Sven O Høiby turned up on a live television talk show on Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) Monday evening and raised eyebrows when he claimed he didn't think his daughter really wanted to become Norway's queen.
He noted, however, that he seldom has seen such good chemistry and genuine affection between two young people, and he was confident their romance would sustain any eventual royal role.
He also said his daughter and the Crown Prince had known each other for a few years before their romance blossomed last summer.
Høiby, divorced from Tjessem Høiby's mother, is the only member of her family who has commented publicly on the weekend bulletin that she and Crown Prince Haakon planned to set up housekeeping along with her young son from a previous relationship.
The relationship has attracted broad public interest both in Norway and overseas for months, not least because of Tjessem Høiby's unconventional past. She is an unwed mother, student and former waitress who was an active member of Norway's so-called "house party" scene in the early 1990s, which was characterized by wide-spread drug use. The father of her young son Marius has faced criminal charges of drug possession, but she has no criminal record of her own.
Crown Prince Haakon's parents, meanwhile, remain tight-lipped about the heir-to-the-throne's extra-marital living arrangement, which defies European royal tradition. Neither King Harald, Queen Sonja nor palace officials will comment despite intense public interest in the subject.
Palace officals also refuse to comment on what public status, if any, Tjessem Høiby will have as the Crown Prince's domestic partner.
Norwegian politicians and church officials have said they expect Haakon to marry.
