Haakon has submitted, now it’s Mette-Marit’s turn: just under a month after the crown prince, the crown princess of Norway will also be 50 years old. On this Saturday (19.8.) it’s been half a century since the seemingly always radiant Scandinavian saw the light of day.
Birthdays in the Norwegian royal family are traditionally celebrated without much fanfare. Mette-Marit should therefore celebrate her day of honor privately with her family. But this time there is already a big party, only a little later: On August 25, the crown prince couple invites you to the big “backyard party” at Oslo Palace. The 50th birthdays, but also the home country itself should be celebrated. People from all over Norway are invited.
August 25th is a special date for Mette-Marit and Haakon: the two got married 22 years ago on that day. They met in 1999 at a music festival in Kristiansand, southern Norway. They got engaged at the end of 2000 and got married in the summer of 2001, during which Mette-Marit gracefully walked down the aisle with her hand in the crook of Haakon’s arm. Norway already saw the future queen at that time – Mette-Marit will bear this title when her husband one day ascends the throne after his father King Harald V (86).
mother of three children
Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby was far from a royal existence in the first half of her life. She was born on August 19, 1973 in Kristiansand – the city where she would later meet Haakon. The daughter of a journalist and a bank clerk went to Australia for a year as an exchange student while she was at school, then did her Abitur and studied in Oslo and London, among other places.
In early 1997 their first son, Marius Borg Høiby, was born. Mette-Marit later brought him into the marriage with Haakon, who never adopted Marius, but immediately took him to his heart – just how much was shown by a photo from a family vacation recently, on which the crown prince put his arm around his stepson like a friend shoulder. Haakon and Mette-Marit saw him as part of their family from the start – without burdening him with royal duties.
In 2004 and 2005, their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra (19) and Prince Sverre Magnus (17), followed. With them, Haakon and Mette-Marit show themselves to be a modern, down-to-earth and also very active family. Via Instagram they let the public participate in their sporting, but also culturally interested life.
Fight against AIDS and worry about your own health
Mette-Marit’s greatest hobby is undoubtedly literature. She is an avid reader and was appointed Ambassador of Norwegian Literature Abroad in 2017. She also cares about children, the climate and the environment, as well as mental health and the fight against AIDS. In her free time, she spends a lot of time outdoors with her family – on skis in winter, hiking in other seasons and also likes to be on the water.
When you see Mette-Marit beaming, you might think her world is always light and carefree – but even a crown princess is not spared from strokes of fate. In the terrorist attacks in Oslo’s government district and on the island of Utøya on July 22, 2011, her older stepbrother Trond Berntsen was killed along with 76 other people.
In 2018 she was diagnosed with a chronic lung disease, pulmonary fibrosis. The lungs are attacked by inflammation of the connective tissue, and those affected often suffer from shortness of breath, coughing and shortness of breath. Mette-Marit broke the news to her compatriots in her own way: full of strength, she spoke publicly on television about her failing health. After long complaints, she was happy to finally know what had happened to her body in the past few years, she said.
New phase of life at 50
Since then it has happened from time to time that Mette-Marit is shorter and cancels appointments – but nothing has changed in the appearance of the princess. You could get an idea of this in Germany in October 2019, when Haakon and Mette-Marit took the literature train to the Frankfurt Book Fair and promoted Norwegian literature. Mette-Marit seemed extremely present and determined – and anything but sickly.
The Crown Princess is apparently relaxed about her 50th birthday – even if she let it be known in advance that a lot is changing in her family life. “I don’t think that much will change overnight because you will soon be 50,” she told the Norwegian news agency NTB. “But there are a lot of things that are changing – we’re in a phase where the kids are going to leave the nest soon. And I think that’s going to be a pretty big change.” Marius is already out of the house, Ingrid Alexandra recently finished school and Sverre Magnus will be of age in just over three and a half months.
