It has not been an easy few months for the Norwegian royal family. In addition to the controversy over the publication of emails between Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Jeffrey Epstein, which alluded to an apparently closer relationship than she had previously admitted, 89-year-old King Harald had to be hospitalized for an infection while enjoying a few days off in Tenerife. Meanwhile, the trial against Marius Borg Høiby, Mette-Marit’s son who was accused of up to 40 crimes, ended in March and a verdict is expected in June. In December, Mette-Marit also announced that her case of lung disease pulmonary fibrosis had progressed.
Afterward, Mette-Marit remained out of the public eye, except for a public visit King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium and a television interview to clarify her friendship with Epstein. But on Monday, the princess resumed her work schedule on a public engagement with her husband, Crown Prince Haakon, and her two children, Prince Sverre Magnus and Princess Ingrid Alexandra.
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The royals hosted a palace reception for the athletes who competed in the Winter Paralympics in Milan. Mette-Marit entered the hall smiling, but she arrived wearing a cannula in her nose. It was connected to breathing assistance system carried. It is the first time that the princess appeared with oxygen during an official act, highlighting her chronic disease. The official palace statement about the illness’s progression said she may need a lung transplant in the future.