26 AUGUST 2003
With two landmark August occasions – her 30th birthday and her second wedding anniversary – now behind her, it seems Norway's royal mum-to-be, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has her eyes toward the future.

The princess has announced that she's accepted a post at the Directorate For Norwegian Development Aid (NORAD) this autumn. The one-time student at the London School of Oriental and African Studies - Mette-Marit is specifically interested in issues and programmes surrounding HIV and AIDS - will be working at the foreign agency twice a week through December.

Meanwhile, on the home front, there's another important event marked on Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit's agenda. Remodelling on their official residence, Skaugum, is set to be finished before Christmas, just in time for the royal couple to welcome their first child in January.