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Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, 50, is celebrating her 22nd anniversary today with Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway.
On August 25, 2001, at Oslo Cathedral, the then-28-year-old Mette-Marit married the Crown Prince of Norway.
When Mette-Marit and Haakon began dating in 1999, the fact that she was a divorcee and a single mother raised some eyebrows in royal circles.
The Princess’s wedding dress was ostentatiously understated for a royal wedding dress. It was made of white silk crepe and had a typical train.
She finished off her bridal look with a 20-foot veil, which was fastened with the Diamond Daisy Bandeau Tiara.
Mette-Marit received the tiara as a gift from her future in-laws, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway.
The future Crown Princess bucked convention in many ways at her royal nuptials. Her son Marius, who later adopted Prince Haakon as his stepfather, attended the ceremony as a page boy.
In order for the couple to walk down the aisle together, the groom also made the decision to wait for the bride outside the cathedral. This was one of the more unique aspects of the wedding.
Mette-Marit also ditched the traditional bridal bouquet in favour of a lengthy garland made of purple and white flowers.
Vanda orchids and roses made up the bouquet, an unexpected choice for a royal bride.
The couple’s modern ceremony included music performed by the internationally known Norwegian jazz musician Jan Garbarek, breaking yet another norm.
During the event, passages were also performed by Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Princess Martha Louise, Haakon’s sister.
Despite considerable public criticism, the King and Queen were widely believed to be strongly in favour of their son’s union.
Mette-Marit was harshly criticised as she was a single mother and had previously worked as a waitress.
Until their wedding eight months later, they also lived together in a house, which was quite contentious at the time.
Despite all this, the pair exchanged their first kiss in front of the cheering crowd after being declared husband and wife, and a ball was later hosted in their honour.
At a press conference before the royal wedding, Mette-Marit said: “My youth rebellion was much stronger than many others. That resulted in me living quite a wild life.”
