Norway’s King Haakon VIII took his wife Mette-Marit to hospital on Tuesday, just hours after her swearing-in, which the queen was unable to attend for health reasons.
Photos taken by Norwegian media show the 53-year-old queen, still recovering from a lung transplant, getting out of a car driven by the king himself at Oslo National Hospital. According to the NTB agency, Haakon VIII was then seen leaving the hospital, but not her.
Questioned by AFP, the Royal Palace referred to a press release sent earlier in the day. In the morning, he announced that the queen would ultimately not attend her husband’s swearing-in the same day in front of Parliament due to “complications”.
Suffering from an incurable lung disease, Mette-Marit underwent a lung transplant on June 17.
“It is not uncommon for complications to occur after a lung transplant. The queen has experienced complications on several occasions since the operation, including today,” said doctor Are Holm in this press release.
“She must therefore remain under observation throughout the day,” he added.
His presence had, however, been announced the day before by the Palace.
On Monday, she was seen during the transport of the coffin of King Harald V – father of Haakon – who died on Friday at the age of 89, then during an appearance by the royal family on the square in front of the palace to contemplate the flowers laid by thousands of strangers following the death of the king.
Becoming king automatically on Friday upon the death of Harald, Haakon, also 53 years old, took the oath before Parliament at the beginning of the afternoon, an institutional step symbolizing the supervision of the monarch’s powers by the Constitution.
