey Epstein, whom she had ⁠described as a friend, though she cut ties several years before his death in 2019. A Norstat survey in February, conducted during Hoiby's trial, showed support for retaining the monarchy falling to a record ‌low of 60%, before ‌recovering slightly to 64% in May.