THEhe Norwegian National Day is generally a time of joy and togetherness. This year, however, it has become the stage of the Royal House’s deepest crisis. The crown princess is in the spotlight Mette-Marit of Norway, 52 years oldappeared visibly debilitated and exhausted. The country found itself faced with an image that combines the painful physical fragility of the future queen consort with one unprecedented judicial scandal which is causing the consensus of the monarchy to collapse.
Mette-Marit of Norway, oxygen and cough
For the princess, affected by chronic pulmonary fibrosis since 2018, the day was a true test of endurance. In front of the citizens, Mette-Marit had to use a nasal cannula connected to a portable respirator for oxygen, placed on the balcony of the Royal Palace by his son Sverre Magnus. Between constant coughing attacks and moments of severe breathlessness, the staff had to prepare a chair for her to rest, until the princess was forced to withdraw early due to too much tiredness, leaving her husband Haakon to complete the institutional greetings.
Mette-Marit of Norway during a coughing fit on the balcony of the Royal Palace in Oslo. (Photo by DPPA/Sipa USA)
Farewell to the traditional costume for the National Day
To testify to the gravity of the situation there was also a glaring exception to protocol and tradition. On the strict advice of doctors, Mette-Marit had to give up bunad, the typical and heavy traditional costume which the royal family historically wears every year. Instead, he opted for a sober beige coat and ballet flats on her feet: a choice dictated by the need not to tire a body already worn out by therapies, just as the local media reveal that the medical team is preparing her for a possible lung transplant.
Mette-Marit of Norway, the anguish for her son Marius Borg
However, the princess’s physical weakness is the mirror of enormous emotional wear and tear. Just twenty-four hours before the celebrations, Mette-Marit of Norway was went to prison to visit her eldest sonthe twenty-eight year old Marius Borg Hoibyborn from a previous relationship. The boy is in custody, investigated for over thirty charges which include four charges of rape, serious physical and psychological violence against some former partners. A very serious legal case that is outraged by Norwegian public opinion.
Crown Princess forced to sit on chair during National Day. (Photo by DPPA/Sipa USA)
The shadows on the Norwegian Royal House
To complete the picture of this very dark moment there are the renewed controversy over the princess’s past contacts with Jeffrey Epsteinwhich continue to raise strong doubts among citizens about its future institutional role. Despite the formal smiles and protective closeness of Prince Haakon, the image of the royal family emerges from this day deeply damaged. Norway today finds itself at a crossroads, divided between human fragility of a sick mother and the request for transparency from his subjects.
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