Wild child weds Norwegian prince

Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and his bride kiss outside Oslo Cathedral shortly after their wedding

OSLO, Norway -- Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and former party girl Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby have married in front of 800 guests and a TV audience of millions.

The couple, both 28, exchanged vows at Oslo cathedral on Saturday to tie the knot on a relationship that has gripped Norway.

Hoiby, a commoner who has a child from a previous relationship, becomes crown princess -- and she will be queen when Haakon ascends to the throne.

The bride, a Norwegian student and former waitress, used a white handkerchief to dry away tears several times during the ceremony, Reuters reported.

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Haakon placed a ring of white gold on her finger. Her four-year-old son, Marius, whose father has been convicted for drug possession, was a page boy.

The couple were married by Bishop Gunnar Staalseth with guests including royalty from six other European countries -- the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Denmark and Sweden.

"You have not chosen the easiest path, but love won," the bishop told the couple as he pronounced them husband and wife. He told Hoiby: "Today you are starting a new chapter by turning over a new page."

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

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

She admitted to having gone to parties where drugs were taken -- although she stopped short of saying whether she had taken any herself.

Hoiby waves to well-wishers outside Oslo Cathedral prior to the wedding

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 former student and waitress has gone down well among Norwegians.

"Honest and Brave," the top-selling daily Verdens Gang said in its front-page headline quoting King Harald, as its rival tabloid Dagbladet trumpeted: "Brave Mette-Merit."

"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 survey contrasts with 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.

Hoiby and Norway's Prince Haakon were married on Saturday

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.