If you think Prince Harry is the only royal who has taken heat over their chosen partner,
wait until you hear about Norway's Princess Märtha Louise. The Norwegian royal has been
under scrutiny for her romances and beliefs pretty much her whole life.
Born in Oslo, Norway, on September 22, 1971, Princess Märtha Louise is the oldest child
of King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway. The king and queen wanted Märtha Louise to have a
normal childhood, so she attended a local school. Of course, she still took part in
upper-class activities, like riding horses. She is still an avid equestrian and she attended
the University of Oxford, according to the Norwegian royal family's website.
Despite her parents' intention to make Märtha Louise's childhood as normal as they could,
things definitely got weird. According to Express, she told the news magazine
Schweizer Illustrierte about having nightmares as a child that she believes
are because a Nazi died by suicide in her childhood bedroom. The princess,
who now calls herself a clairvoyant, said her connection to the supernatural started
at an early age and that she would "see very special things" during her childhood.
"I was very, very scared of showing anybody that I was spiritual before."
Princess Märtha Louise is the firstborn, but she's not the heir to the throne,
because she has a younger brother, Prince Haakon. When she was born, Norway's
constitution dictated that sons would always come before daughters in line of succession.
The crown prince has two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus,
so Märtha Louise is fourth in line for the throne, the royal family's website explains.
A constitutional amendment in 1990 changed the line of succession in Norway and made the
eldest-born child to be first in line to the throne regardless of gender. However, Märtha
Louise will still not be considered first to the throne because, according to the royal family,
"It was decided that males would continue to take
precedence over females for children born prior to 1990."
According to Vanity Fair, there were moments when she questioned her royal status and wished
her parents were more ordinary. In addition, the young royal yearned for a childhood away
from public scrutiny, and she was not fazed by the idea of her brother becoming crown prince.
In May 2002, Princess Märtha Louise married Ari Behn in a lavish ceremony. According to News in
English, Behn was happily welcomed into the royal family by his in-laws. However,
the couple was criticized for having an "alternative" lifestyle. Behn was publicly
perceived as a non-traditional royal husband and "a high-profile self-styled bohemian author."
During the marriage, the couple had three daughters. They tried to stay out of the
Norwegian spotlight by living in London. In 2017, Märtha Louise and Behn finalized their divorce.
The divorce was reportedly amicable, and the pair shared custody of their
three children. Märtha Louise said in a statement as reported by People,
"It's unspeakably sad for both of us to discover that the road ahead
doesn't run as it once did. Like so many others, we've grown apart."
Princess Märtha Louise's eldest daughter, Maud Angelica Behn, was born on April 29,
2003. Her second daughter, Leah Isadora Behn, was born on April 8, 2005,
and her youngest, Emma Tallulah Behn, was born on September 29,
2008. All three were christened in the Palace Chapel, according to the royal family's website.
In an interview with a Norwegian women's magazine whose title translates to "Women
and Clothing," Märtha Louise opened up about motherhood, revealing she was not
a fan of becoming a mom until later in life when she met her nephew. Now, she puts her
children first and considers motherhood a gift that has made her more efficient. She said,
"One becomes rounder from being a mum; you learn to take things more on the fly."
Princess Märtha Louise's first husband, Ari Behn, died by suicide on Christmas in 2019. The
Norwegian royal family released a statement the following month in which they thanked the public
for their kind gestures and addressed Behn's emotional pain. The statement read, in part,
"Sometimes life is too hard to bear. For some individuals,
nothing helps to alleviate the darkness, not even their love for those who are closest to
them. Some see no other solution than to leave this life. Those who
are left behind must live on — all the poorer without the person they loved."
The princess addressed her husband's death and its impact on her life when she spoke with Tessy
Antony de Nassau, the former princess of Luxembourg, on her Zoom O'Clock podcast.
"You can get stuck in that sorrow, and you can go into a pit of depression,
which I did, and you can get out of it as well."
In 2002, Princess Märtha Louise lost her "royal highness" title,
Royal Central notes. According to Vanity Fair, the princess gave up the title and
her annual allowance of $1 million so she could "pursue a career in the entertainment
industry." Although she is trained in physiotherapy, Märtha Louise immersed
herself in a whole different kind of work. In 2007, she announced that she considered herself
a clairvoyant and could educate the public on how to talk to angels, Reuters reported.
