Mette-Marit (born 1973), a former waitress and commoner from Kristiansand, became Queen of Norway in 2001 when she married Crown Prince Haakon, whom she met at a music festival. Her path to the throne was controversial, as she publicly apologized for her "wild past" involving relationships with convicted drug offenders, and her reign has faced further scrutiny over her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and a recent rape conviction against her eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby. She has three children: Marius (born 1997 from a prior relationship), Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra (2004), and Prince Sverre Magnus (2005). Despite her early lack of formal education, she later earned a master's degree in executive management and studied development at the University of London. Her health has become a major focus: diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, she underwent a life-saving lung transplant in 2026 after her condition was declared life-threatening.