Norwegian princess’ decision on Sydney future after rushing back to be with sick mum

Princess Ingrid Alexandra, the future queen of Norway, rushed back home from Australia in early June to be with her sick mum, Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

At the time, the 22-year-old was just a few months into her University of Sydney degree and put her studies on hold to support her mum through a lung transplant after the Crown Princess’s rare form of chronic pulmonary fibrosis worsened.

Now, the Norwegian royal household has hinted at when the young royal plans to return to Sydney to resume her studies.

Instead of deferring her course, Princess Ingrid Alexandra will take part in an exchange program with the University of Oslo and study there for the next semester as her mum continues to recover.

“The Princess will be taking courses at the Faculty of Social Sciences as an exchange student from the University of Sydney in the fall [Norway’s autumn] of 2026.”

Ingrid Alexandra will return to school on Monday with the rector, faculty dean and chair of the student parliament set to officially welcome the princess to the UiO campus.

As with Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s Sydney studies, after an initial official photo op, the royal plans to be just a regular student while there.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit was discharged from Oslo’s University Hospital on July 14, almost month after her big surgery.

In a short statement, the mum-of-three said she was “deeply grateful” not just for the organ donation but also the care she received and words of encouragement from the community.

Husband Crown Prince Haakon shared his “great relief” to have his wife home from hospital.

“We are all very happy that the first phase has gone as well as it has,” Haakon said.

“Although we know that there is a long road of recovery ahead of us, and that complications may arise, it feels very good to have come this far.”

The royal household confirmed the future queen would undergo six months of rehabilitation and follow-up appointments, during which time the 52-year-old will not carry out any official engagements.

The six-month recovery timeline would also allow the couple’s only daughter, Princess Alexandra Ingrid, to complete one semester in Oslo before enjoying Christmas and New Year festivities with her family and friends before returning to Sydney for the start of the school year in February.

However, the royal household is yet to confirm the princess’ plans for a return to Australia.