Princess back with her sick mother in Norway after leaving Australia as lung transplant looms

Princess Ingrid Alexandra is now back with her seriously ill mother in Norway after putting her studies at Sydney University on hold and leaving Australia.

The 22-year-old, who is second-in-line to Norway’s throne, wanted to “be with her mother” Crown Princess Mette-Marit, whose chronic lung condition has significantly worsened of late, her father Crown Prince Haakon said.

The Crown Prince confirmed his daughter was now at the family’s private estate, Skaugum, ahead of what is going to be a tumultuous few weeks for Norway’s royal family.

The princess flew from Sydney to Oslo on Tuesday and was later photographed being driven to her family’s home in a black BMW.

She left Australia before completing her university exams, which are due to start next week.

Speaking to the media on the final day of his brief visit to Japan, Crown Prince Haakon said: “We will probably figure out the practical things regarding the exam.”

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How long the princess will remain in Norway is unclear as her mother’s health was the priority, he said.

“We will have to come back to how long she will be home. But she plans to get her degree and complete it in Australia, as planned.”

Earlier this week he said Ingrid Alexandra had “plans to complete her studies in Australia”, adding “but how long she will stay home, we will have to come back to that”.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra had nearly completed her first year of study at Sydney University before she unexpectedly left the country on Tuesday. She arrived in late July to begin the three-year degree in social science, specialising in international relations and politics.

On May 17, nine.com.au was there when the princess carried out her first public appearance in Australia, attending Norway’s National Day celebrations in Sydney.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 52, has been battling pulmonary fibrosis since 2018, a condition that causes scarring in the lungs and makes breathing difficult.

In recent weeks her health has deteriorated rapidly, faster than her medical team had been expecting. Mette-Marit has begun wearing a nasal breathing tube, connected to an oxygen tank, at public engagements – a very visible sign things are not well. 

She is being considered for a transplant, the Royal House announced in December, but has not yet been put on the waiting list. Mette-Marit’s doctors insisted she would not jump the transplant waitlist owing to her place in the royal family.

There are currently eight people waiting for a lung transplant in Norway, the country’s Organ Donation Foundation told media outlets VG and NRK overnight.

But the list is not a queue; rather patients are assessed depending on how sick they are, their general health and the type of donor lungs that become available when a person dies.

To be considered for the waiting list, doctors must determine whether the patient would have just one or two years left to live if they do not receive new lungs.

And when a donor does become available, doctors must act within hours to ensure the transplant is successful.

“Many people think a lot about her illness, but I think few can imagine the situation of only being able to breathe through a small straw,” Aleksander Sekowski, from the Organ Donation Foundation, told VG.

“The feeling of not getting enough air, it’s a huge burden.”

Crown Prince Haakon was asked about his wife’s health as he prepared to return to Oslo, cutting his Japan tour short by one day.

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“We are a family that is important to each other, so coming together and being together is something we find strength in,” he said.

“She is being followed up very well by the health system. But I don’t have any more information for you now.”

As for if and when Mette-Marit would be put on the transplant waiting list, the Crown Prince said: “It’s a medical issue, so it’s up to the doctors and the team around her to make that decision.

“And they follow their procedures. But as I said last time, the health situation of the Crown Princess is serious.”

Along with dealing with the deterioration of the Crown Princess’ health, the royal family is also bracing for the verdict in the criminal trial of Marius Borg Høiby in just over a weeks’ time.

Høiby, 29, is Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship and he was a toddler when his mother married Norway’s Crown Prince.

The verdict in Høiby’s case will be handed down by an Oslo court on June 15 following a seven-week trial. He denies the most serious charges, which include four counts of rape and assault.

Høiby has pleaded guilty to some of the lesser offences, which include a drugs charge, traffic offences and breaching a restraining order.

Prosecutors have requested a jail term of seven years, but his legal team have called for a lesser sentence, arguing Høiby has lived under extraordinary media pressure due to his royal connections, which they said has shaped public perception of the case.

He was first arrested in August 2024 and became the first member of Norway’s royal family to be charged with a crime.

Though he’s never held a royal title or carried out official duties, Høiby was raised alongside Princess Ingrid Alexandra and the Crown Prince couple’s son Prince Sverre Magnus, 20, at the family’s home, Skaugum. He grew up as part of the royal family, attending events with the King and Queen and the Crown Prince couple over the years.

The Crown Prince briefly commented on the case when asked by reporters in Japan.

“We are prepared for it,” he said, referring the verdict. He and the Crown Princess did not attend any of the trial and they are not expected to be there for the verdict on June 15.

But, “we also keep in touch with him” Crown Prince Haakon said. He and his family have been photographed visiting Høiby in prison several times.

Last month, Høiby pleaded with a judge to be released on bail so he could spend more time with his mother.

His legal team had requested Høiby be released to a home on the royal estate where his mother and stepfather Crown Prince Haakon live, with an ankle monitor to track his movements.

“I have someone in my immediate family who has an illness that makes visiting [me] in Oslo prison a bit more difficult than if I were at home,” he told the judge.

“The air quality there is… It’s an old building with a lot of mould. It would have made a big difference if we could have been somewhere else.”

The judge asked him: “Do you mean your mother?”

Høiby responded, “Yes,” but he was denied bail.