Norway's Crown Prince Haakon (52) has canceled several official appointments at short notice. The background is the health condition of his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit (52). As Norwegian broadcaster NRK reports, citing the official calendar of the Royal House, a planned reception already fell through on Tuesday afternoon. The program change occurred at the last minute.
And it doesn't stop there: Haakon's schedule for Wednesday has also been canceled. The Crown Prince was originally supposed to attend a board meeting of the Crown Prince Couple's Fund at 10 a.m. The appointment is no longer on the calendar.
More Time for His Ill Wife
Communications advisor Simen Sund from the Palace explained the reason for the cancellations to NRK: "Due to the Crown Princess's health condition, the Crown Prince will adjust his schedule going forward in order to spend more time with the Crown Princess during this period."
An official appointment remains on the calendar for Thursday, however. When King Harald receives first the Foreign Minister and then the Chief of the Home Guard for an audience, Haakon is expected to be present.
On the List for a Lung Transplant
It has now been eleven days since the Palace announced that Crown Princess Mette-Marit had been placed on the waiting list for a lung transplant. A lung transplant is considered one of the most demanding and risky operations. Are Holm, head of the lung department at Rikshospitalet and the Crown Princess's treating physician, explained: "The rule of thumb for who is placed on the list for a lung transplant is: The patient must be so ill with lung disease that we have reason to believe they have only one year left to live."
Mette-Marit had already made public in 2018 that she had been diagnosed with the chronic disease pulmonary fibrosis.
