Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit placed on lung transplant list

Mette-Marit, 52, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, a disease that scars the lungs and makes breathing harder by reducing the body’s ability to absorb oxygen. The palace said the illness had worsened enough to move her from monitoring and evaluation into the formal transplant process, a step that underscores both the severity of her decline and the limited window for surgery in such cases.

The timing carries clear institutional weight for Norway’s monarchy. Mette-Marit has long balanced official engagements with recurring health challenges, and the latest development means a more uncertain period for the royal household. The palace said in December 2025 that autumn tests had shown a clear worsening in her condition and that doctors had begun the process of evaluating her for possible lung-transplant surgery. At that stage, no decision had been made on when she might join the waiting list, and she still wanted to continue her duties despite needing more rest and physical restitution.

Oslo University Hospital says all lung transplants in Norway are performed at Rikshospitalet, where about 30 such operations are done each year. The hospital’s lung department at Rikshospitalet evaluates and treats transplant patients in cooperation with local health services, and donor availability limits how many procedures can be carried out. That makes the move onto the waiting list a significant marker: it signals that her care has shifted from long-term management to a race between organ availability, surgical readiness and the progression of disease.