Mette-Marit | |
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Crown Princess of Norway | |
The Crown Princess at the Wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden, June 2013
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Born |
Kristiansand, Norway |
19 August 1973
Spouse | Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (m. 2001) |
Issue | Marius Borg Høiby Princess Ingrid Alexandra Prince Sverre Magnus |
House | Glücksburg (by marriage) |
Father | Sven O. Høiby |
Mother | Marit Tjessem |
Religion | Church of Norway |
Styles of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway |
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Reference style | Her Royal Highness |
Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
Alternative style | Ma'am |
Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway (born Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby on 19 August 1973 in Kristiansand, Norway), is the wife of Crown Prince Haakon, heir apparent to the throne of Norway.
A Norwegian commoner and single mother with a disadvantaged past, she was a controversial figure at the time of her engagement to Haakon in 2000. She became crown princess of Norway upon her marriage in 2001. In this role, she has championed humanitarian projects and arts, as well as taking part in official visits at home and abroad.
Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby was born in Kristiansand in the southern part of Norway, the daughter of Sven O. Høiby, who worked as a journalist on a local paper, and Marit Tjessem. Her parents divorced and her father would later marry Renate Barsgård. She has a sister and two older brothers, including Per Hoiby, chief executive of the PR agency First House. Her stepbrother, Trond Berntsen – by her mother's 1994 marriage to Rolf Berntsen – died in the 2011 Norway attacks. Mette-Marit grew up in Kristiansand, spending many weekends and holidays in the nearby valley of Setesdal and on the coast, where she learned to sail. During her youth, she was active in the local Slettheia youth club, where she was also an activity leader. As a teenager, she played volleyball, qualifying as a referee and coach.
After starting at Oddernes upper secondary school in Kristiansand, Mette-Marit spent six months at Wangaratta High School located in North East Victoria in Australia, as an exchange student with the exchange organisation, Youth For Understanding. Later, she attended Kristiansand katedralskole, where she passed her final examinations in 1994. After a break from her studies, she spent several months working for the Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce at Norway House in Cockspur Street, London, where she lived in the same flat that the King and Queen of Norway resided in for their period of exile during World War Two. When her assignment in London ended, Mette-Marit returned to Norway to attend Bjørknes Private School and then took the examen philosophicum (the preliminary university examination) at Agder University College.