Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway appears with Crown Prince Haakon at a reception at the Royal Palace in Oslo on Friday to honor the country’s athletes competing at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan Cortina.
Photos and video from the event show the Crown Princess using supplemental oxygen delivered through a nasal cannula, while an aide carries a portable oxygen device behind her.
This was the first time he was seen wearing a breathing aid device during an official event.
In February, Crown Princess Mette-Marit apologized for her friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I also apologize for the situation in which I have put the royal family, especially the king and queen,” Mette-Marit said in a statement released by the royal palace.
New files related to Epstein published by the US Justice Department included extensive email correspondence between Mette-Marit and Epstein after he was convicted of child sex crimes in 2008.
In December 2025, the royal family said that Mette-Marit was expected to undergo a lung transplant after her health declined.
The wife of Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne, was diagnosed in 2018 with pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs and reduces oxygen absorption.
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