Princess Mette-Marit of Norway shares loved-up ski trip selfie

The Norwegian royals are, naturally, big fans of the snow and amid recent health battles and royal scandals, Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been enjoying some much-needed downtime in her country's winter wonderland.

The 46-year-old Princess and her husband of 18 years, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, also 46, are looking adorable in a new selfie posted to Instagram on Wednesday.

"This is how happy you are to be able to see ten meters here in the wind," she captioned the pic of her and the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne sharing a cute moment outside of a ski lodge, complete with an adorable forehead kiss.

The royal also added a second selfie illustrating the intensely falling snow at their unspecified location.

Mette-Marit's recent Instagram posts hint at happier times after she became embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal late last year, following a shocking health diagnosis.

In December, she issued a statement expressing "regret" over her past links to convicted sex offender Epstein, with whom she met on several occasions between 2011 and 2013 – years after he was convicted of paying an underage girl for sex.

"I would never have had anything to do with Epstein if I had been aware of the seriousness of his criminal acts," she said in a written statement to Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv at the time.

"I should have examined Epstein's past more closely, and I regret that I did not," the Crown Princess added, just days after fellow royal Prince Andrew denied suspicious involvement with the disgraced financier in a "trainwreck" interview with BBC Newsnight.

In 2018, the mother-of-three revealed she had been diagnosed with a rare chronic lung disease known as pulmonary fibrosis.

The condition causes scarring on the lungs and makes breathing increasingly difficult.

In an official statement released by the Norwegian royal family, Mette-Marit said: "Although such a diagnosis will limit my life at times, I'm glad that the disease has been discovered so early.

"My goal is still to work and participate in the official programme as much as possible."

Princess Mette-Marit met Prince Haakon at a garden party held during a music festival in 1999; at the time, she was a single mother to son Marius.

The couple announced their engagement after dating for a year, and married in August 2001.

They have since welcomed two children: Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 15, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 13.