Prince to wed single mother

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway has become engaged to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby. PHOTO: TOR JARILD

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Norway's King Harald informed the Norwegian Parliament on Friday that Crown Prince Haakon had become engaged to his girlfriend, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby.

The Crown Prince confirmed his romantic involvement with single mother Mette-Marit in a television interview with state broadcaster NRK on 14 May. In September, they bought an apartment in Ullevålsveien in Oslo, but they have yet to move in.

The relationship has been a matter of much discussion and concern in Norway, both inside and outside royal circles, mainly because Tjessem Høiby is widely considered an unconventional candidate to be Norway's next queen.

Tjessem Høiby, 27, is asingle mother from Kristiansand. In the early 90s she was actively involved in Oslo's drugs-infested "house-party" scene. The father of her three-year-old son has a narcotics conviction.

However, the romance between the handsome young Prince and his girlfriend has enjoyed the continued and outspoken support of the King Harald and Queen Sonja.

The Palace has scheduled a press conference for 3 p.m. on Friday.

(NTB)