The royal houses of Norway and Sweden bundled up in the cold weather as they came together for a joint outing on Saturday, to watch the Nordic World Ski Championships.
The two families put on an animated display as they joined hundreds of spectators to observe the Women’s 50km mass start cross country race in Trondheim, Norway.
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden her husband Prince Daniel, as well as the couples’s two children- Princess Estelle, 13, and Prince Oscar, nine – joined Crown Prince of Norway Haakon Magnus and his wife Mette-Marit, both 51, in their home country.
The Swedish Princess, 47, was wrapped up warm against the cold day in a large blue coat with the branding of her country’s team.
She threw her brown hair up in to a messy bun and opted for minimal eye make-up and jewellery as she threw herself in to cheering for the athletes.
Throughout the race she appeared focused, furrowing her brows and commiserating alongside son Oscar, nine, who was also bundled up in a black coat with matching gloves and a beige bobble hat with an embroidered Swedish flag.
Young princess Estelle was also engrossed in the race and put on a very animated display, gasping and holding her face in shock as she watched the skiers race.
Dressed for the cold, she matched her mother in a blue coat and took some style inspiration from her younger brother, finishing off her outfit with a brown beanie hat.
The royal houses of Norway and Sweden came together for a joint outing on Saturday as they watched the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway.
Prince Daniel, 51, appeared to be taking the day of sport very seriously and he was transfixed by the race as he watched on with his family dressed in a black monochrome outfit.
Elsewhere, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway appeared to be enjoying himself as he stood huddled among the Scandinavian royals in a bright orange coat and a dark navy bobble hat – at times clutching a hot drink.
His wife Mette-Marit couldn’t hide her delight at the games and watched on with excitement, clutching her black coat with a pair of blue patterned mittens and occasionally running her hands through her platinum blonde hair which she left loose.
And it was an afternoon of success for Victoria and Daniel in particular, as Frida Karlsson triumphed in the cross, winning gold for Sweden with a time of 2:24:55.3, to earn the country’s sixth gold medal.
Mette-Marit’s enjoyable day out watching the skiing comes after it was announced the Crown Princess’s chronic disease had progressed.
The Norwegian Royal Court confirmed earlier this week that the royal is having daily symptoms due to her pulmonary fibrosis and requires ‘more rest’.
Pictured from lef to right: Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, her daughter Princess Estelle, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, her husband Crown Prince of Norway Haakon Magnus, Prince Daniel of Sweden and his son Prince Oscar
The royals wrapped up against the cold in thick coats and hats as they watched Swedish Frida Karlsson win gold in the 50km mass start cross country race with a time of 2:24:55.3
‘The Crown Princess needs more rest, and her daily routine changes more quickly than before,’ the palace said in a press release, adding: ‘This means that changes to her official schedule may occur more frequently and at shorter notice than we are used to.’
The court warned late last year that Mette-Marit’s pulmonary fibrosis may interfere with her planned duties.
The most recent statement read: ‘Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s chronic disease pulmonary fibrosis has progressed.
‘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 organise her official programme in the future in the best possible way so that her health and work can be combined.’
Mette-Marit’s health condition was first made public in 2018, when it was revealed she had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis or the thickening of lung tissue.
At the time, Mette-Marit issued a statement explaining that the condition ‘means my working capacity will vary’ to accommodate her treatment including ‘periods of time without an official programme’.
Mette-Marit’s enjoyable day out watching the skiing comes after it was announced the Crown Princess’s chronic disease had progressed (seen in January, 2024)
‘For a number of years, I have had health challenges on a regular basis, and now we know more about what is involved,’ the mother-of-three said. ‘The condition means that my working capacity will vary.
‘The Crown Prince and I are choosing to make this public now partly because in future there will be a need to plan periods of time without an official programme to accommodate treatment and when the disease is more active.’
Pulmonary fibrosis is incurable and worsens over time, but the Norwegian royal’s doctor, Professor Kristian Bjøro at the National Hospital, said they’d been monitoring her condition for several years and the ‘disease progression has been slow over this period’.
Not much is known about the unusual variant of fibrosis that was detected in Mette-Marit’s lung but, according to the Royal House, ‘there is broad consensus that, unlike other more common types of pulmonary fibrosis, it is not related to environmental or lifestyle factors’.
The fact that the disease was detected at an early stage improves Mette-Marit’s prognosis, as per the Palace’s official statement.
‘Even if such a diagnosis will limit my life at times, I am glad that the disease has been discovered so early. My goal is still to work and participate in the official programme as much as possible,’ the mother-of-three said.
According to the NHS, the symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis include shortness of breath, loss of appetite and weight loss, extreme tiredness, a persistent dry cough, and swollen fingertips.
