Norwegian princess studying at Sydney uni returns home on exchange

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, a student at the University of Sydney, will spend next semester on exchange in her home town of Oslo as her mother’s health worsens.

Alexandra is studying a bachelor of arts focused on international relations and political economy at the sandstone institution. She has been living on campus at St Andrews College since August.

Last month, she made her first official appearance as a royal in Sydney as she led the local march for Syttende Mai (May 17), Norway’s National Day, marking when its constitution was signed in 1814.

The princess will remain a University of Sydney student but she will study in Norway as an exchange student for the second half of 2026.

“In order to be closer to her family, Princess Ingrid Alexandra has returned to Norway and will spend the autumn semester of 2026 as an exchange student at the University of Oslo,” said the Norwegian palace press office on Friday.

Earlier this week, a man who had sent Alexandra a card “asking for friendship” was taken into police custody over an altercation with a photographer moments after being banned from contacting the 22-year-old heir to the throne in Newtown Local Court.

The princess, who is second in line to Norway’s throne, this week returned home to be with Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who has been placed on the waitlist for a transplant following a serious progression of her lung disease.

Beyond the Crown Princess’ health, the Norwegian royal family faces trouble on several fronts.

Emails between Mette-Marit and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014 show her calling him “sweetheart” in one piece of correspondence; in another, she says “you always make me smile”. She also stayed at his Florida home.

In a television appearance after the Epstein files revealed the relationship between the two, Mette-Marit said she wished she had never met him and that she should have examined Epstein’s background more closely.

Ingrid Alexandra’s half brother, Marius Borg Høiby, this year stood trial accused of rape and physical abuse against four women. A verdict is due in June.