Haakon and Mette-Marit's relationship before the marriage

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 20.10.00

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/d169377.htm

Top politician also backs crown prince

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The president of Norway's parliament says she doesn't fear that a controversial royal romance will lead to a debate on the future of the monarchy itself. She thinks that may be a good thing.


Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl joined King Harald Thursday night in touching on the subject that has sparked wide public debate in recent months. Kolle Grøndahl said Crown Prince Haakon's decision to openly live with his girlfriend can ultimately breathe new life into the country's democracy.

"The crown prince, by following his heart, has unleashed a debate on the state of the monarchy," Kolle Grøndahl said. "No one has any reason to fear such a debate. On the contrary, it's a healthy sign in a democracy that people can argue about an institution that is so firmly placed in society."

Kolle Grøndahl acknowledged that some people may feel uncertain or insecure when they think new ground is being broken, but she claimed the country should embrace the opportunity that gives to "try out" new attitudes or situations.

Kolle Grøndahl reminded her audience of Crown Prince Haakon's solid formal education and his people-oriented qualities as reasons for also considering an increase in his annual allowance from the state. The crown priince is set to directly receive NOK 150,000 (about US$ 15,000) from state coffers next year and must otherwise rely on financial assistance from his father.

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 01.12.00,

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/d177647.htm

August wedding in the cards

Sources say Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby will be married in August next year. The newly engaged couple will speak to the press on Friday afternoon at the palace.


Neither King Harald nor Queen Sonja will attend the couple's press conference.

Earlier in the day Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg made an official statement to the press. "The government has advised King Harald to consent to the engagement and marriage," he announced. "That means we'll have a wedding and a marriage," he added.

"There's every reason to congratulate the engaged couple. I wish them good luck with their engagement and with their marriage," said a smiling Prime Minister.

The date of the wedding will most probably be confirmed during this afternoon's press conference at the palace. However, the Kristiansand daily Fæderlandsvennen reports that it will held in August 2001.

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 01.12.00

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/d177621.htm

Prince to wed single mother

Norway's King Harald informed the Norwegian Parliament on Friday that Crown Prince Haakon had become engaged to his girlfriend, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby.



The Crown Prince confirmed his romantic involvement with single mother Mette-Marit in a television interview with state broadcaster NRK on 14 May. In September, they bought an apartment in Ullevålsveien in Oslo, but they have yet to move in.

The relationship has been a matter of much discussion and concern in Norway, both inside and outside royal circles, mainly because Tjessem Høiby is widely considered an unconventional candidate to be Norway's next queen.

Tjessem Høiby, 27, is asingle mother from Kristiansand. In the early 90s she was actively involved in Oslo's drugs-infested "house-party" scene. The father of her three-year-old son has a narcotics conviction.

However, the romance between the handsome young Prince and his girlfriend has enjoyed the continued and outspoken support of the King Harald and Queen Sonja.

The Palace has scheduled a press conference for 3 p.m. on Friday.

<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.aftenposten.no/objekter/bilder/t58178.jpg>

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 16.02.01


http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/d192447.htm

Crown Prince moves into new flat

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Norway's Crown Prince Haakon has moved with his fiancé and her young son into a spacious, newly remodelled flat on Ullevålsveien near downtown Oslo. The couple plans to marry in August.


King Harald bought the 266-square-meter flat for his son last year. Haakon already was living with his then-girlfriend, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, in a smaller flat further down Ullevålsveien.

Haakon had bought that flat shortly after he returned to Norway after several years in the US, where he earned a bachelor's degree at the University of California at Berkeley.

He soon outgrew the flat after launching his controversial romance with Tjessem Høiby, a single mother with a son from a previous relationship. It emerged last year that Tjessem Høiby had moved into the crown prince's flat with her son, Marius.

The new flat at Ullevålsveien 67 takes up the entire third floor of the gracious building in Oslo's St Hanshaugen's district. It features a 13-square-meter terrace with a view over the city.

It remains unclear, however, how long the couple will actually live there. Tradition calls for the crown prince couple to live on an estate called Skaugum, west of Oslo in suburban Asker, and many expect them to move there after their wedding.

