Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit marked their silver wedding anniversary on Tuesday by sharing unseen photos from their 2001 honeymoon, including a rare childhood image of Marius Borg Høiby on Haakon’s shoulders as they swam in the sea.
The post turned a private milestone into public reading material at a moment when the royal family is already under strain. The couple has been married for 25 years, and the anniversary images pulled back to the beginning of their life together, when they were married at Oslo Cathedral on 25 August 2001 and then traveled to Long Island in the US for their honeymoon.
That is why the photo set landed so sharply. One image showed the couple standing together in a garden, and the royal house captioned it, “Congratulations on the silver wedding anniversary of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess!” Another post, labeled “grateful,” included early holiday pictures from their marriage, with wedding rings and selfies among them. The choice to include Høiby made the celebration harder to read as a simple family album. He was convicted in June of two counts of rape and sentenced to four years in prison after joining the court session by video link, and he had pleaded not guilty to the most severe accusations.
Haakon has already tried to draw a line between family loyalty and public duty. Before Høiby’s sentencing in June, he and Mette-Marit were pictured visiting him in custody, and the Crown Prince said, “We love him, of course, he’s an important part of our family.” He added that “it has been challenging and difficult for everyone” and that “for our part, we will continue to carry out our duties. Everyone involved in the case has found it challenging and difficult.”
The anniversary post also arrives as King Harald remains in the National Hospital amid growing fears about his deteriorating health, adding another layer of pressure around the monarchy at a time when it is trying to project stability. Høiby has been under house arrest at Skaugum since July, and his appeal is now moving through the Norwegian courts. The family photo shared on Tuesday does not erase any of that. It shows a royal house trying to celebrate a marriage milestone while carrying a son’s conviction, a pending appeal and a country watching closely.
