The Royal House of Norway has communicated that the Crown Princess Consort, Mette-Marit, has left the Oslo University Hospital this Tuesday, where she successfully underwent a lung transplant in June.
"During the next six months, the Crown Princess will undergo rehabilitation and will have exhaustive monitoring to detect possible complications such as rejection and infections," explained the head of the Department of Pulmonology at Oslo University Hospital, Are Holm, in a statement from the Royal House.
The medical team considers that, for now, the princess's clinical situation is "good," although during the recovery phase she is not expected to undertake official duties. "It usually takes approximately one year before the condition enters a more stable phase," Holm detailed.
Mette-Marit has expressed her gratitude to organ donors and to all the people who have accompanied her in this process, and has wanted to dedicate a few words to her "friends" with fibromyalgia, whom she has described as "exceptional" in one of the "most difficult" stages of her life.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has accompanied me on this long journey: my family, doctors, surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists, and other healthcare personnel, and all those who contribute invaluably to the Norwegian healthcare system every day," she added.
The Royal House has also pointed out that Crown Prince Haakon will reorganize his institutional agenda to be more present with his wife during these months. "While we know that a long road of recovery awaits us and that complications may arise, we are very satisfied to have come this far," stated the heir to the throne.
House arrest for Marius Borg Hoiby
The princess's departure from the hospital coincides with the Prosecutor's Office's decision not to appeal a judicial resolution that allows Marius Borg Hoiby, Mette-Marit's son, to serve four weeks of his sentence under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor, despite prosecutors having warned of a high risk of recidivism.
Hoiby — who will presumably be transferred to the Crown Prince and Princess's residence in Skaugum, Asker — was sentenced in mid-June to four years in prison after being found guilty of several sexual offenses and assault, including two rapes of women.
Mette-Marit's son's defense accepted the court's ruling, although they had requested conditional release alleging the delicate family situation derived from his mother's surgery. "Being on the sidelines is incredibly hard," the young man acknowledged during the proceedings, as reported by the television channel NRK.