Queen Mette-Marit of Norway reveals she's found solace in weaving after her son's rape conviction and stepping back from her royal duties due to ongoing health battles

Queen Mette-Marit of Norway has candidly revealed how she has found solace in weaving following her son's rape conviction and ongoing health battles.

Taking to Instagram, the Norwegian Royal House shared a rare portrait of the 53-year-old Queen taken by Tom Gustaven for Norsk Husflid in 2024, along with a heartfelt statement written by the royal. 

Speaking on the Threads of Time - From Royal Steppes to Royal Carpet exhibition held at the Dronning Sonja JunstStall museum in Oslo, Mette-Marit said: ‘When I sit down at the loom, everything calms down.

‘Time slows down, and it's impossible to rush. Weaving takes time, but it offers us something precious in return: time and space. A place to recharge.

‘Weaving also represents our collective time, the history of our nation. We have been weaving for thousands of years on this land and have used textiles for everything from everyday objects to art.’

The exhibition, which officially reopened to the public on October 15, features a number of artworks from royal collections that span the period between 1899 and 1955. 

In 2024, Mette-Marit revealed to Norsk Husflid that she first began weaving shortly before the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and has even gifted one of her tapestries to her mother-in-law, Queen Sonja of Norway. 

Her new candid statement about the art comes after the Norwegian Queen stepped back from royal duties earlier this year following a lung transplant - with no official plans to return until next summer. 

The royal, who has previously come under scrutiny for her ties to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, also missed her husband's swearing-in ceremony in September after suffering 'complications' from the transplant. 

Mette-Marit, whose son from a previous relationship was found guilty of rape and domestic abuse earlier this year, was also unable to attend her late father-in-law's church memorial service. 

The new queen has suffered for several years from chronic pulmonary fibrosis and has not been seen publicly since the funeral of Princess Astrid of Norway on September 23. 

Mette-Marit's condition has deteriorated significantly over the past six months, and she was placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant earlier this summer.

Doctors said the procedure was a last resort when a patient is believed to have less than two years to live without new lungs.

After the surgery, the Royal House of Norway confirmed the transplant had been successful and that 'everything has progressed well so far'.

In July, she suspended her official duties, and Norway's royal court said 'there will be a longer period of rehabilitation and training' during which 'there will initially be no updates'.

It comes after a challenging few months for the Norwegian Royal Family. 

Mette-Marit faced intense scrutiny following the release of the Epstein Files, which revealed she stayed at paedophile Epstein's Palm Beach residence in 2013 – after he was convicted of soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.

The new queen claimed this year she had been misled by Epstein as she sought to contain the fallout.

Alongside her associations with the paedophile, Mette-Marit's son Marius Borg Hoiby is currently under house arrest pending his appeal against a four-year sentence for two rape convictions.

In June, an Oslo court found him guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend, Nora Haukland, issuing threats and committing traffic offences, although he was acquitted of two other rape charges.

The 29-year-old had been charged with sexually assaulting four women who were asleep or otherwise unable to resist between 2018 and 2024.

The conviction marked a fall for Hoiby, who grew up in the public eye after his mother married then Crown Prince Haakon in 2001 when he was just four years old. 

Although he does not hold a royal title or carry out official duties, he has long been closely associated with the Norwegian royal family.

Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad handed down the sentence after hearing evidence linked to 40 charges, including four alleged rapes, assaults, breaches of restraining orders, drug offences and driving violations. One charge relating to a restraining-order violation was overturned.

The court heard how Hoiby's drug addiction spiralled in recent years, while investigators presented more than 800 messages and a series of self-made videos of sexual encounters as evidence during the trial.

One alleged rape took place in the basement of the family home, the court was told.

Høiby, who denied the most serious allegations, including rape, while admitting to some lesser offences, was not physically present in court for the verdict and instead joined proceedings via video link.

Haakon and Mette-Marit were pictured visiting Høiby in custody ahead of the sentencing in June, but they did not attend the high-profile trial that rocked the country.

On August 31, Høiby joined members of the royal family to carry his step-grandfather's coffin from the Royal Palace to the palace chapel, prompting backlash from royal supporters. 

He was one of eight lifting the coffin, along with the new King Haakon and his children Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus as well as Princess Martha Louise and her three daughters Maud, Leah and Emma Behn.

However, at King Harald V's funeral in September, Høiby, dubbed the 'black sheep' of the Royal Family was sat in the row behind his loved ones, with his step-aunt Princess Martha Louise and her daughters.

He also appeared to be shunned by his step-grandmother Queen Sonja. In a video shared online on X, Harald's widow, 89, hugged each one of Martha Louise's daughters, who Høiby arrived alongside.

But when the moment came for her step-grandson to come forward for an affectionate greeting, the Queen started a conversation with the Bishop of Oslo Sunniva Gylver, perhaps hoping to avoid hugging the rapist.