Queen Mette-Marit of Norway breaks her silence after retreating from public life amid severe health battle

Queen Mette-Marit of Norway has had a turbulent time during the first months of her husband King Haakon’s reign. The 53-year-old is continuing to recover from her lung transplant surgery in the summer, a major medical intervention in the treatment of her pulmonary fibrosis, and has therefore been unable to join her family for a number of major royal milestones. On Friday, however, the new Queen broke her silence in a rare public statement, which saw Her Majesty open up about her artistic passion ahead of a new exhibition at the Palace.

The Norwegian Royal House posted a photograph of Queen Mette-Marit sitting at her loom, posing for a portrait taken by Tom Gustavsen for Norsk Husflid back in 2024. Alongside the image, the Palace released a statement from the royal about how excited she was to share her love of weaving at the Threads of Time – From Royal Steppes to Royal Carpet exhibition at the Dronning Sonja KunstStall museum.

‘When I sit down at the loom, everything calms down,’ the Queen wrote in the statement. ‘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.’

She added: ‘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.’

One of the tapestries in the exhibition, which features artworks from the royal collections between 1899 and 1955, is a tapestry with an especially personal connection to the Queen. ‘The tapestry hangs in the Queen’s drawing room at Kongsseteren,’ the Palace explained: ‘It is one of the enigmas of this exhibition because neither the artist nor the weaver has been identified. You will be able to see it in an installation that recreates the Queen's drawing room.’

This is not the first time that Queen Mette-Marit has spoken out about her love of weaving. In 2024, she told Norsk Husflid that she took up an interest in the art just before the pandemic hit in 2020. She described the discovery as a ‘revelation’ and has gifted one of her tapestries to her mother-in-law, Queen Sonja, who has displayed it in the dining room of her summer residence in Mågerø.

Weaving is no mean feat, as the Queen, then the Crown Princess, revealed to the outlet. She had to co-opt the ‘biggest car in the Palace’ to make the seven-hour drive to Sweden in order to pick up a three-metre-wide loom. ‘I have to convince Haakon where we’re going to put it,’ she joked.

No doubt Queen Mette-Marit is finding solace in her artwork as she continues to face health battles, family bereavement, and increased scrutiny of her own personal life. While recovering from her lung transplant, which has seen her pull back from royal duties till at least next summer, she has attended the funeral of her father-in-law, King Harald, and her aunt, Princess Astrid. The accession of King Haakon will also have been a stressful period for Mette-Marit, who has been unable to join her husband at a number of major royal engagements during the handover of the throne.

Mette-Marit has also been making headlines for her communications with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and for her son, Marius Borg Høiby, who was found guilty of two counts of rape in June. Before the death of King Harald, her approval ratings plummeted, with many commentators wondering whether or not the people would accept her as Queen. While the main furore seems to have died down, there is still plenty of scrutiny on Norway’s new Queen.