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Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway was absent from this year's annual Stortingsmiddag. The royal missed the traditional parliamentary dinner, hosted by her father-in-law King Harald V and mother-in-law Queen Sonja, at the palace on Oct. 24.
The day before the dinner, the Norwegian Royal House announced that Mette-Marit is on sick leave for at least a week "due to side effects of the medicines the Crown Princess must take for her chronic lung disease." Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Crown Princess, 51, had restarted treatment for her chronic lung disease.
While Mette-Marit was not at the dinner on Thursday, her husband Crown Prince Haakon was in attendance, as was the King's sister Princess Astrid. In a speech at the dinner, King Harald mentioned his daughter-in-law, and praised his son for delivering last year's speech while he was on sick leave.
"I also didn't say much during the last parliamentary dinner. You may remember that last year's speech was given by the substitute. I myself followed the corona patient on the screen, and I thought he did really well," His Majesty said (translated to English). "It's good to know that someone can step in when needed. I would like to praise the Crown Prince for the great work he has put in over the past year - also on my behalf. A warm thank you also goes to the Crown Princess, despite her illness, for her important efforts at home and abroad. And of course the Queen never ceases to impress, especially in the field of art and culture. She doesn't need a substitute at all, but manages just fine on her own. I would probably make a bad impression if I had to step into her hunting grounds. I stick to moose hunting."
The King also spoke about the royal family supporting each other through the highs and lows. King Harald said, "The royal family is a team that works well together. And then we are a family - with the joys and challenges that we all know can come with it. In both good and difficult times, we try to stand together and support each other."
He continued, "We are grateful for all the warmth and consideration that has been shown to us throughout this special and demanding year - right from when I had to be flown home in February on sick leave. Sometimes life is simply very difficult. It's something everyone can experience - including our family. When people we are happy with are not well, it hurts those around them. We try our best to take care of each other. Tonight we send an extra warm thought to everyone who is in pain."