2 min readThe Norwegian Royal Court shared a new family portrait on Wednesday to mark Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s 53rd birthday. The photo shows Mette-Marit alongside Crown Prince Haakon and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. It was taken earlier this year in April at the Royal Palace in Oslo during a reception for Norwegian athletes from the Paralympic Games. “Congratulations to Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who turns 53 today,” the caption read on Instagram.
Not pictured is Marius Borg Høiby, 29, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship before she joined the royal family. He is currently under house arrest after losing his latest legal appeal. Earlier this summer, an Oslo court sentenced Høiby to four years in prison, finding him guilty of two counts of rape, assaulting a former girlfriend, and a number of other offenses. His legal team later filed for appeal; Høiby has consistently denied the most serious charges, including the rape convictions, while admitting guilt on lesser offenses. His sentencing is not legally binding while his legal team continues to appeal.
The family portrait came one day after Mette-Marit made her first public appearance since undergoing a lung transplant in June. Yesterday, she and Prince Haakon were arriving at the National University Hospital in Oslo to visit her King Harald, who was admitted for treatment earlier this week.
The outing was particularly significant given the timeline of her recovery. Mette-Marit, who was diagnosed with chronic pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, had not been seen in public since mid-May, when she attended Norwegian Constitution Day celebrations while using an oxygen tank. She had also being using a respiratory device for the Olympics reception in April. The only other photograph shared of her between her discharge and Tuesday’s hospital visit came after Norway’s victory over Brazil at the World Cup, though she was still hospitalized at the time that image was taken. She is not expected to carry out any official royal engagements for at least six months as she continues to recover.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.