Norway's New Queen Was Rushed To Hospital! Can She Really Take On Her New Role?

Norway has a new king, and with him, the country has a new queen. After the death of King Harald V, his son Haakon became king of Norway, while his wife, Metemarit, became Queen Metemarit. But on the most important day of her husband's reign, the day he took his oath before the Norwegian Parliament, she was nowhere to be seen. She'd been rushed to hospital shortly before the ceremony. Their 22-year-old daughter, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, stood in for her mother. So what happened to her? Is Metemarit's health really deteriorating? Can she actually handle the responsibilities that come with being queen? Why are so many people questioning whether she should be queen at all? And why did her son's appearance at King Harald's funeral generate so much controversy? Watch the full video to find out. Don't forget to like and subscribe. Let's get started. On August 28, King Harald V of Norway passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital. He was 89 years old. For more than three decades, he had sat on the Norwegian throne. And for millions of Norwegians, he was much more than a king. But for Metemarit, Harald's death was also deeply personal. He was not simply her father-in-law. Over the years, he had become something of a father figure to her. In fact, Harald was one of the few people inside the royal family who chose to stand by Metemarit when her relationship with Haakon was facing enormous opposition. When Haakon first fell in love with her, many people believed she was not suitable for the future king. She was a single mother. She had no royal background. And her past was very different from what the public expected from the woman who could one day become Norway's queen. But Harald did not try to stop his son. Instead, he encouraged Haakon to follow his heart and supported the relationship despite the criticism surrounding it. In some ways, Harald understood Haakon better than anyone. He had also once fought for years to marry the woman he loved, Sonja Haraldsson, a commoner who eventually became Queen Sonja. But Metemarit was very different from Sonja. She grew up in a challenging family environment. Her father, Svein Hoibjøy, was a journalist who had long struggled with severe alcoholism and was later convicted of criminal offenses. Her mother, Marit Gisum, was a former bank employee. As a young woman in the 1990s, Metemarit became part of Oslo's party scene, and she later admitted that she had experimented with drugs. She also became a mother before ever meeting the crown prince. Her son, Marius Borg Hoibjøy, was born from a previous relationship with a man who was later convicted of drug offenses. Metemarit and Haakon first crossed paths in Oslo in the late 1990s through mutual friends at a music festival. Their connection was instant, but their relationship quickly became the subject of intense public scrutiny. Many people questioned whether a royal prince should be involved with a woman who came from such a controversial background. Despite the criticism, their bond grew stronger, and in 2000 they publicly announced their engagement, shocking the entire nation. The people of Norway were not pleased. Even King Harald's older sister, Princess Ragnhild, publicly stated that she hoped she would not live to see Metemarit become queen. But Haakon did not change his mind, and neither did his father. Eventually, the couple married in August 2001 at Oslo Cathedral, in front of hundreds of guests. In the years that followed, Metemarit worked tirelessly to earn the trust and respect of the Norwegian people. She took on official duties, traveled abroad, supported humanitarian causes, and gradually became a beloved member of the Norwegian royal family. But that carefully rebuilt reputation would eventually face a new and much more serious challenge. In January 2026, private emails between Metemarit and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released by the U.S. Justice Department, revealing the extent of their contact between 2011 and 2014. The correspondence continued even after Epstein's conviction, making the revelations particularly damaging. In one email from October 2011, Metemarit told Epstein followed by a smiley face. The documents also revealed that she had spent four full days at Epstein's home in Florida while he was away. Metemarit later apologized to the royal family and admitted that she wished she had never met him. In an emotional interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK, she said that she had been But by then, the damage had already been done. And then, another scandal emerged. This time, it involved Metemarit's eldest son, Marius Borg-Hoyby. It began in 2024 when his name became linked to a serious criminal investigation. The case would eventually grow into one of the biggest scandals to hit the Norwegian royal family in modern times. Marius faced numerous charges, including allegations of rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. During the legal proceedings, he denied the rape allegations but admitted to several other offenses. In June 2026, he was convicted of two counts of rape, along with domestic violence and other offenses, and received a four-year prison sentence. He appealed the verdict and was later placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring while the appeal process continued. When he appeared publicly at King Harald's funeral, walking in the procession alongside the royal family, the reaction in Norway was explosive. Many Norwegians felt that it was deeply inappropriate for a convicted rapist to appear at a state funeral. Others defended him, arguing that this was a deeply personal family occasion and that Marius had been part of the family for years. But while Metemarit was dealing with the scandals surrounding her family, she was also fighting a battle of her own. Her health had been deteriorating for years. In 2018, Metemarit was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic and progressive lung disease for which there is no cure. The disease causes permanent scarring of lung tissue, making it harder and harder to breathe over time. For years, she managed the disease with medication and by limiting her public engagements. But by 2025, her condition had deteriorated significantly. And in June 2026, she underwent a lung transplant. The surgery was a major one. She was not expected to resume any formal duties for the rest of 2026. However, King Harald's death pushed the new queen into the spotlight. She held Queen Sonja's hand on August 31st as they walked alongside King Harald's coffin through the palace. And she also joined the crowds gathered outside, looking at the flowers, drawings, and other tributes to the late king. On September 1st, King Haakon VIII took his constitutional oath before the Norwegian parliament, formally marking the beginning of his reign. But Metemarit was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she was rushed to hospital after suffering complications following her lung transplant. Her absence immediately attracted attention because this was not an ordinary royal engagement. Their 22-year-old daughter, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, stood beside Haakon in her mother's place. And this immediately raised a difficult question. Can Metemarit really handle the responsibilities of being queen? Her role requires public appearances, official ceremonies, travel, and long hours of work. But after years of battling pulmonary fibrosis and undergoing a major lung transplant, her health may make those responsibilities increasingly difficult. And for some Norwegians, the question goes even further. They do not even want Metemarit as queen. A February 2026 poll found that 47.6% of Norwegians believed she should not become queen, while only 28.9% said she should. But if there is one thing Metemarit has proved, it is that she knows how to survive a crisis. 25 years ago, many people believed her past made her unfit to become queen. She proved them wrong. Now she faces perhaps the biggest challenge of her life. Can she do it again? Do you think Metemarit deserves to be Norway's queen? Share your thoughts in the comments. And that's it. If you enjoyed the video and want more like it, be sure to leave a thumbs up below in appreciation. And if you haven't already, you really want to subscribe. Subscribe to my channel and tick the bell icon so you get notified as I upload a new video every week. See you in the next video.