Norway's crown princess appears with oxygen tube

Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit has appeared at an official engagement wearing an oxygen tube for the first time. Photos from the NTB news agency on Friday showed Mette-Marit wearing a tube known as a nasal cannula, supplying her with oxygen. The occasion for her appearance was a reception for the Norwegian participants in the Paralympic Games. Crown Prince Haakon and the couple's children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, also attended the event at the Royal Palace in Oslo. Mette-Marit suffers from the incurable condition pulmonary fibrosis. This causes scarring of the lung tissue, which can lead to shortness of breath amongst other symptoms. The crown princess' health has recently deteriorated, limiting her public appearance. In December, the Royal Court announced that Mette-Marit would need a lung transplant sooner or later. She has recently faced fierce criticism in her home country over her friendship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019. In addition, her son from a previous relationship - Marius Borg Høiby - had to stand trial earlier this year on rape charges.