Royalty from around Europe, including the Prince of Wales, toured the Oslo fjord yesterday on the royal yacht Norge ahead of a banquet honouring Norway's crown prince and his fiancΘe on the eve of their wedding.
Over 120,000 people are expected to line the wedding route to Oslo cathedral, while Norwegian TV predicts the ceremony will be one of the most watched shows in national broadcasting history. Crown Prince Haakon is marrying single mother Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby. They have lived together with her four-year-old son Marius for 15 months.
Ms Hoiby will become a crown princess upon marriage - and also Norway's queen when Haakon ascends the throne - but her son will not have a royal title.
The popularity of Norway's royal family had slipped recently, due partly to Ms Hoiby. Cohabitation and single motherhood are both commonplace in Norway, but Norwegians take a dim view of illegal drug use, and wondered with raised eyebrows at Ms Hoiby's past - which she confessed this week had been "wild". Earlier, she apologised at a televised news conference for her past.
She did not admit drug-taking, but said she had pushed the limits of what society accepts, and now rejects illegal drugs.