10 facts about Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

1. Mette-Marit was born on Aug. 19 1973 in Kristiansand, Norway, to parents Sven O. Hoiby and Marit Tjessem.<br>Photo: © Getty Images
2. In August 2001, Mette-Marit married Crown Prince Haakon in a stunning ceremony in Oslo, surrounded by royals from around the world including Britain's Earl and Countess of Wessex. Mette-Marit's son Marius from a previous relationship served as page-boy and appeared with the couple on the balcony of the royal palace as the day reached its big finale. <br>Photo: © Getty Images
3. During her younger years, the future royal enjoyed playing sports at school including volleyball, which became her favourite. Mette-Marit soon excelled in the sport becoming a referee and coach. <br>Photo: © Jørgen Gomnæs
4. Following in the footsteps of Queen Rania of Jordan and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, the princess is an avid user of Twitter. The future queen describes herself in her Twitter bio as a 'proud mother-of-three and dedicated bookworm' and has racked up more than 120,000 followers. <br>Photo: © Twitter/@crownprincessmm
5. Three years after their wedding, the couple welcomed their first child Princess Ingrid Alexandra in January 2004, who was followed by Prince Sverre Magnus in December 2005. <br>Photo: © PA
6. In 2008, Mette-Marit began studying part-time at BI Norwegian School of Management in Oslo, where she completed her Master of Management in 2012. <br>Photo: © Getty Images
7. Despite her fear of flying, the princess has travelled the world with her husband Haakon, and has made official visits to India, United Kingdom and the United States. In November, she will travel to Canada for a three-day visit. <br>Photo: © Getty Images
8. Here, the princess and her husband attend the wedding of close friend Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. The royals are so close, Mette-Marit named Victoria godmother of her daughter Princess Ingrid. <br>Photo: © Getty Images
9. Speaking of godparents, Mette-Marit is the godmother of Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark's son Prince Christian. <br>Photo: © Getty Images
10. The princess is passionate about many causes. In 2001, she and her husband formed a charitable foundation known as The Crown Prince and Crown Princess' Humanitarian Fund. The blonde heir has been a UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador since 2006 and is often seen campaigning for causes such as HIV prevention and women's rights. <br>Photo: © Getty Images
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