BSS/AFP) - The daughter of Norway`s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has cut short her studies in Australia and returned to Oslo on

Wednesday to be at the bedside of her seriously ill mother.

Mette-Marit, 52, was diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis, which causes breathing difficulties and has forced her to scale
back her official duties.

Her daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, has been studying social sciences at the University of Sydney since last year.

Mette-Marit`s husband, Crown Prince Haakon, has also cut short a trip to Japan to return home.

"We are a family for whom everyone matters, so we draw strength from coming together and being with one another," Haakon told reporters in Tokyo.

"As I said last time, the crown princess`s health condition is serious."

The royal palace announced in December last year that Mette-Marit might soon be forced to undergo a high-risk transplant.

During her recent public appearances, the princess was using respiratory support equipment -- nasal cannulas connected to an oxygen device.

Mette-Marit has had a difficult few months other than her health problems.

In January, documents were published in the United States revealing her sustained and at times intimate correspondence with the convicted sex
offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014.

She has also had to deal with the legal troubles of her son from her first marriage, Marius Borg Hoiby, who has been on trial for rape and violence. The
verdict in his case is expected on June 15.