Kronprinsbryllupet som nasjonalt gledesspill

Sammendrag

This article gives an analysis of the Royal wedding between the Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in Oslo in August 2001, regarded as a Media Event. The Media Event is analysed in terms of genre and rhetoric, in order to show how an 'ordinary single mother' is transformed into a Royal Highness. The analysis is based on the proposition that mediation shapes an event by composing a dramaturgy to fit the genres of the medium and the expectations of the viewers. In this case the melodramas of popular culture and the transformations of narratology are of special interest. Two plot points form a perfect symmetry in a steep dramaturgic curve: the 'confession' of Miss Høiby at the press conference on August 22, and the sermon by Bishop Gunnar Stålsett at the wedding three days later. The rhetoric of the sermon grasped the criticism confirmed by the bride's confession, and then raised her to new dignity. The love of the single mother for her child was connected to the love of God for his children, as well as her passion for the Prince, and the coming Monarch's love for his people. Thus the coming princess seemed to pass the last glorifying test, and the rhetoric of the wedding sermon made the viewers "fall in love with love".