Queen Mette-Marit of Norway in hospital a few hours after her husband's swearing-in ceremony

Queen Mette-Marit of Norway spent several hours in the hospital on Tuesday, just hours after her husband, King Haakon VIII, was sworn in as king, an event she was unable to attend due to health reasons. Haakon himself took his wife to Oslo National Hospital in the late afternoon, just hours after being sworn in before Parliament, and then picked her up later that evening, according to photos published by Norwegian media.

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 news agency, Haakon VIII was later seen leaving the hospital, but she was not.

When contacted by AFP, the Royal Palace referred to a statement issued earlier in the day. That morning, it had announced that the Queen would ultimately not attend her husband's swearing-in ceremony before Parliament that same day 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 Dr. Are Holm in a statement.

Lung transplant

“She must therefore remain under observation throughout the day,” he added. Her presence had, however, been announced the previous day 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, and then during an appearance of the royal family on the forecourt of the palace to contemplate the flowers laid by thousands of strangers following the death of the king.

Having automatically become king on Friday upon the death of Harald, Haakon, also 53 years old, was sworn in before Parliament in the early afternoon, an institutional step symbolizing the framework of the monarch's powers by the Constitution.