Officially recovered from her recent bout of pneumonia, Crown Princess Mette-Marit paid her first visit as a member of the Norwegian royal family to her home town of Kristiansand this week. The princess, who drove to Kristiansand from Oslo rather than flying in with her husband Crown Prince Haakon, was obviously in relaxed mode for her trip home. She turned up at the venerable Hotel Ernst, where a suite had been redecorated in readiness for the royal visit, wearing a casual outfit and trainers.
She and Prince Haakon were guests of honour at a dinner marking the 100th anniversary of the coining of the term Sorlandet – The Southland – by local author Wilhelm Krag for the part of the region. “Although I no longer live in The Southland, it is always fantastic to come home,” said Mette-Marit.
Also invited to the gala were members of the Crown Princess’ family who live locally, including her father Sven O Hoiby, whom she had not seen since her August 26 wedding. Relations between father and daughter are reportedly tense, a state of affairs reflected in the lack of warmth between the two at the event. Despite sitting at neighbouring tables – Mette-Marit was placed with her back towards her father – not a word, nor gesture of affection, passed between them in the course of the four-hour-long meal.
Speaking to reporters later, Sven said: “My daughter has changed a great deal since she married Haakon. In this situation and with the demands of her new role as a princess, the best thing to do is maintain a certain distance. They live in another world and have the right to their own peace and tranquillity without dad being in the middle of things.” He went on to say: “I am frequently in touch with Haakon, however, and I get on better with him than my daughter.”
When asked about her relations with her father, Mette-Marit responded: “I have said I do not wish to talk about the subject, and I think it would be better to respect that and concentrate on the more important aspects of this visit.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
The Crown Prince and Princess attended a gala dinner in Mette-Marit's home town to mark the 100th anniversary of the coining of the term The Southland to describe the region
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Several members of the new Crown Princess' family were invited to the event, including her father Sven O Hoiby. Although seated close to each other, father and daughter didn't speak during the four-hour-long event, however, reinforcing rumours of chilly relations between the pair
