Norway's New Queen Mette-Marit, a Fairytale Beset by Woe
Public support for the monarchy has slipped as her son’s rape and domestic violence case and a lung transplant added to long-running scrutiny.
- On Friday, Mette-Marit ascended the Norwegian throne alongside her husband, King Haakon, following the death of King Harald. The 53-year-old assumes the role with a tarnished image.
- Born in Kristiansand in 1973, Mette-Marit was a commoner when she met then Crown Prince Haakon at a music festival. She acknowledged her "teenage rebellion was stronger than most people's" before their 2001 marriage.
- Media scrutiny intensified in January 2026 when the Justice Department released private emails between Mette-Marit and Jeffrey Epstein. She apologized to Norwegians, saying she "showed poor judgment" after writing that Epstein "didn't look too good" in 2011.
- Compounding these challenges, Mette-Marit underwent a successful lung transplant for chronic pulmonary fibrosis in June 2026. Her 29-year-old son, Marius Borg Hoiby, was simultaneously sentenced to four years in prison for rape and assault in Oslo.
- Public sentiment remains divided, with a February 2026 poll showing 47.6% of Norwegians did not deem her suitable to become queen. Support for the monarchy also dipped to around 60% in February, down from 70% in January.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Mette-Marit of Norway opens a new stage in her life as a consort queen. Harald V's death and Haakon's arrival on the throne place her on the front line of the Norwegian monarchy, but they also bring back to the spotlight some of the most controversial episodes of her biography. Because long before becoming queen, her life was far away from palaces, protocol and official acts: an unbridled youth, parties and drug-related environments marked her e…
Prince Haakon's wife assumes the throne with her husband in the middle of the image crisis she faces and her delicate state of health
From her past as a single mother to her accession to the throne marked by legal scandals and embarrassing revelations, Queen Mette-Marit of Norway sees her dismal image The Princess
El Periódico
Mette-Marit, the new consort queen of Norway, has received the crown from a hospital. Harald V died this Friday morning at 6.35 a.m. at the Rikshospitalet in Oslo, the same center where, just two months earlier, she received the lung that allowed her to continue living. Haakon VIII, her husband for 25 years, has automatically become king and she, at 53, queen of Norway. Never had a dynastic promotion come to her at such an unfailing time.Keep re…
NEWSMAKER-Mette-Marit, Norway’s embattled new queen
By Nora Buli and Gwladys Fouche OSLO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Mette-Marit was 25, an unmarried single mother and a commoner when she met Norway's then Crown Prince Haakon at the Quart music festival in her home city of Kristiansand in 1999. "I just looked a...
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