Mette-Marit discussed her 'wild' past before the royal wedding
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway is celebrating 21 years of marriage with her husband Crown Prince Haakon, but their royal wedding day on 25 August 2001 was unconventional for many reasons.
Firstly, the bride – formerly known as Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby – was a former waitress and a single mother to her four-year-old son Marius from a previous relationship when the couple were introduced by mutual friends in 1999. Mette-Marit and Prince Haakon announced their engagement in December 2000, and they lived together until their wedding took place eight months later, which was considered controversial at the time.
WATCH: Inside Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway's love story
Their different backgrounds caused many royal fans to consider her a modern-day Cinderella, and she even addressed her "wild" past in a press conference held shortly before the royal wedding. "My youth rebellion was much stronger than many others. That resulted in me living quite a wild life," she said, before asking for a fresh start.
In a break with royal tradition on their big day, the groom was pictured waiting for his future wife outside Oslo cathedral so they could walk down the aisle together.
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Mette-Marit with her son Marius
Mette-Marit also chose to swap a traditional wedding bouquet for a long garland made up of rosary vine, with pops of purple and white in the form of Vanda orchids and roses. She teamed it with a simple wedding dress made from heavy silk crepe, with a corseted bodice, a flared skirt with a two-meter train, and a six-meter veil secured by an antique tiara.
It was reported that Haakon's parents, King Harald V and Queen Sonja, were actually some of the biggest supporters of their relationship, and this was perhaps proven by their sweet wedding gift to their soon-to-be daughter-in-law. They gave Mette-Marit the Diamond Daisy Bandeau tiara.
The couple got married on 25 August 2001
The couple's modern ceremony featured music by internationally-acclaimed Norwegian jazz musician Jan Garbarek and text readings by Haakon’s sister, Princess Martha Louise, and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
Mette-Marit's son Marius acted as page boy during the ceremony, before joining his mother and his new stepfather on the balcony of the Royal Palace to wave to the well-wishers ahead of their wedding banquet.
The royal couple are also now parents to daughter Princess Ingrid Alexandra and son Prince Sverre Magnus, born in 2004 and 2005 respectively.
SEE: Crown Prince Hussein's fiancée's £26k sparkling engagement gift from royal in-laws
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