Crown Prince Haakon celebrates birthday as Princess Mette‑Marit recovers from lung transplant

Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon turned 53 on 20 July 2026. The birthday was marked quietly after a year of intense personal and royal duties, including his attendance at a fire‑damaged area near Drammen where more than 100 homes were destroyed.

Princess Mette‑Marit, who underwent a lung transplant on 14 July 2026, was discharged from Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet and returned home to Skaugum. Haakon told reporters the princess’s condition is “as good as can be expected” but emphasized that the recovery will be a long road, with six‑to‑twelve months of supervised rehabilitation and close monitoring for possible organ rejection or infection.

The royal family also faced several scandals. Their eldest son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, was sentenced to four years in prison for sexual offences and is serving his term under house arrest with electronic monitoring while appealing the verdict. Additional revelations linked Princess Mette‑Marit to the late Jeffrey Epstein, adding public scrutiny to the monarchy.