King Harald and Queen Sonja have continued to live at Skaugum but are due to move into the newly renovated Royal Palace downtown later this spring. That means Skaugum will soon stand empty.

The estate is then likely to be renovated, meaning Haakon and Mette-Marit in turn will probably delay any eventual move.

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 29.03.01

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/d195295.htm

Crown Prince's fiancée stops at customs

Customs officers at Gardermoen would have been forgiven for raising an eyebrow when the Crown Prince's fiancée Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby declared metres of wedding dress material on her arrival at the airport.


Members of the royal family are not required to pay duty on goods purchased abroad and brought into Norway. However Tjessem Høiby will not become a royal until August and is therefore obliged to go through the "red" channel and declare certain expensive purchases. Duty must be paid on goods valued above a certain limit and the material for her wedding dress undoubtedly fell into this category.

No statement has been released either about the type of material she had with her, or the duty applied.

All facts concerning the wedding-dress will remain "top secret" until Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby walks down the aisle in Oslo's Domkirken on 25 August to marry Norway's Crown Prince Haakon. The only assumption that can be made is that as Miss Tjessem Høiby has returned to Norway with the material she bought in Paris, she has probably chosen a designer here at home.

According to the celebrity magazine Se og Hør", the future queen of Norway has already started filling up her wardrobe in her new Oslo home at Ullevålsveien 67. She has been shopping on Fifth Avenue and in Madison Avenue, New York where she reportedly spent around NOK 200,000 on Gucci, Fendi and Prada designer wear.

<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.aftenposten.no/objekter/bilder/t69591.jpg>

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 06.03.01

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/d196298.htm

Effort launched to de-throne the Royals

Not everyone is happy about Norway's upcoming Royal wedding. A Kirkenes-based group is adding steam to its movement aimed at doing away with the monarchy and turning the country into a republic.


One day after plans for the wedding of Crown Prince Haakon and his live-in girlfriend Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby were unveiled, the group gained support from two outspoken opponents to the monarchy.

Well-known Republican, Professor Trond Nordby, and author-editor Jon Michelet latched on to the group, called "For a Republic in Norway."

"It's an historic event when an organization aimed at doing away with the monarchy is established for the first time in Norway," said Nordby. The group started up in December, but now has been formally registered and claims to be gathering steam.

Nordby concedes that he and his fellow republicans "will probably continue to be a minority for many years." But he cites "serious" reasons for doing away with the monarchy.



<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.aftenposten.no/objekter/bilder/t70077.jpg>

Nordby notes the monarch no longer is thought to be descended from God, that the monarchy has no political power and that the Norwegian people no longer need it as a unifying symbol.

He called the inheritance of royal titles "an anachronism."

Michelet contended the monarchy has lost respect. While the late King Olav liked to say he had 4 million bodyguards, representing Norway's total population, "today's crown prince is surrounded by 4 million informers whose main goal is to call VG (a local tabloid) as soon as they see him at the grocery store."

Bernt Nilsen, who founded the group, said his anti-royal sentiment was fueled a few years ago when King Harald visited Northern Norway and police prevented Nilsen from unfurling a banner protesting the monarchy.

The anti-royalists hope to pour cold water on Haakon's and Mette-Marit's wedding in August, encouraging all Norwegians to leave the country in protest.

The wedding celebration itself is planned over three days, culminating in a 5pm ceremony at Oslo's Cathedral (Domkirken) on Saturday August 25.

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 07.03.01,


http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/d196424.htm

Royal wedding spurs Cathedral facelift

It took a looming Royal Wedding for politicians to release funds for a long-needed renovation of Oslo's Cathedral. The cathedral in the heart of the city will get NOK 6 million for cosmetic repairs.


The money will only cover the most visibly needed repairs, including indoor painting and renovation. Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and his live-in girlfriend Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby will exchange vows before some 800 guests inside the cathedral, called Domkirken, on August 25.

Clergymen at the cathedral are pleased with the funds allocation, which the city and the federal government will share by forking over NOK 3 million (about US$330,000) each.

