Why Crown Prince Haakon is cutting his japan trip short?

Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon is cutting his upcoming official trip to Japan short to return home to his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, whose health has recently worsened. The Royal House of Norway confirmed the schedule change on Friday, citing the Crown Princess’s ongoing battle with a chronic, incurable lung condition.

While Crown Prince Haakon will still fulfill his major official engagements in Tokyo from June 1 to June 3, his planned visit to the port city of Hachinohe on June 4 has been officially canceled.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s Health Battle

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 52, was diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of chronic pulmonary fibrosis. The progressive illness causes severe respiratory difficulties and scarring of the lungs, regularly forcing the royal to scale back her public duties and take sudden medical leave over the years.

Earlier this week, Crown Prince Haakon expressed deep concern over his wife’s health, revealing that her condition is currently “serious and worsening.”

“I think it’s very sad,” King Harald V of Norway remarked on the situation. “The doctors said it would happen. But we believed and hoped it would happen later, not now.”

The Crown Princess was last seen publicly on May 17 during Norway’s National Day celebrations, where she required supplemental oxygen and a nasal cannula to navigate the festivities.

Medical Next Steps: Lung Transplant Preparations

The palace previously disclosed in late 2025 that preparations are underway for Crown Princess Mette-Marit to potentially undergo a lung transplant. Her lead pulmonologist, Professor Are Martin Holm, confirmed that while the procedure is a necessary medical step due to the progressive nature of pulmonary fibrosis, the exact timing remains uncertain.

“It is up to the doctors. It is a medical matter,” Crown Prince Haakon stated regarding the timeline for the transplant.

Impact on the Norwegian Royal Family

The sudden schedule adjustment highlights a challenging year for the Norwegian Monarchy. The trip to Japan, meant to strengthen maritime and economic ties between the two nations, was the Crown’s most significant international royal engagement of the year.

With both King Harald and Queen Sonja managing their own recent health complications—preventing them from undertaking long-distance travel—the burden of royal representation has increasingly fallen on Prince Haakon, who must now balance his growing state duties with supporting his gravely ill wife.