Princess Mette-Marit Makes a Surprise Appearance Wearing Assistive Breathing Device for the First Time
Princess Mette-Marit Makes a Surprise Appearance Wearing Assistive Breathing Device for the First Time
Emily BurackFri, April 10, 2026 at 2:17 PM UTC
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Princess Mette-Marit’s Assistive Breathing DeviceLISE ASERUD - Getty Images
At the Royal Palace in Oslo today, the Norwegian royal family hosted a reception for the country’s 15 Paralympic athletes. Originally, Crown Prince Haakon was the only royal scheduled to attend, but Crown Princess Mette-Marit and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, also joined.
The Paralympic reception marked a rare appearance for the Crown Princess, who has been struggling with her health as of late. In 2018, she was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease, and this year, the Palace revealed she is preparing for a lung transplant. Today, she appeared with an oxygen catheter, an assistive breathing device, for the first time.
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Mette-Marit waves as she arrives for a reception for the Norwegian athletes from the Paralympics.LISE ASERUD - Getty Images
“I live with a serious illness, and it is what characterizes my everyday life now. It is what determines whether I can even stand in my role or not,” she said last month in an interview that largely focused on her past friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “But I have great faith in the importance of the monarchy in Norway.”
The Crown Prince family.LISE ASERUD - Getty Images
The royals meet athletes.LISE ASERUD - Getty Images
The Norwegian Heart, Lung, and Stroke Association (LHL) praised Mette-Marit’s public appearance in a breathing device today. “Crown Princess Mette-Marit is showing important and courageous leadership when she is now open about the need for oxygen therapy. It means more than many may realize for people living with lung disease,” Secretary General Magne Wang Fredriksen of LHL told VG. “Using breathing assistance is not a sign of weakness, but of strength and the will to live an active life despite illness.”
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
