Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway (born Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby 19 August 1973), is a member of the Norwegian royal family. She has been married to Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne, since 2001. The couple have two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. MetteâÂÂMarit also has an older son, Marius Borg Høiby.
Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby was born on 19 August 1973 in Kristiansand, Norway. She is the daughter of Sven O. Høiby, who had previously worked as a smallâÂÂscale advertiser and as a journalist for a local newspaper, and Marit Tjessem, a former bank clerk. Her parents later divorced, and both subsequently remarried. She has two older brothers and one sister; her halfâÂÂbrother, Trond Berntsen, from her mother's 1994 marriage to Rolf Berntsen, was killed in the 2011 Norway attacks. Most of her known ancestors were cotters or small farmers.
Høiby began her upper secondary education at Oddernes Upper Secondary School in Kristiansand. She spent six months as an exchange student at Wangaratta High School in Victoria, Australia, through the organisation Youth For Understanding, before completing her studies at Kristiansand Cathedral School in 1994. She later worked for several months at the Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce at Norway House in Cockspur Street, London.
As a partâÂÂtime student, Høiby took six years to complete her secondary education. She subsequently undertook preparatory courses at Agder College and worked as a waitress at Café Engebret in Oslo.
She has taken a number of universityâÂÂlevel courses. In 2002 and 2003, Høiby attended lectures in development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. In 2012, she completed a master's degree in executive management at BI Norwegian Business School.
During the 1990s, MetteâÂÂMarit was in a relationship with John Ognby, who had been convicted of drugâÂÂrelated offences. Their relationship progressed to the point of purchasing a wedding dress.
From 1997 to 1998, MetteâÂÂMarit lived in Oslo with her son, Marius, and her thenâÂÂpartner, a disc jockey. From 1998 to 1999, she lived in Kristiansand with her son and another disc jockey with whom she was in a relationship.
In the 1990s, she attended the Quart Festival in Kristiansand, where she first met Crown Prince Haakon at a garden party during the festival season. They met again several years later, after she had become a mother.
Mette-Marit and Haakon announced their engagement in December 2000. Before their wedding, they lived together in Oslo. The engagement attracted significant public debate and media attention. The marriage took place on 25 August 2001 at Oslo Cathedral.
The couple have two children: Princess Ingrid Alexandra (born 21 January 2004), and Prince Sverre Magnus (born 3 December 2005).
MetteâÂÂMarit also has an older son, Marius Borg Høiby (born 13 January 1997), whose father is Morten Borg. She and Borg were not in a relationship, and he was serving a prison sentence for drugâÂÂrelated violent offences at the time of Marius's birth.
In 2007, TV2 broadcast the documentary Mette-Marit â vÃÂ¥r tids Askepott.
On 18 August 2025, Marius was charged with 32 offences, including allegations of rape and acts of violence against two former partners. Some media outlets claimed that he and his family had received preferential treatment from police, though authorities did not confirm this.
Other reports alleged that MetteâÂÂMarit had warned her son about an impending arrest and interfered with the investigation, but no charges have been filed against her.
Marius's trial for the August 2025 indictment began on 3 February 2026. Shortly beforehand, he was arrested and remanded in custody on additional charges, followed in March by further charges of reckless behaviour and violating a restraining order. In total, he faced forty charges, some of which he admitted. The most serious charges carry potential sentences of more than ten years' imprisonment.
In October 2018, Mette-Marit was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. She said she would undergo treatment at Oslo University Hospital. She has dealt with "health challenges on a regular basis", including pneumonia, several instances of norovirus, low blood pressure, falls, concussions, a neck injury, and a herniated disc.
In December 2025, the palace revealed that Mette-Marit's pulmonary fibrosis was approaching a point where she would require a lung transplant.
On 9 March 2026, it was reported that the health of Mette-Maritt, who last attended a public engagement on 28 January, was worsening, with her pulmonary fibrosis remaining delicate. Her communications manager Guri Valpe told TV2 that "there has been a clear negative development in the Crown Princess's health recently" since December, and that an assessment was underway to determine whether she could receive a lung transplant.
On 17 March, Varpe told NRK that MetteâÂÂMaritâÂÂs health had "deteriorated" and that she now could not attend a state visit from the King and Queen of Belgium. The Royal House of Norway's official website also did not list her among those scheduled to meet the Belgian royal couple. Despite this, she later made an appearance with the Belgian royal couple at the Royal Palace on 24 March.
