Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus were in the stands at New York/New Jersey Stadium (a.k.a. MetLife Stadium) on a rainy Monday evening to watch Norway play Senegal in the 2026 World Cup. The Norwegian royals are known to be very supportive of their athletes at major sporting events like the Olympics and the European Championships. Last month, their grandfather, King Harald, was in a special video revealing the team roster. It’s a significant trip for the royals as well as Norwegian fans because, much like Scotland, this is their country’s first World Cup appearance in 28 years.
Norway won on Monday 3-2, advancing to the knockout stage regardless of the outcome of their last group stage match, so it’s possible the Norwegian royals could appear at another match again soon. Norway will close out the group stage round against France, who are among the favorites to win this year, on Friday, June 26 in Boston. In Scandinavian fashion, Norway’s biggest star, Erling Haaland, gave reporters a frank response about facing world No. 2-ranked Les Bleus: “I don’t care, we are through,” Haaland said after the Senegal game. “They’ll probably beat us and go on and win the whole tournament.”
The appearance was unexpected from the Princess as she was not originally scheduled to attend the match; it was her father, Crown Prince Haakon, who had planned to be there with Prince Sverre Magnus. He canceled following her mother’s surgery, and Ingrid stepped in, joining her younger brother, Prince Sverre Magnus, 20, for what marked their first joint engagement outside of Norway. It was also Princess Ingrid’s first official public appearance since Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s lung transplant. The young royal recently flew back home from Australia, where she had been studying at university, to be with her mother ahead of the surgery, and will complete her fall semester in Oslo.
Mette-Marit underwent the procedure last week at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet. The Royal Palace said she would remain hospitalized for several weeks, with no further updates expected until her discharge. Crown Prince Haakon has stepped back from public-facing duties to be with his wife during her recovery.
Mette-Marit was diagnosed with chronic pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, a progressive lung disease that causes scarring of the lung tissue and has no cure. Her condition worsened considerably in recent months, requiring her to use supplemental oxygen and limiting her official engagements. She was placed on the transplant waiting list in early June and last appeared in public in May, visibly wearing a nasal oxygen device at Norway’s national holiday celebrations in Oslo.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at .
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.townandcountrymag.com ’
