On August 25, 2026, Oslo Cathedral lived in silence. Twenty-five years to the day after their union, Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit of Norway celebrated their silver wedding anniversary without public pomp, forced by the health problems affecting the royal household.
Oslo, August 25, 2026, 9 a.m. The official Instagram account of the royal family publishes a never-before-seen portrait of the couple. We see the prince, 52 years old, smiling, posing alongside a visibly emaciated Mette-Marit. The caption, sober: “25 years of love, family and life together. »
The Crown Princess, 52, has been recovering for months from chronic lung disease diagnosed in 2018. Her schedule has been drastically reduced. The celebration, private, was limited to a lunch in a select committee at the residence of Skaugum, around thirty kilometers from the Norwegian capital.
King Harald V, 89, still occupies a room at the Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo. Hospitalized for several weeks for a persistent infection, the monarch is following his treatment remotely, according to the palace press release. His wife, Queen Sonja, 89, has given up on any official trips this week.
On August 26, 2026, Haakon appeared alone on the balcony of the royal palace in Oslo. The heir to the throne attended the traditional demonstration of the Royal Guard, smiling despite the notable absence of his family. Photographers captured a prince in a dark suit, his hand on the stone ledge, greeting the crowd.
Marius Borg Høiby, 29, Mette-Marit's eldest son from a previous relationship, is also missing. Implicated in several ongoing legal proceedings, the young man remains away from the court. His presence has, at this stage, never been mentioned for family celebrations.
The Norwegian royal house released several intimate videos showing the couple dancing at a gala ball in 2001, then an extract from their honeymoon in New York. Sequences intended to humanize a monarchy weakened by scandals and illness.
The court of Norway is facing one of the most delicate sequences in its recent history. The sovereign hospitalized, the heiress suffering, the eldest son under the influence of justice: the transmission of the throne, planned for the longer term, is now anticipated in a climate of permanent uncertainty.
On September 17, 2026, the heir couple is scheduled to make a state visit to Finland. First major diplomatic test for Haakon, the only representative of the dynasty able to maintain an international agenda.
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