Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, born Mette-Marit Tjessem-Høiby August 19, 1973, married Crown Prince Haakon on August 25, 2001. She is the daugher of journalist Sven Olaf Bjarte Høiby and Marit Tjessem.

Before marrying Crown Prince Haakon, she led what she has herself termed an extrovert life. As a part-time student, she spent many years finishing high-school, and then did courses in ex. phil. at Agder Regional College. She then worked for a year at Cafe Engebret in Oslo. She begat her son Marius Borg Høiby out-of-wedlock January 13, 1997) with convicted drug criminal Morten Borg. She also lived together with several men convicted on violent charges. Many Norwegians previously claimed that Mette-Marit's background made her unfit for the work as a princess.

In 2002 and 2003, she studied development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at University of London. She was also accepted as an intern at NORAD, the Norwegian official development organization.

On January 21, 2004, Mette-Marit and Haakon's daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra was born, becoming second in line to the Norwegian throne after her father the Crown Prince.

External link

• Official biography http://www.kongehuset.no/dt_kongehuset_allAtOnce.asp?ogid=25&mgid=21&gid=99&aid=