Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway feels 'ashamed' for being sick

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway recently opened up about dealing with a chronic illness while being in the spotlight as a senior royal, and revealed that she felt "ashamed" of being sick.

The Norwegian royal appeared in a podcast for the national TV-channel NRK, the first solo event that she participated in, in almost a year. In the programme which was aired on Saturday, she discussed the difficulties she faced in her initial days as a royal, reports Royal Central.

At the time of her engagement to Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, Mette-Marit was a single mother to a son she shared with a convicted felon. She had a troubled past, and not a good education record as she took six years just to finish high school. The public and media reaction to the engagement was often negative towards her.

The Crown Princess recalls about the time: "There are some periods in life, perhaps especially the first phase of me and Haakon, which I still cannot think of without having to throw up. Because it was so hard."

"There are a number of TV programs that have been shown recently about the royal family, where there is a feature with me and Haakon at the very beginning, and I cannot watch it," she added.

Denying that people were particularly mean to her, the mother-of-three said that they "just wanted to have something to talk about." She added: "I have actually promised myself that after that period, I will never feel ashamed again. There is nothing that will make me feel that I am not good enough in one way or another."

In October 2018, the royal was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, which caused her to cancel several of her royal engagements. Even without the chronic illness, the 47-year-old has dealt with health challenges on a regular basis such as pneumonia, several instances of norovirus, low blood pressure, along with some falls, concussions, a neck injury, and a herniated disc. Most recently, she broke her tailbone just before Christmas during a ski accident.

Skipping royal duties because of her health put additional pressure on the princess, who said that her reduced work capacity has at times been perceived as something to be ashamed of. "I think I am a little too ashamed that I am sick. Or, I know I am pretty much ashamed of it," she admitted.

Mette-Marit joined the Norwegian royal family after her marriage to Prince Haakon on August 25, 2001, and acquired the title, Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Norway. After Haakon succeeds to the throne that is currently held by his father King Harald V, Mette-Marit will automatically become the Queen Consort of Norway.