Crown Princess Mette-Marit forced to cancel overseas visit as she's placed on sick leave

Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been forced to cancel a trip to Germany due to her chronic lung condition.

The Norwegian royal, 51, was due to attend the International Book Fair in Leipzig on Thursday.

However, a statement shared by the Norwegian royal court on Monday said that the cancellation was "due to the Crown Princess' chronic illness, pulmonary fibrosis" and that Mette-Marit has been placed on sick leave for two weeks.

It comes just weeks after the palace shared an update about the Crown Princess' health, confirming that her illness has progressed.

It read: "The Crown Princess has daily symptoms and ailments that affect her ability to perform her duties. The Crown Princess needs more rest, and her daily routine changes more quickly than before. This means that changes to her official schedule may occur more frequently, and at shorter notice than we are used to.

"The Crown Princess has a strong desire to continue working, and therefore we will organize her official program in the future in the best possible way so that her health and work can be combined."

Mette-Marit confirmed that she had been diagnosed with the condition in 2018, and since then she has had to restrict the number of public duties she carries out.

The royal was last seen publicly on 19 March as she and her husband, Crown Prince Haakon, 51, watched a rehearsal by the Asker school band on its 100^th anniversary at the Solvang Secondary School in Asker, Norway.

© Fadum/dana press/Shutterstock

In a video shared by the Norwegian royal family's Instagram account, Mette-Marit was seen clapping and cheering as Haakon tried his hand at conducting the band.

Royal marriage

The couple married on 25 August 2001 at Oslo Cathedral. Mette-Marit was a single mother to her eldest son, Marius Boig Hoiby, when she began dating Haakon.

© Getty

After their marriage, Haakon and Mette-Marit welcomed their daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, in January 2004, followed by their son, Prince Sverre Magnus, in December 2005.

Crown Prince Haakon is his father King Harald V's heir, with Princess Ingrid Alexandra second-in-line to the throne.

King Harald V, 88, marked the 34^th year of his reign in January.