Twenty-five years ago today, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway were married in a glittering ceremony in Oslo Cathedral. In honor of their silver wedding anniversary today, I’ve got a peek inside an exhibition that marked the milestone at the Royal Palace this summer.
On June 20, the Royal Palace in Oslo opened its doors to visitors for the summer season. This year, the guided tours included a pair of special ensembles on display to mark the silver wedding anniversary of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. Above, the gala uniform worn by Crown Prince Haakon for the wedding ceremony is displayed alongside Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s wedding gown and veil. A replica of her bridal bouquet was also placed nearby. The exhibition ran through the first weeks of August and closed last week.
Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, both 28, were married at Oslo Cathedral on August 25, 2001. The ceremony was attended by his parents, King Harald V and Queen Sonja, as well as family members and friends from across Europe.
Mette-Marit wore a sleek, minimalist wedding gown made by Ove Harder Finseth and Anna Bratland. She had significant input on the design of the dress, which was made of ivory silk crepe. The dress featured a train, but the silk tulle veil that she wore was even longer.
The jewelry that the new Crown Princess wore on the day was equally simple: an antique diamond bandeau with a daisy design and a necklace with a dainty pendant. The tiara was given to her as a wedding present by the King and Queen.
But the piece on display at the Royal Palace this summer wasn’t the actual tiara. Instead, it was a replica piece. The Norwegian royals are skittish about their jewelry, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that the real thing wasn’t included in the public exhibition.
If my notes are correct, we last saw the real Diamond Daisy Bandeau on Crown Princess Mette-Marit when she made an appearance during a gala dinner for members of the Storting in October 2025.
Also on display this summer at the Royal Palace were the tuxedo and dress that Haakon and Mette-Marit wore for a dinner on the night before their wedding. The gala, given by the Norwegian government, was held at Akershus Castle.
No jewelry, replica or otherwise, was displayed with Mette-Marit’s dress this summer, but on the night before the wedding, she wore the silver wedding earrings that belonged to her husband’s grandmother, Crown Princess Märtha, and the necklace setting of the Vifte Tiara, which belonged to Queen Maud.
This silver wedding year has been less than sunny for the royal family. On the heels of her elder son’s arrest and conviction, as well as revelations of the depth of her own friendship with a notorious abuser and criminal, Mette-Marit had a lung transplant in June. She was released from the hospital and has been recovering at home, where she was photographed with her husband and their two children in a new portrait released to celebrate her 53rd birthday a few days ago.
But, unfortunately, the health issues continue for the royal family. Queen Sonja has been diagnosed with heart failure, and this week, King Harald is in the hospital battling a bacterial blood infection. “All of Norway is following and thinking about the King,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre shared.
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