Sven O. Høiby

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Sven Olaf Høiby (born 14 November 1936) is the father of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway.

Sven has been something of a controversial figure since his daughter's marriage to the Crown Prince; he has made several outspoken comments, and he has announced that he was writing a book about Mette-Marit's young son, Marius, her child from a previous relationship.

Divorced from Mette-Marit's mother, Marit Tjessem, since 1984, Høiby further estranged himself from his daughter by marrying Renate Barsgard, a stripper half his age, whom he met at a strip club in southern Norway. Mette-Marit's new step-mother had given up stripping to study as a nurses aide. The couple divorced after three months.

Høiby, a former journalist, regularly gives interviews to gossip magazines and subjects himself to compromising situations, has recently distinguished himself by appearing in a music video, performing country music and posing for photos of himself as Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings.

By appearing in the video, Høiby is following in the crown princess' footsteps. She played in a video herself with the Bergen band Pogo Pops in 1996, and unauthorized videos also have circulated that allegedly portray her during her own wild past when she was active on Oslo's house party scene.

August 25, 2006, Høiby told the magazine "Se og Hør" that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer.