– We were probably more alike then than we are now, laughs Beate Sommer. One summer day in 2001, she and a friend came across a competition in VG. They had to choose who in Norway looked the most like Crown Princess Mette-Marit. – We knew that I looked alike, both she and I saw it – and several others in and of themselves. So we thought we just had to take the chance, says Sommer. There was a lot of attention around Mette-Marit at this time, and the competition took place in connection with the crown prince couple’s wedding, which was to take place later that summer. The winner was to receive a travel gift card of NOK 5,000 and a day as a princess bride in Oslo. Sommer arranged her hair just like Mette-Marit used to have it, submitted a photo and won the entire competition. – The funny thing was what actually happened on the day you won. You had to have a double page in VG, you have to know, and then of course it had to be in a wedding dress and you were supposed to get married, says Sommer. – It was a great honor. This is what it looked like when Sommer was Mette-Marit’s model in VG exactly 22 years ago, 19 August 2001. Facsimile: VG Memorable day Sommer was first taken out into the streets. Before she was dressed up in a wedding dress, she had to be the “everyday” Mette-Marit. – So I walked the streets in completely normal clothes, with the same type of hair braid and a cup of coffee in my hand, says Sommer. – Then it was on with all of the wedding favors. There was arrangement of hair, there was full make-up, there was a wedding dress, bouquet, and then it was down to the Cathedral. 22 years after she was named Mette-Marit’s double, Beate Sommer tells about her day as a princess bride in Oslo. Photo: Caroline Bergli Tolfsen / news But she didn’t have any grooms. – I think perhaps most people think it was strange that I was alone. After all, there were tourists on the steps of the cathedral when I stood there and it was as if I had gotten married. The trip continued through Karl Johan, and up to the castle in an open car, alone with a driver. – So that day there is quite a memorable day, I would say. Do you think they look alike? Yes, very much 👩🏼👩🏼 No, I don’t think so 👎 I can see the resemblance 🧐 Show result “Mette-Marit fever” Six days later, the crown prince couple got married in Oslo Cathedral. – It was absolutely huge when Mette-Marit entered the public eye. That’s what Ingeborg Heldal, editor of the magazine KK, says. She describes that there is something incredibly romantic in the love story between the two who will one day become Norway’s king and queen. Ingeborg Heldal is an editor at the magazine KK. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad / news – There was probably a real Mette-Marit fever around the turn of the millennium. She became a phenomenon. There were so many things about Mette-Marit that were fascinating. Many quickly realized that this was the great love – that most likely it is this girl who will one day become queen of Norway. She adds that Mette-Marit stood out from Haakon Magnus’s previous lovers. In addition, she stood out from what we were used to seeing from future queens and princesses. – Because Mette-Marit was this ordinary girl from Kristiansand who went to a rock festival, who wore no make-up, who wore a slightly disheveled T-shirt, says Heldal and continues: – This classic hairstyle with this low ponytail and side parting. She had a cigarette in her hand and even a child from a previous relationship. She was very different from the image many may have had of the person who would win the heart of a prince, and that gave many girls my age the belief that anything is possible. – So she became, and still is, a kind of icon. The crown prince couple got married in Oslo Cathedral on 25 August 2001. Photo: news – Fantastic to be 50 Sommer herself did not attend when the crown prince couple got married on 25 August 2001. But she saw the recording afterwards. – What was it like, for example, to go to a shopping center in the middle of the Mette-Marit fever? – It was a bit strange, there were a bit of extra glances, pointing and a bit of whispering and that sort of thing. So it was good that it was short-lived – because it had become a bit tiring in the long run. – You also turned 50 earlier this year, do you have any advice for Mette-Marit? – You just have to accept it with open arms. It’s absolutely fantastic to be 50, smiles Sommer. Hear Sommer tell about the experience in the Saturday magazine Ukeslutt:
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Beate Sommer (50) was named Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s double in 2001 – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
