'Now is the time': Crown Princess Mette-Marit's confession before starting treatment for incurable condition
The Crown Princess of Norway has admitted she needs "a little more help than before to cope" with an incurable lung condition as she prepares to begin potentially life-extending treatment.
The 52-year-old will be absent from public duties for most of October as she undergoes the procedure for pulmonary fibrosis, following her diagnosis in 2018.
In an attempt to reduce symptoms and improve the Crown Princess' quality of life, she will soon begin lung rehabilitation, the Royal House of Norway said.
Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit says she needs more medical help to deal with an incurable lung condition. Getty
The Crown Princess made the comments about her health as she attended an event at the Norwegian Folk Museum, before embarking on a three-day regional tour of Buskerud with her husband Crown Prince Haakon.
The engagements are expected to among her last before she takes medical leave.
The Crown Princess has suffered the effects of the disease ever since her diagnosis seven years ago but the condition worsened last year.
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"I should have done it a long time ago, but now is the time," Crown Princess Mette-Marit said.
"So I'm going to do it. Because I need a little more help than before to cope with daily life with pulmonary fibrosis."
Of what to expect, she said: "I think it's about meeting other people who suffer from the same lung disease as me. And having better control over how I'll cope with my daily life with this chronic illness."
The announcement of Crown Princess Mette-Marit's lung rehabilitation came from the palace on Friday.
The Crown Princess of Norway will have lung rehabilitation in an undisclosed part of the country, the palace has said. AP
"Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit will undergo a month of pulmonary rehabilitation in Norway from the beginning of October," the Royal House of Norway said.
"The Crown Princess will therefore not carry out official assignments in October, but some exceptions are planned".
Mette-Marit is expected to take part in a state dinner at the Royal Palace on October 23.
"The Crown Princess is scheduled to resume her official work in November," the palace said.
The Crown Prince family pictured in May in Norway. Mette-Marit will take a leave of absence as she undergoes lung rehabilitation. AP
Pulmonary fibrosis causes scarring on the lungs and makes breathing increasingly difficult.
According to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, pulmonary rehabilitation is an exercise and education program that aims to improve symptoms and make everyday activities easier to do for those with the condition.
Last year, Mette-Marit was forced to extend her sick leave and absence from public life as her conditioned worsened.
Mette-Marit pictured with husband Crown Prince Haakon and daughter Princess Ingrid Alexandra in April. Getty
She has been advised by her medical team to take leave in the past, to cope with the side effects of the drugs used to treat the condition.
She is married to Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and they have two children together – Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 21, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 19.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who is heir to the throne after her father, is currently living in Australia and doing a three-year bachelor degree at the University of Sydney, which she began in late August.
In 2019, Crown Princess Mette-Marit spoke with Norwegian television network NRK about her diagnosis
"I am exhausted faster than before, so today I have to take more care of myself than I did before," she said.
Of her time away from official duties, the Crown Princess said: "I can decide more about my everyday life and I realise how good it is to me, I can just go for a walk and have more time to read, life has slowed down."
The announcement from Norway's Royal House about the Crown Princess came just days after another of its members made headlines around the world because of a new, controversial, documentary.
Norway's Princess Martha Louise and Shaman Durek Verrett in the Netflix documentary Rebel Royals. Courtesy of Netflix
A war of words between the palace Royal House of Norway and Princess Märtha Louise erupted after the release of Rebel Royals on Netflix on Tuesday.
The palace said the film was "a breach of the agreement" made in the wake of her royal exit three years ago, which banned her from being called a "princess" in any commercial endeavours.
Princess Märtha Louise no longer carries out official engagements representing the King, something she described as "sad" in the documentary.
Following the palace's statement, the princess and her American healer husband Shaman Durek Verrett issued a hasty apology saying they "recognise the seriousness of this situation".
Overnight, Shaman Durek used his Instagram page to clarify comments he made about Norway's King in the documentary in which he claimed King Harald V "didn't even know what racism was".
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