His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway is to undergo surgery this morning. The news was announced at 10:15 am Norwegian time in a short press release from the royal court in Oslo.
The statement is as follows:
“His Royal Highness The Crown Prince will today, on Monday, March 4, 2019, have a minor surgical intervention for exostosis in the ear canal. The surgical procedure takes place at Rikshospitalet in Oslo. As a result of the intervention, the Crown Prince will have a reduced program for the next two weeks.”
An exostosis in the ear canal is a bone outgrowth that can narrow the ear canal. It may predispose to ear canal eczema and ear wax accumulation. The cause of such outgrowth appears to be a reaction in the bone tissue due to cooling or due to constant exposure to cold water in the ear canal. Therefore, the condition occurs especially among swimmers and surfers and is also called “surfer’s ear”.
The condition is not in any way dangerous.
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette Marit are enjoying the water with their two children. Prince Sverre and Princess Ingrid. Photo: Fjordlapse Photography, Det kongelige hoff / The Royal Court.
The Crown Prince has been surfing as a hobby for many years, with the Norwegian royal court publishing pictures of the family surfing as recently as 2017. The pictures were from a private holiday the Crown Prince family took in Hoddevik outside of Stadt, in the west of Norway. Some of the images were also from another surfing holiday Crown Prince Haakon had in 2016.
In 2017, it was announced that His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon was asked to sit on the committee that will plan the European Championships in surfing,
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway was born 20 July 1973 as the only son and younger child of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. In 2001, Haakon married Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby with whom he has two children. He has an older sister, Princess Märtha Louise. The Skaugum Estate, situated in the area of Semsvannet, is the official residence of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway.
Royal Central will keep you updated if there are to be developments in this story.
