Norway prepares for royal wedding

Hoiby is to marry Prince Haakon at the weekend

OSLO, Norway -- Young royals from around Europe are arriving in Norway for the monarchy's first wedding in 33 years.

Crown Prince Haakon and his fiancee Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby are to wed in Oslo's Cathedral on Saturday.

But the celebrations began on Thursday when a private party for many of Europe's young royals and the couple's friends took place.

The Norwegians, who begin their partying on Friday in nationwide-staged events, have given the thumbs up to the controversial pair.

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Hoiby went on Norwegian television on Wednesday to make a tearful confession about her wild partying history.

The single mother, who has a four-year-old son, admitted to having gone to parties where drugs were taken -- though she stopped short of saying whether she had taken any herself.

The father of her child has a conviction for drugs.

Hoiby had previously refused to answer questions about her past, but she told reporters: “My youth rebellion was much stronger than many others. That resulted in me living quite a wild life."

The admission from the 28-year-old former student and waitress has gone down well among Norwegians.

"Honest and Brave," the top-selling daily Verdens Gang said in its frontpage headline quoting King Harald.

"Brave Mette-Merit," said its rival tabloid Dagbladet.

"Cleared the air before the party," echoed the daily Aftenposten.

In a poll of 509 viewers conducted by Verdens Gang after the confession, 70 percent said Hoiby was suited to be Norway's queen, compared with 17.5 percent who said she was not.

A total of 84 percent said it had been positive that Hoiby had made the confession.

Hoiby had moved in to an Oslo flat with the crown prince 15 months ago, drawing condemnation from some conservative quarters.

The latest poll is in contrast to an opinion poll in June which showed the popularity of the monarchy had fallen to a record low with 58 percent backing it.

Haakon's mother Queen Sonja had a different problem when she married then-Crown Prince Harald in 1968 as she was a commoner.

She had waited for nine years before Harald's father King Olav V backed down on his demand that his son marry a noblewoman.

"My own wedding seemed to me to be something unreal," Sonja said on the commercial TV-2 network.

She said it seemed strange that her son wanted to marry a single mother, "but after I got to know her, I have had no problem with it."

In Spain, the media is monitoring their own Crown Prince Felipe during the Norwegian celebrations because his reported sweetheart, Norwegian model Eva Sannum, also is a guest.

Public celebrations begin on Friday before the Saturday afternoon wedding in Oslo Cathedral.