Royal forced to cut official trip short after revealing wife is 'gravely ill'

The Norwegian Royal Family have been forced to make a last-minute change to an upcoming official visit as Crown Princess Mette-Marit's health worsens. Her husband, Crown Prince Haakon, is due to travel to Tokyo, Japan on Monday, but not for as long as was previously agreed.

Haakon will now be in the country from Monday, June 1, until Wednesday, June 3, while a planned visit on Thursday, June 4, is cancelled. A statement on the Royal Family's official website reads: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is shortening his official trip to Japan by one day due to the health situation of Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess.

"This means that the Crown Prince will maintain the entire official program in Tokyo from June 1-3, while the visit to the port city of Hachinohe on June 4 is cancelled." The update comes after he recently gave a worrying update on his wife's health, who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018 and is currently on the waiting list for a lung transplant.

Speaking to reporters this week, the Crown Prince said: "The Crown Princess is gravely ill, and I find that her condition has deteriorated significantly recently. So, I'm worried about her health. She uses oxygen daily, and that helps a bit, but it's obviously not an entirely satisfactory solution."

The Crown Princess has made several public appearances recently while wearing a breathing tube.

The Palace's update about Haakon's trip to Japan comes shortly after King Harald defended Crown Princess Mette-Marit over her past controversial friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The Crown Princess has vehemently denied knowing about his crimes and expressed regret at having been friends with the sex offender in an interview earlier this year.

As reported by Hello! Magazine, when the King was asked about whether he knew how friendly they were, Harald said: “No, I didn't know that, but we must remember that the Crown Princess has not done anything illegal. And she broke this connection.

“Unlike some others in Norway, she broke the connection very early. So, I think we should give her credit for that."

The King then spoke about how ill his daughter-in-law is and that she is awaiting a lung transplant. He said: "We've heard the doctors say that this is going to happen, but we thought and hoped that this would happen in a while, but not now. But now it's suddenly very relevant.

"She is seriously ill. There is no doubt about that, unfortunately."