The story of the single mother, from a humble family, who won the Crown Prince of Norway

Where do you need to look to find a real prince? At major benefit events, attended by millionaires and Hollywood celebrities? In high society parties, in which the entry of anonymous is vetoed? Or in the best opera houses around the world? None of that. What about a bustling music festival, the kind where performances are held that have nothing in common with royal ceremonies? It was precisely at one of these festivals that a young woman named Mette-Marit, born into a simple family, found her destiny. Sometime after that meeting, she came to be addressed as “His Royal Highness”.

O awesome.club I don’t know if, as a child, the protagonist of this post dreamed of becoming a princess, took waltz lessons or imagined herself wearing dresses by famous designers. What we do know is that despite a humble past, she became the wife of the Crown Prince of Norway.

Mette-Marit was born in 1973 in Kristiansand, a relatively large Norwegian city. When she was 11, her parents divorced. Her father, journalist Sven Olaf Bjarne Høiby, married a former stripper. The girl and her brothers went to live with her mother and stepfather, being visited by her father on weekends.

She attended a school in her hometown. Later, over the years, Mette-Marit exchanged and lived with an “adoptive” family in Australia. There, the Norwegian managed to show her best side. Afterwards, the young woman was enrolled in a religious teaching unit in Kristiansand, where she was named “mother” of all groups, as she was always concerned about others and was very helpful.

However, the Religious life soon bored this lively young woman, and she moved to the nation’s capital. There, she was drawn to nightclubs and men who weren’t much, shall we say, shy. In late 1995 and early 1996, she got into a relationship with a famous seducer. Before she met Mette-Marit, the man had been arrested for possession of illegal substances and spent a short time in prison for drunk driving and also for assault. But the relationship ended in a short time, and the beautiful blonde ended up alone and pregnant.

Despite everything, she decided that she would have that baby. And that’s how Marius came into the world. At the same time, the young mother started a distance learning course and worked as a waitress in a restaurant.

The first meeting with the Crown Prince took place when Mette-Marit was still pregnant. They met through mutual friends during the Quart music festival, the hottest event at the time, known for explosive concerts by the likes of Marilyn Manson. It is not known exactly how old the two were when they became interested in each other. but when they met again during the festival for the second time, they were already in a relationship.

In December 1999, some newspapers reported that Mette-Marit and Prince Haakon were a couple. And that forced them to think if there was a future in that relationship. For about a year, the lovers and Mette-Marit’s son Marius lived in an apartment in Oslo. They listened to their favorite DJs, frequented bars and strolled the streets.

When Haakon told his father, King Harald, of his desire to marry a commoner, he did not receive immediate support, but in time, the monarch respected his son’s choice. Certainly the fact that Haakon’s own father had also married, in 1968, a woman from a simple family, Sonja Haraldsen, and that he had spent 9 years trying to get his parents’ permission for the union, played an important role in his decision. to support the child.

Although, society took a negative view of the news about the prince’s engagement🇧🇷 And although the information that the king’s son’s fiancée had a child from another relationship was not a big problem (in Norway, half of the children are born from unofficial unions), the press began to raise a series of doubts about the Mette-Marit’s participation in “heavy” parties.

With some delicacy, the Lutheran Church condemned the union on account of the son born from the relationship with the ex-boyfriend. And we have to admit that there was some reason for this stance, since when Haakon becomes king, he will also be the leader of the Church, which is against concubinage.

To make matters worse, revelations emerged from Mette-Marit’s father. He needed money and, to make some money, he wrote articles of dubious and scandalous content for magazines such as if og hør🇧🇷 The material not only compromised the father-daughter relationship, it also made Mette-Marit’s reputation even more questionable.

Mette-Marit’s father Sven Olaf Bjarne Høiby with a Norwegian country singer

To reassure Norwegians, the couple held a press conference three days before the wedding. At the time, Mette-Marit, with tears in her eyes, said that she regretted her unruly past, and that she hoped to be forgiven. His honesty and sincerity (qualities that would have won the prince over) seem to have touched the hearts of royal subjects. And, little by little, Mette-Marit won the country’s admiration.

The two were married in 2001 in Oslo Cathedral. The bride cried throughout the ceremony. Contrary to tradition, she was not escorted to the altar by her father, but by Haakon himself. Mette-Marit’s son, then 4, was also present at the wedding.

Later, the couple had children: Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Husband and wife give the same love to their 3 children, but it is clear that Marius cannot claim the throne of Norway. In 2004, for the christening of little princess Ingrid Alexandra, Sven Olaf, the girl’s grandfather, was invited. That’s when the king’s wife reconciled with her father. The only frustrating thing for the couple was the diagnosis, in 2009, of the pulmonary fibrosis that affects Mette-Marit, which meant that she had to be absent from some official commitments.

Princess Mette-Marit with Prince Haakon and their children: Marius, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.

Princess Mette-Marit and Estela of Sweden during a ski championship in 2019. The Crown Prince of Norway is godfather to little Estela.

So what would be the secret to a happy marriage? Prince Haakon met an attractive young woman who was unimpressed with the fact that he was crown prince. She loves the man, not his title. He already feels comfortable and relaxed next to his beloved.

The couple is still together, living a life that seems like a true fairy tale. Check out the photos.

Do you know other love stories with a happy ending? In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge of marrying someone from a royal family? Comment!