'I am worried': Norway's Crown Prince reveals sad update about his wife's chronic health battle as his mother suffers heart failure

Norway's next king has admitted he is "worried" about his wife, who is battling a chronic lung condition that limits her ability to breathe.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 52, was seen using a nasal breathing tube, connected to an oxygen tank, when she and her family celebrated National Day earlier this month, marking the second time the royal has worn the aide during an official engagement.

Crown Prince Haakon was asked about his wife as he visited the University of Oslo on Tuesday, two days after his mother Queen Sonja was diagnosed with heart failure.

The Norwegian royal family is facing health crises on several fronts, while making headlines around the world after the Crown Princess' past friendship with Jeffrey Epstein was revealed earlier this year.

Meanwhile her eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby, is awaiting the verdict of a criminal trial and could face seven years in prison after he was charged with rape and assault.

Crown Prince Haakon was asked about his wife's health after attending an award ceremony in Norway's capital.

"The Crown Princess is seriously ill and I think she has gotten a little worse lately, so I am worried about her health," Haakon told Norwegian media.

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"She uses oxygen in her everyday life and it helps a little but it is not a perfect solution."

Crown Princess Mette-Marit was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, which causes scarring in the lungs and makes breathing difficult.

Last year she underwent lung rehabilitation which temporarily helped but in December, the Royal House announced the Crown Princess' condition had deteriorated.

Her medical team confirmed she would be assessed for a possible lung transplant in the future. Mette-Marit's doctors insisted she would not jump the transplant waitlist owing to her place in the royal family.

"They are the ones who decide when it should happen and when it is right," Crown Prince Haakon said, on Tuesday.

On May 17, Mette-Marit took part in Constitution Day celebrations from Skaugum, the family's private royal estate, and was seen using a breathing aide just weeks after using it at another engagement within the Royal Palace.

In March the Crown Princess did an interview with Norway's national broadcaster NRK which had to be limited to 20 minutes due her inability to speak for extended periods of time.

"I live with a serious illness, and it is what characterises my everyday life now," Mette-Marit said.

"It is what determines whether I can even stand in my role or not.

"I have great faith in the importance of the monarchy in Norway. And I have great faith that trust is one of the finest values ​​of our society. And I really hope that over time this does not weaken trust in the institution. That would be very sad for me.

"And Haakon is the person I respect the most in the whole world. I have great faith in him. So I want to stand next to him in that project, yes. If I have the opportunity with my health."

Crown Prince Haakon added: "We have been together for over 25 years now. And fortunately we have been able to build it in such a way that we stand together.

"And when you get married, it is for good and bad days."

Meanwhile, Norway's 89-year-old King Harald V has embarked on a tour of Vestland in the country's west. He was due to be accompanied by his wife, Queen Sonja, but she has been diagnosed with heart failure and heart fibrillation.

The 88-year-old is now on a week's medical leave and is recovering at the Royal Palace, not in hospital.

The queen was fitted with a pacemaker in early 2025 after being diagnosed with heart fibrillation following a ski trip.

King Harald, who has been on Norway's throne for 35 years and is Europe's oldest-serving monarch, had a pacemaker fitted in 2024 after falling ill while on holidays in Malaysia. In February he was hospitalised for an infection during a holiday to Tenerife.

The King has scaled back his public duties but is carrying on with his tour of Vestland this week on board the royal yacht.