Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit undergoes successful lung transplant

OSLO - Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has undergone a successful lung transplant and is recovering from the procedure, the royal household said in a statement on Wednesday.

The 52-year-old wife of Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the Norwegian throne, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs and leads to a reduced oxygen uptake.

Oslo University Hospital on June 5 said Mette-Marit had been placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant after a significant deterioration in her health that likely gave her only a year left to live without the surgery.

"Like all newly transplanted patients, the crown princess will remain at the hospital for several weeks to come," Oslo University Hospital Professor Are Holm said in a statement provided by the palace.

Crown Prince Haakon in December said the family had noticed a change in Mette-Marit's condition and that she was struggling more to breathe.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere had praised the crown princess for being open about her condition and said this could help others suffering from similar problems.

Mette-Marit was 25, an unmarried single mother and a commoner when she met Haakon at a music festival in 1999, the beginning of an unlikely royal romance that started with a media furore and ended up winning over the bulk of the nation.

-Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche/Reuters