Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway takes sick leave

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway is on sick leave due to medicinal side effects associated with her chronic lung disease, it has been revealed.

The Norwegian Royal Court confirmed to Femail that 51-year-old Mette-Marit is taking some time out, saying: 'H.K.H. The Crown Princess is on sick leave.

'Due to side effects of the medication that Her Royal Highness is using for her chronic lung disease, she is on sick leave, initially for a week. Her official program during this period will be cancelled or postponed.'

Earlier this month, the court warned that Mette-Marit's current course of treatment for pulmonary fibrosis may interfere with her planned duties over the coming weeks.

It comes amid a difficult time for the Norwegian royal family as the Crown Princess's son Marius Borg Høiby, 27, faces assault charges against several former partners following his arrest in August.

The Crown Princess' health condition was first made public in 2018, when it was revealed Mette-Marit had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis or the thickening of lung tissue.

At the time, Mette-Marit issued a statement explaining that the condition 'means my working capacity will vary' to accommodate her treatment including 'periods of time without an official programme'.

'For a number of years, I have had health challenges on a regular basis, and now we know more about what is involved,' the mother-of-three said. 'The condition means that my working capacity will vary.

'The Crown Prince and I are choosing to make this public now partly because in future there will be a need to plan periods of time without an official programme to accommodate treatment and when the disease is more active.'

Pulmonary fibrosis is incurable and worsens over time, but the Norwegian royal's doctor, Professor Kristian Bjøro at the National Hospital, said they'd been monitoring her condition for several years and the 'disease progression has been slow over this period'.

Not much is known about the unusual variant of fibrosis that was detected in Mette-Marit's lung but, according to the Royal House, 'there is broad consensus that, unlike other more common types of pulmonary fibrosis, it is not related to environmental or lifestyle factors'.

The fact that the disease was detected at an early stage improves Mette-Marit's prognosis, as per the Palace's official statement.

'Even if such a diagnosis will limit my life at times, I am 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,' the mother-of-three said.

According to the NHS, the symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis include shortness of breath, loss of appetite and weight loss, extreme tiredness, a persistent dry cough, and swollen fingertips.

Days after the palace announced that Mette-Marit had resumed her treatment for pulmonary fibrosis, hinting it might impact her schedule, Mette-Marit visited the Nic Waals Institute in Oslo with her husband, the Crown Prince Haakon.

WHAT IS PULMONARY FIBROSIS?

Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred and breathing becomes increasingly difficult.

It's not clear what causes it, but it usually affects people around 70-75 years of age and is rare in people under 50.

Several treatments can help reduce the rate at which IPF gets worse, but there's currently no treatment that can stop or reverse the scarring of the lungs.

The symptoms of IPF tend to develop gradually and get slowly worse over time.

Symptoms can include:

• Shortness of breath
• A persistent dry cough
• Tiredness
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Rounded and swollen fingertips also called clubbed fingers 

There is no cure and it's very difficult to predict how long someone with IPF will survive at the time of diagnosis.

Regular monitoring over time can indicate whether it's getting worse quickly or slowly.

Source: NHS Choices

On Tuesday, October 15, she also joined King Harald, Queen Sonja, Princess Astrid, and Haakon in welcoming Finland's President and First Lady, Alexander Stubb and Suzanne Innes-Stubb, to Norway for a state visit.

After the welcoming ceremony, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess accompanied the Presidential couple for a wreath-laying ceremony at the Akershus Fortress in Oslo.

Mette-Marit married Haakon, the heir to the Norwegian throne, in 2001. They share two children, Princess Ingrid Alexanda, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18.

Mette-Marit's eldest son Marius Borg Høiby, is from a previous relationship. Since she married into the royal family, Marius has been dubbed the 'black sheep' of the institution.

Her health woes will no doubt be another headache for the mother-of-three as they grapple with the sensational fallout of Marius's arrest on August 4. He later admitted to assaulting his  'girlfriend' in a booze and drug-fuelled attack that left her in hospital.

He was taken into custody and held overnight in a prison cell under preliminary charges of causing bodily harm and criminal damage. He faces up to a year in prison if convicted. 

After his arrest, Høiby apologised for attacking Rebecca Helberg Arntsen, whom he referred to as his 'girlfriend' (her lawyers have refuted this claim) while intoxicated with 'alcohol and cocaine'. 

In a statement issued via his lawyer, Høiby said he 'suffers from severe mental disorders' and has 'struggled with substance abuse for a long time'. 

The statement read: 'I have several mental disorders which mean that throughout my upbringing and adult life, I have had, and still have, challenges. I have struggled with substance abuse for a long time, something I have been in treatment for in the past.

'The drug use and my diagnoses do not excuse what happened in the apartment at Frogner on the night of Sunday last weekend. I want to be responsible for what I have done, and will explain myself truthfully to the police.' 

In the wake of the scandal, the Norwegian Palace confirmed Høiby would not attend the wedding of Princess Martha Louise to self-proclaimed shaman Durek Verett in Geiranger Fjord on August 31.

The Crown Prince's embattled stepson was also reportedly uninvited from the high-profile wedding of Norwegian businessman Øystein Stray Spetalen's son, after guests feared his presence would draw unwanted media attention.  

Former motorcycle mechanic Høiby was taken into custody for a second time after he allegedly violated a restraining order granted to Rebecca and contacted her in the wake of the assault. 

Høiby has denied the allegation. 

Norwegian tabloid VG has since published what it claimed were clips from two phone calls between the 27-year-old and his victim after the violent episode and vandalism in an apartment in Oslo on the night of August 4.

During the conversation, former motorcycle mechanic Borg Høiby reportedly defended his assault as a 'little pat on the back...hit you with a flat hand'.

But the woman allegedly replies that he hit her a hundred times and strangled her at least five times until she struggled to breathe, according to the Norwegian report after it was translated into English.

Borg Høiby also reportedly threatened to burn the victim's belongings in a bin if she didn't collect them from Skaugum Castle, his family's official residence, by a certain time.

In the wake of his arrest in August, the charges against Høiby have expanded to include three other victims, including two of his exes.