In 2019, the royal family announced that the princess and the royal family had
agreed that Märtha Louise would no longer use the title of princess in her business
activities. The princess also released a statement on her Instagram, writing,
"From now on I will not use my princess title in a commercial context. That is,
in all commercial contexts, I only use Märtha Louise."
To separate her personal life and business ventures from her royal identity,
Princess Märtha Louise had set up two Instagram
accounts. On her nonroyal Instagram account, she refers to herself as:
"Agent of change, horse mom and dedicated to see people knowing
their true power through a social transformation starting with YOU."
The account is filled with travel photos, business promotion, and photos of her fiance and family.
In one Instagram post, she poses in a fancy red dress and reflects on 2022,
calling it "a challenging year" but one that was "filled with joy, happiness,
and love." The hopeful post seems to refer to the backlash she received after announcing her
engagement to her controversial fiance and subsequently giving up her royal duties.
In June 2022, Princess Märtha Louise and celebrity
spiritual mentor Durek Verrett shared that they were engaged.
"We chose to go out with our love on Instagram to
own our story because my whole life has been in the press."
Verrett posted a photo of himself with his bride-to-be in an Instagram with the caption,
"I'm overjoyed with tears that I get to spend the rest of my life with the most pure-hearted,
angelic, wise, powerhouse woman who represents all levels of a goddess in my eyes."
Verrett, a friend of Gwyneth Paltrow who has worked with her Goop brand, told Vanity Fair
he showed Märtha Louise's engagement ring to Paltrow for her approval. He said of Paltrow,
"I knew she's very particular about nice things, so I wanted her to be the first to see it."
Luckily, Paltrow was a fan of the ring,
and Verrett said he was very pleased to have her blessing.
Although the princess considered herself a clairvoyant before meeting her spiritual
guru fiance, their beliefs as a couple have not been popular in Norway. According to The
New York Times, Verrett in particular has come under fire for saying some off-the-wall things,
such as suggesting getting cancer was a choice and claiming to be a "hybrid species of reptilian."
According to a poll published by Norwegian news outlet Aftenposten in 2012, 68% of those
surveyed didn't believe Märtha Louise can talk to angels, and almost half those surveyed thought
her alternative views hurt the Norwegian royal family's reputation. The princess' engagement to
Verrett was likely the catalyst for an agreement between the family and the princess whereby it
was announced she would no longer undertake any official duties representing the royal family.
Princess Märtha Louise has responded to the public negativity about her fiance on several
occasions. She took to Instagram to express her deep concern about the racial nature of the
backlash toward her partner and even said the pair had received death threats. Märtha Louise wrote,
"Being @shamandurek‘s girlfriend has given me a crash course in how white supremacy is at play."
She went on to describe her disappointment toward how Verrett has been treated and
stated that her "friends assume he lies about everything." She claimed that the press has
unfairly represented him as dishonest and threatening to the royal family.
Speaking to Vanity Fair about the negative attitudes toward her fiance, Märtha Louise said
her family was slow to warm to her relationship and that the Norwegian people don't quite get it.
"I don't know if I can say that much about it, to be honest. It's very conflicting. Here in America,
you're more open to it. In Norway, it's very, very, extremely controversial. I
should be with a CEO or a lord or someone of a high rank of some sort. To be with a shaman,
that's very, extremely, terribly out of the box. It's crazy."
A few months after announcing her engagement to Verrett,
Princess Märtha Louise released an Instagram video to announce that she
will no longer take on official duties representing the Norwegian royal family.
In the video posted in November 2022, she is seated next to Verrett and explains,
"Every time a person in the royal family gets engaged, it creates media storms."
The controversial royal revealed that she had agreed to no longer
represent her family officially, and the video's caption stated that she would
define the separation between her role as "princess of Norway and as a businesswoman."
An official statement released by the Norwegian royal family emphasized that
the decision for the princess to step back was amicable. It reads, in part,
"The princess has therefore decided,
in consultation with his majesty the king and other close family members,
that she will not carry out official duties for the royal house at the present time."
The royal family said Märtha Louise would still keep her "princess" title and that her fiance is
a welcome part of the family, although he will not represent the royal house in any capacity.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).