Not everyone is satisfied, however. The money won't cover needed exterior repairs or rehabilitation of other rooms within the cathedral. One Member of Parliament from the Christian Democrats said he will lobby for an additional appropriation of at least NOK 2 million.

<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.aftenposten.no/objekter/bilder/t70278.jpg>

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 12.03.01

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/d197464.htm

Mette-Marit makes her 'Kollen' debut

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The Royal Box drew a lot of attention at Sunday's Holmenkollen Ski Festival. With fog and poor local jumping dampening spirits, it was only natural that the crown prince's fiancé made heads turn.


Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby made her first appearance with the rest of Norway's royal family at the traditional Holmenkollen Sunday. She'll marry Crown Prince Haakon in August and is steadily showing up at official events that feature a royal presence.

She and the family showed up just before the event started, smiled and waved to reporters and a curious public, and didn't say a word. Nor did the crown prince, for that matter.

They took their places in the Royal Box, where Tjessem Høiby appeared to be among the few to sing sing "God Save the King" and the Norwegian national anthem.

She set herself apart from King Harald, Queen Sonja and the crown prince, who all were dressed in traditional navy blue ski jackets, by wearing a light beige ski outfit and a dark wollen hat.

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 04.04.01

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/d198565.htm

Royal wedding gift lacks public support

Norway's looming royal wedding doesn't appear to have captured the public's imagination, or its generosity. Most suggested giving the crown prince pair "nothing" in an informal poll.


Read a selection of suggested gifts and make some of your own!


An overwhelming amount of emails streaming into Aftenposten responded negatively when asked what the public should give Crown Prince Haakon and his fiancée Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby as a wedding gift.

"Nothing," ("ingenting," in Norwegian) was the dominant reply. Some suggestions are unprintable. A few more generous souls suggested a boat, a private plane or training studio equipment so they can keep themselves in shape.

Lars Roar Langslet, a former politician who wrote a book on the late King Olav, said it was difficult to interpret responses from the informal survey. He said the responses shouldn't be used as a "barometer" for the couple's popularity.

"Or maybe Norwegians have just gotten so wealthy that they've become greedy," he mused.

The harshness of some of the responses nonetheless suggests an underlying disenchantment in some quarters with either the Haakon and Mette-Marit or the monarchy itself. Several pointed out that the royals "already have so much," including millions of crowns in taxpayer support every year, and they were hard-pressed to see a need to give them more.

Defies tradition
It's been a tradition in Norway to give a "gift from the people" to the royals in connection with major celebrations such as weddings or jubilees. Committees hammer out proposed gifts and public fund-raising covers the bill.

In 1906, shortly after King Haakon VII and Queen Maud were crowned in a re-establishment of a Norwegian monarchy, the new royal couple was given a timber ski lodge in the hills above Oslo.

When Crown Prince Olav married his cousin Princess Märtha of Sweden, the couple received a gift of NOK 240,000, a truly princely sum at the time. King Haakon was given a yacht in 1947 when he turned 75 and Olav, fond of cars, later received a Lincoln when he celebrated 25 years as king.

But the tradition of gift-giving was tarnished in 1997, when public support failed to materialize for a proposal to lay stones on the dirt-and-gravel driveway leading up to the Royal Palace in Oslo. The idea for the gift, meant to be a joint 60-year birthday present to the king and queen, fell flat and was roundly criticized in TV debate programs.

Queen Sonja then suggested she'd like new a new china service for gala dinners at the newly renovated palace. Not enough money was raised to foot the bill from Porsgrunds Porcelain Factory, however, and the palace itself had to pay the balance.

And now the vast majority of respondants to an informal poll don't want to give Haakon and Mette-Marit anything at all.

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 19.03.01

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/localoslo/d199130.htm

Rooms hired out for wedding of the year

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Drawing rooms and attics, window seats and balconies were let to the highest bidder for the princely wedding of royal cousins Olav and Märtha 72 years ago. Oslo hotels say they still have rooms available for this year's royal wedding.


People travelled from all over the country to take part in the three-day wedding celebrations on 19, 20 and 21 March 1929. Trains carried loyal subjects from Hamar, Halden and Horten to Oslo East and West railway stations. When they arrived they were met by a town decked out in Norwegian and Swedish colours.

