The future Queen of Norway postpones her studies and rushes home from Australia while her mother suffers from a worsening illness.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 22, is returning to Norway from the University of Sydney to be alongside Crown Princess Mette-Marit, whose chronic lung disease has recently worsened, according to the British Daily Mail. Norwegian Radio NRK.
“Ingrid Alexandra is planning to return home soon. It is a family situation. She wants to be with her mother,” Crown Prince Haakon said during an official visit to Japan.
The princess is in the middle of her three-year studies in international relations and political economy. While she is expected to eventually return to Australia, Haakon said it was unclear how long she would remain at home.
The decision comes as Mette-Marit, 52, continues her battle with chronic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease she was diagnosed with in 2018.
Last week, Haakon revealed the seriousness of her condition.
He said: “The Crown Princess is very ill, and I think her condition has become a little worse recently.” NRC. “So I’m worried about her health.”
He added, “I think these six months have passed well. But there are different stages. So we just have to try to solve the problem as best we can.”
The Norwegian Royal Palace announced in March that Mette-Marit’s health had “deteriorated.” Just days ago, Officials also cut off Hakone’s trip to Japan due to her “health condition”.
Mette-Marit has recently been seen at public events wearing a nasal cannula, an oxygen tube that helps her breathe.
When asked if she might eventually need a lung transplant, Haakon said: “It’s a medical issue. So they’re the ones who decide when it should happen, when it’s appropriate. But I think her condition has become a lot worse recently, unfortunately.”
Princess Ingrid Alexandra, eldest daughter of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, is the future Queen of Norway. She is second in line to the throne behind her father, and is expected to become king of the country one day.
The health crisis has struck multiple generations of the royal family.
Haakon’s mother, Queen Sonja, 88, was hospitalized with atrial fibrillation and heart failure on May 27.
The palace said she would take a week off from her royal duties to rest and adjust her medications. I got a pacemaker in January 2025.
King Harald, 89, has also faced a series of health setbacks in recent years, including leg surgery, multiple Covid-19 infections, and pacemaker surgery in 2024.
In February, he was hospitalized in Tenerife with an infection and dehydration while on holiday.
The family’s latest troubles come just days after a Sydney court issued a two-year restraining order against a man accused of stalking Princess Ingrid Alexandra.
David James Cook, 63, has been banned from contacting the princess or any member of the Norwegian royal family after he sent a message to her residence at St Andrew’s College. 9 News reported.
Security intercepted the correspondence before it reached it.
“I sent her a card just asking for friendship, that’s all,” Cook told reporters outside court. “I did not intentionally upset her in any way and I wouldn’t. She’s a nice person. I bumped into her on one occasion and she followed up with the card.”
Hours later, Cook was charged with assaulting a photographer.
Police said the photographer suffered minor injuries. Cook was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on July 17.