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Mette-Marit flew to India to mind same-sex friends' surrogate twins

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Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has gone above and beyond the call of duty for those closest to her. When two friends were unable to travel to India to welcome their surrogate twin babies, the royal flew there herself to keep the little ones company until their parents could arrive.

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Mette-Marit stayd by the newborns' side for three days, and was so attentive that hospital staff mistook Norway's future queen for a nanny. Her presence in India was on behalf of a same-sex couple who started a family with the help of a surrogate, but whose travel plans were delayed by visa complications. In a statement released by the Royal Court, Prince Haakon's wife describes how she flew to New Delhi on October 23 in order to help her friends. "There are times in life when one finds oneself in a complex situation where there are few or no good solutions," she said. "For me the core of the matter was that there were two newborn babies who lay alone in a hospital in Delhi. I was the one who was able to travel. It was important to me to help in any way I could." 

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 One of the men is an employee of the Norwegian royal household as well as being a good friend of Mette-Marit's, however the palace said any travel expenses incurred were paid for by the princess herself. Although both of the twins are now in Norway with their new family, Marianne Hagen, a spokeswoman for the Royal Court, didn't identify the new parents or reveal the sex of their babies. Mette-Marit's involvement in the case has sparked debate in Norway, where surrogacy is illegal. However, there is a loophole which states it isn't illegal to seek a surrogate mother abroad and bring the child back to Europe. Defending her position, the blonde said her trip was a personal matter and "was not intended to be a contribution to this debate. "The mum-of-three was almost certainly motivated by her maternal instincts and caring nature. As a mother to Haakon's two children Ingrid Alexandra, eight, and Sverre Magnus, six, as well as Marius Borg Hoiby – her teenage son from a previous relationship – Mette-Marit's mind would firmly have been on two small babies in need.