Royal couple shares unseen honeymoon photos after surgery forces postponement of milestone wedding anniversary celebrations

Norway’s next king and queen have celebrated 25 years since their spectacular royal wedding by sharing previously unseen photos from their American honeymoon.

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit planned to mark their silver wedding anniversary with countrywide celebrations this month, coinciding with the day they married on August 25, 2001, but the events were postponed because of the princess’ health.

In June, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who turned 53 last week, was put on the waiting list for a lung transplant and days later, she underwent the life-saving surgery at Oslo’s National Hospital.

She was discharged a month later and is now recovering at the family’s private estate, Skaugum, which doctors say will likely take at least a year. The crown princess is not expected to carry out any public-facing duties for some time.

The royal family is also rallying around 89-year-old King Harald V, who is in hospital with a serious blood infection.

The monarch, who has been on Norway’s throne for 35 years, was admitted to hospital last week. Days later doctors revealed his condition had “deteriorated”.

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A growing media contingent is now camped outside the National Hospital in Oslo for updates on the ailing king’s health, while members of the royal family have been seen visiting his bedside every day.

However, the Royal House made sure to celebrate a happier occasion this week.

A new portrait of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit was released on Tuesday in celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary, taken in the grounds of Skaugum, just outside of the capital.

“25 years of love, family and a life together,” the caption read.

The Royal House later shared eight previously unseen photos taken during the couple’s honeymoon to Long Island, in the US.

They showed the crown prince couple relaxing on a beach, in their swimming costumes, and another of their wedding rings on their hands.

One of the photos featured Marius Borg Høiby, Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship. Høiby was just four years old when his mother married the heir to Norway’s throne was there for part of the honeymoon on Long Island.

In one of the photos, Høiby can be seen sitting on Crown Prince Haakon’s shoulders as they swam in the ocean.

In June, Høiby was found guilty of rape and assault following a lengthy trial. He has appealed the four-year prison term and is currently on house arrest at Skaugum.

Days before his criminal trial began in February, Crown Prince Haakon issued a brief statement to the media about his stepson saying: “We care about him, and he is an important member of our family”, while also expressing his support for “everyone who is affected by this case”.

Høiby grew up as part of the royal family but has never held a title or official role.

When Mette-Marit married Haakon, Høiby served as pageboy during the ceremony held inside Oslo Cathedral. Later, he joined the bride and groom, and King Harald and Queen Sonja, on the palace balcony where he was held up to wave to the cheering crowds by Crown Prince Haakon.

Wedding outfits on display at the palace

The Royal Palace in Oslo recently hosted a special exhibition of the royal wedding which included Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s gown and Crown Prince Haakon’s military uniform, along with a banquet table set as it had been at the reception 25 years ago.

The exhibition had been hugely popular with crowds, leading to record numbers, the palace said.

One of the visitors to the exhibition was Ove Harder Finseth, who designed and created Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s wedding gown.

The dress featured 125 meters of silk tulle and is remembered for its simplicity and elegance.

“I took the whole family with me to see it,” Finseth told Norway’s national broadcaster NRK.

“It was fun to see that it was still as beautiful.”

The gown was designed to symbolise southern Norway with waves crashing over the beach, reflected in the layers of tulle at the bottom, he said.

“It looks so simple, but it’s not that simple after all. That’s one of the fascinating things about that dress; you don’t see everything at once.”

Designing the royal wedding gown changed his life, Finseth said.

“[At the time] I couldn’t tell anyone, because everything was supposed to be so secret. It has meant a lot to my career. It was a dress that was noticed all over the world.”

Controversy before royal wedding

While Crown Princess Mette-Marit was quickly accepted by Norwegians soon after the wedding, and is now regarded as a hard-working and dedicated member of the royal family, the public was initially sceptical about her marrying the country’s heir.

Much like her mother-in-law, the now Queen Sonja who was a commoner before her marriage to King Harald V, Mette-Marit experienced a media backlash when her relationship with Haakon was made public.

Their relationship caused a huge scandal in Norway because of the bride’s past and the fact that she was a commoner. Much was made about her previous relationships and the fact she had a young son.

Days before the wedding, Mette-Marit apologised for her rebellious days in an emotional press conference.

“My youth rebellion was much stronger than many others,” Mette-Marit said. “That resulted in me living quite a wild life. We overstepped the limits.

“It was a costly experience for me, that I took a long time to get over.

“I would like to take this opportunity to say that I condemn drugs,” she said, before adding: “I cannot make these choices again, even though I would wish I could”.

The crown prince couple now have two children together: Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 22, who recently lived in Australia, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 20.

Anger over Epstein links turns to compassion

There’s been a huge public outpouring of support for the Crown Princess in the wake of her lung transplant in June. Doctors had said a transplant was the only option to save her life, eight years after she was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.

However, earlier this year, opinion polls revealed an enormous amount of anger directed towards Mette-Marit after her past links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed.

Documents released by the US Justice Department suggested Mette-Marit had exchanged more than 100 cordial emails and texts with Epstein while fully aware he had been jailed for sex offences against an underage girl in 2008.

In February, a poll found nearly half of Norwegians believed Crown Princess Mette-Marit was unsuitable for the role of queen.

The crown princess apologised twice and described her contact with Epstein as having showed “poor judgement”, admitting it was “simply embarrassing”. In a television interview, Mette-Marit claimed she was “manipulated and deceived” by him.

The poll had worrying implications for her husband’s future reign as king, however when the Royal House announced Mette-Marit had been placed on the waiting list for a lung transplant, public sentiment towards his wife softened.

When she did undergo the surgery in early June, there was an outpouring of well-wishes to Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

The fresh wave of support indicated that affection for the embattled royal had returned, marking a fresh chapter in her and Crown Prince Haakon’s unconventional love story.

In March, the crown prince couple publicly addressed the Epstein files in a joint interview with NRK where they spoke about their unbreakable union.

“We stand on a foundation,” Crown Prince Haakon said.

“We have been together for over 25 years now. And fortunately, we have been able to build it in such a way that we stand together. And when you get married, it is for good and bad days.

“When there are good days, it’s fine. Then the sun shines, and things are nice. But it’s when it’s difficult, when there’s a real uphill battle, that it’s so important to have that foundation to stand together on. This is our project, which we’re doing together.”