Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 17
Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit Undergoes Successful Lung Transplant at 52
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 17

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit Undergoes Successful Lung Transplant at 52

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 17

Summary

  • Oslo doctors said Mette-Marit’s lung transplant was successful, with the 52-year-old crown princess expected to remain in hospital for several weeks under standard post-surgery observation.
  • Her operation followed a sharp decline from pulmonary fibrosis, diagnosed in 2018; the palace had placed her on the transplant list 12 days earlier after doctors warned her condition had become significant and dangerous.
  • Prince Haakon will scale back official duties to support her recovery, which doctors said will be delicate because transplant recipients need lifelong immunosuppressive treatment.
  • Doctors underscored the risks around the procedure: one in eight donor-lung recipients die within the first year, while about half are alive after 10 years.
  • The surgery brings rare good news for Norway’s royals after a difficult year that also saw Mette-Marit’s son Marius Borg Høiby sentenced to four years in prison.

Insights

A royal received a lung transplant in just 12 days. Was this purely medical urgency, or did privilege play a role?
With multiple health crises and scandals, how can the Norwegian monarchy restore public trust and secure its future?