Crown Princess Mette-Marit officially joined the Norwegian royal family when she married Crown Prince Haakon, the son of King Harald and Queen Sonja, in 2001.
Three years into their marriage, the couple welcomed their first child, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who is currently second-in-line to the Norwegian throne, followed by a son, Prince Sverre Magnus, the following year. Mette-Marit also has an older son, Marius Borg Hoiby, from a previous relationship.
A hard-working royal, Mette-Marit, 51, briefly had to step back from royal duties in October 2018 when she was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. She also took a period of sick leave in September last year to manage her rare lung condition and now adopts a much slower pace of life since her diagnosis.
But royal watchers will see Mette-Marit in public again soon as she is expected to attend the wedding of her sister-in-law, Princess Martha Louise, and American shaman Durek Verrett at the end of August.
The three-day extravaganza is taking place in the Geiranger Fjord in western Norway in a wedding exclusively covered by HELLO! magazine.
When not adoring the Norwegian nation, Mette-Marit is the doting, protective mother of her three children. Read on to find out more about her brood…
Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20
© GettyBorn on 21 January 2004 at Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo, Ingrid is second in the royal line of succession.
When Ingrid was 19, she moved out of the family's royal residence Skaugum. Se og Hør reported that she had moved to a flat in Oslo in a hipster area called Grünerløkka.
In January, she started her first year of military service for the Northern Brigade of the Norwegian Army. Her father, Haakon, is ranked as a general in the Norwegian Armed Forces and Ingrid appears to be inspired by him by following in his footsteps.
© GettyNow that she is of age, she has completed royal duties such as attending a children's parade that was attended by more than 1,000 young environmental agents.
© GettyIn her downtime, she enjoys adventurous activities such as skydiving and doing water sports with her family.
Prince Sverre Magnus, 19
© GettyBorn on 3 December 2005 at Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo, Sverre is third in the royal line of succession.
Sverre graduated from Elvebakken Upper Secondary School in Oslo in June. However, he still lives at the family residence in Skaugum.
© GettyThe princess’ youngest son became a social media hit in 2017 when he dabbed on the palace balcony in front of his grandfather, King Harald.
© GettySimilar to his sister, Sverre enjoys outdoor activities such as skiing, BMX biking, and surfing with his family.
Marius Borg Høiby, 27
Born on 13 January 1997 in Kristiansand, Norway, Marius is not in the line of succession and lives as a private citizen.
He is the son of convicted felon Morten Borg and stepson of Crown Prince Haakon. In June 2017, he stepped back from public life aged 20.
© GettyAfter his departure, his mother, Mette-Marit, wrote an open letter saying her eldest son’s role had been “difficult to define in the public domain’’ and “he is and remains an exceptionally important part of our family”.
She criticised the press who had talked about her son’s “youthful indiscretions.’’ Then, at the end of the heartfelt letter, she talked about accepting his departure from public life. “Marius does not want to live a life in public. My commitment to him as a mother is to take the responsibility that was given to me at Aker Hospital 20 years ago seriously.’’
Earlier this month, Marius received public attention following an “incident in an apartment’’ in Frogner, Oslo where he allegedly attacked a woman in her 20s, who turned out to be his girlfriend. According to Se og Hør, he was arrested shortly afterwards and was held in police custody for more than 30 hours.
His stepfather Haakon called the incident a “serious matter,’’ leading to the crown princess postponing her trip to the Olympic Games in Paris.
© GettyThe 27-year-old has since spoken out via his lawyer, Oyvind Braitlin, in a statement apologising to his girlfriend. He said: “Last weekend something happened that should never have happened. I committed bodily harm and destroyed objects in an apartment in the intoxication of alcohol and cocaine after an argument.
“The drug use and my diagnoses do not excuse what happened in the apartment at Frogner on the night of Sunday last weekend. I want to be responsible for what I have done, and will explain myself truthfully to the police.”
“For me, the most important thing is to say sorry to my girlfriend. She deserves neither what happened that night, nor the extreme pressure from both the Norwegian and foreign press afterwards.’’
© GettyIt remains unclear whether Marius will attend Princess Martha Louise and Durek’s wedding at the end of the month.
The wedding will be exclusively covered by HELLO! Magazine. Check back on the website and pick up the most recent issues of HELLO! for all the latest news and photos.