Mette-Marit maintained contact with the American convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014. At the time she entered into a friendship with Epstein, Norwegian media had identified him as a "convicted pedophile". She also helped Epstein connect with young women. In 2019, Norwegian and international media reported that she met him several times between 2011 and 2013, after his 2008 conviction for sex offences involving minors and his release from prison.
In 2026, MetteâÂÂMarit minimised the extent of her contact with Epstein, saying that he was "responsible for his own actions".
The Royal Palace's communications manager said in late 2025 that MetteâÂÂMarit had ceased contact with Epstein in 2013, a claim contradicted by the 2026 release of the Epstein files. A poll showed that 45% of Norwegians believed she should not become queen, while 29% supported her becoming queen. As a result of the scandal, she was stripped of her patronage of Sex og Samfunn, a major NGO, and other organisations discussed removing her as patron. In response to ongoing debate over whether she could serve as queen, legal scholar Eivind Smith said it was possible for Haakon to become king without MetteâÂÂMarit becoming queen or holding any public title, even if they remained married, as titles are decided by the monarch. International media have extensively covered scandals involving the Norwegian royal family, linking them to Epstein, rape allegations, and controversy. Experts have said this has damaged Norway's international standing, as the royal family's conduct increasingly undermines its role as a representative of the Norwegian state abroad.
In March 2026, the board of the stated that Mette-Marit's connections to Epstein had caused unrest within the organisation and moved to remove her as patron. The decision is pending a vote by the members.
On 19 March, Mette-Marit and her husband gave an interview. The topic was her contact with Epstein.
Some of the questions were sent one week in advance to the interviewees, while others were follow-ups during the interview. The broadcaster was free to ask any questions during the allotted 20 minutes; however, the terms of the interview were not finalised until the questions had been sent to the prospective interviewees, which added to the controversy.
In 2000, when the engagement of Mette-Marit and Haakon was announced. Public and media reaction was mixed, and aspects of her background received considerable attention in Norway. Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen, publicly expressed concern about the match. The couple's eight-month engagement included a period of cohabitation in an Oslo apartment, which drew criticism from some within the Church of Norway. Discussion of Mette-Marit's past continued in Norwegian public discourse for several years after the marriage.
Haakon is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. Upon their marriage in 2001, MetteâÂÂMarit became Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Norway.
Early in her public role, MetteâÂÂMarit undertook an internship at the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. She later became patron of the Norwegian Red Cross and several other organisations. In 2010, she was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and in 2012 she joined the international Foundation Board of the Global Shapers Community.
In 2012, Mette-Marit faced criticism for assisting a Norwegian couple in obtaining surrogacy services in India, as surrogacy is prohibited in Norway. Women's rights groups expressed concern about the ethical implications of commercial surrogacy in developing countries.
In 2015, MetteâÂÂMarit and Kate Roberts, a senior viceâÂÂpresident at Population Services International, established the Maverick Collective. On 26 April 2017, she was appointed ambassador for Norwegian literature in the international arena. Together with Haakon, she also founded the Crown Prince and Crown Princess's Foundation, which supports projects aimed at strengthening youth leadership and social inclusion in Norway.
Public opinion regarding MetteâÂÂMarit has varied over time. A poll conducted by VG in February 2026 reported that 44% of respondents did not wish to see MetteâÂÂMarit become queen, while 32.5% supported the prospect. Earlier media reports in 2025 also described her as relatively unpopular in some surveys.
In March 2026, áHola! reported that Mette-Marit had returned to public duties shortly after an interview with NRK in which she addressed her past association with Epstein. At the time, she joined the King and Queen and Haakon in welcoming the King and Queen of Belgium to Oslo during a state visit that attracted significant media scrutiny. Prior to this, she had not undertaken official engagements since January, according to media reports.
Mette-Marit became a UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador in 2006, focusing on youth engagement in the global response to HIV and AIDS. She has participated in international conferences, visited several countries to highlight UNAIDS' work, and emphasised the importance of supporting young women and adolescent girls. At the 2014 United Nations General Assembly, she spoke about the impact of stigma and discrimination on efforts to combat HIV and AIDS. During a visit to Mali, she highlighted the opportunities social media provides to empower young people in new areas of advocacy. She also opened the Youth Pavilion at the XVIII International AIDS Conference.
Since her marriage, Mette-Marit has been styled Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Norway.