The Norwegian city of Trondheim was bustling this week as guests poured into town in the run-up to the royal nuptials of Martha Louise and her fiancé Ari Behn on Friday afternoon. With the official preparations almost complete, the couple took time out on Wednesday evening to spend time with some of their guests over dinner in the gourmet restaurant Bolgen & Moi, which is owned by one of Norway’s top chefs.
Joining the happy couple at the private event were the younger members of several northern European royal houses including Prince Laurent of Belgium and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, whose siblings Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine are due to attend the ceremony, was also present, looking radiant in a top of mulberry sequins.
Also there to support his sister – whose intended has come under fire for his bohemian past and outspoken comments – was Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon. Haakon’s own nuptials to Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby last August were not without an element of controversy because the bride was a single mother. The Crown Prince and Princess are still recovering from the results of an interview given earlier this month which led to them both suffering severe sunburn. At the Wednesday event Haakon’s face seemed completely healed, while Mette-Marit’s revealed only minor traces of her ordeal.
Queen Margrethe of Denmark, a close friend of the Norwegian royals, will be there sans husband Prince Henrik, but neither the Danish Crown Prince Frederik nor his brother Prince Joachim will attend. Other guests, including Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe and Britain's Prince Edward, are due to arrive on Thursday.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
With their nuptials less than 48 hours away, the happy couple appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the festivities, both public and private, which mark the run-up to the ceremony
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Mette-Marit, the wife of the bride's younger brother, seemed to have almost fully recovered from the extensive sunburn she suffered during a recent outdoor interview