Hotel capacity was limited back then, but no one was expected to go without a bed and rooms were rented out in private homes. Column inches were sold in Aftenposten to kindly souls ready to let a room while earning a pretty penny to boot.

"Fine drawing room with piano…." to let in Ullevålsveien; "Well furnished drawing room with piano, bath. 10 minutes from the palace…"; "Two connected rooms available for 2-3 refined guests. With or without breakfast….." And if all accommodation may not have included a piano, hygiene was a decent alternative selling point, "Large room for two. New house and new bedclothes. Kr. 80 per week…"

For those of limited means, beds not pianos were the sought after commodity… "Three attic rooms, with six bed spaces for private party. Kr. 10 per day."


Crown Prince Haakon will marry his fiancée Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby on 25 August. Hotel managers say rooms are still available for people wishing to visit Oslo towards the end of August, but it's unlikely they'll be rented out at budget rates.

Fortunately only one conference (of psychologists) is scheduled at the same time, so there should be enough beds left over for ordinary commoners after the 60 or so royal guests and welter of pressmen and women have been accommodated.

[Josefine]

source aftenposten; date 04.04.01,

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/d202271.htm

Royal newly-weds will be welcomed

Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby will be more than welcome in Mette-Marit's home town of Kristiansand when they set off on their year-long round-Norway tour as newly-weds.


Mayor Bjørg Wallevik knows the royal couple is already well acquainted with the south Norwegian town, but she says she would still have a lot of surprises in store for them.

The Crown Prince and his fiancée announced on Monday that they were planning a year-long tour of Norway after they were married. They say they want to learn more about Norwegian people and places and give the people a chance to get to know them.

And it's not just in Kristiansand they'd be welcome. Adding their names to the list of host destinations are Svalbard, Kautokeino, Utsira and Fredrikstad.

Every one has offered a host of good reasons whey the couple should visit..

- Svalbard has such spectacular nature
- Utsira - Norway's least populated locality - hasn't welcomed a royal visitor since the sixties
- Fredrikstak has a wonderful "Old Quarter"
and
- Kautokeino's royal guest book is only missing one signature.. that of the Crown Prince.

On Monday evening Haakon and Mette-Marit attended a gala celebration to mark the 125th anniversary of the Art History Museum in Oslo. After visiting the exhibition the couple sat down to dinner and enjoyed lobster soup, marinated salmon, reindeer tenderloin en croûte, and a special chocolate mouse on a spicy base with pineapple, to name but a few of the delicacies on the menu.

<img border='0' alt='image'src=http://www.aftenposten.no/objekter/bilder/t74272.jpg>

[Julia]

from Rex.features.com

[samitude]

Haakon and Mette-Marit look very nice in these photos. She&#39;s getting into her role very nicely.

I like this one too.

[Jacqueline]

Thank you for this article Josefine. I don&#39;t recall ever reading it.

I certainly understand the fact that royals are "public property" and that they simply have to accept photographers as a part of their lives. However, I do understand what Princess Mette-Marit was trying to accomplish in making these statements about her son. Although she is the Crown Princess of Norway, her son is not a royal and he really isn&#39;t fair game. I think it&#39;s one thing if photographs are taken of Marius when he is with his mother, stepfather, or any member of the Royal Family, but Mette-Marit made mention of Marius being photographed when he was "alone" or not in her company. I am sure that he must be frightened especially if his parents are not with him. I guess that the Princess was just being a mother.

[Jacqueline]

Mette-Marit, Marius, and Haakon.

[Josefine]

what does the norwigien people say now.
is there any debate about her
or has she shown that she can handle the role
and represent Norway
this was 7 - 8 years ago.

[IloveCP]

So weird to read these articles right now!

[rominet09]

Originally Posted by Jacqueline

Mette-Marit, Marius, and Haakon.

Lovely pic that I didn't know. THANKS !

[fortimo]

I found an old article and picture about Mette-Marit:
Mette-Marit verner sønnen - Kongehuset - VG
https://translate.google.hu/translat...%2F&edit-text=