Crown Princess Mette-Marit marked her 53rd birthday on Wednesday, with the Norwegian Royal House releasing a new family portrait on Instagram to celebrate the occasion.
The image shows her posing with Crown Prince Haakon and their two children, 22-year-old Princess Ingrid Alexandra and 20-year-old Prince Sverre Magnus, and was captured earlier this year.
The accompanying caption read: “Congratulations to Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who turns 53 today!”
Still recuperating from the lung transplant she underwent in June, the Crown Princess appeared in a navy blazer paired with an elegant golden silk skirt in the photograph.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit marked her 53rd birthday on Wednesday, with the Norwegian Royal House releasing a new family portrait on Instagram to celebrate the occasion.
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The Royal Court of Norway
Her birthday comes during a difficult period for the Norwegian royals, with King Harald, 89, currently receiving treatment at Oslo National Hospital after being admitted on Monday.
Europe’s oldest reigning monarch has been diagnosed with hemolytic anaemia, a rare blood disorder that reduces the body’s red blood cell count.
The palace confirmed that the King had “been treated with cortisone for the blood disease hemolytic anaemia in recent weeks. This has led to fluid accumulation in the body that requires treatment in hospital”.
Harald has been granted two weeks of sick leave, with Crown Prince Haakon stepping in as regent during his father’s absence.
Her birthday comes during a difficult period for the Norwegian royals, with King Harald, 89, currently receiving treatment at Oslo National Hospital after being admitted on Monday.
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GETTY
Princess Astrid, the King’s elder sister, and Maud Angelica Behn, Princess Martha Louise’s daughter, were among those seen arriving at the hospital.
Mette-Marit herself made one of her few public appearances since her transplant surgery when she and Haakon visited the King on Tuesday.
The Crown Princess was photographed wearing sunglasses as the couple drove to the hospital, with Haakon behind the wheel.
It was among the rarest of outings for the 53-year-old, who has largely remained out of the public eye whilst recovering from her operation.
Mette-Marit herself made one of her few public appearances since her transplant surgery when she and Haakon visited the King on Tuesday.
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GETTY
Before the transplant, she had been pictured using an oxygen tube as her condition deteriorated.
The visit showed the close bond she has maintained with her parents-in-law, King Harald and Queen Sonja, since marrying into the Royal Family in 2001.
The year Mette-Marit’s pulmonary fibrosis worsened significantly, ultimately necessitating her June transplant.
Following the procedure, Are Holm, Head of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, said: “The Crown Princess’s condition is as good as can be expected under the circumstances.”