Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (born 22 September 1971) is a member of the Norwegian royal family, a businesswoman and a self-described

clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

. The only daughter of

King Harald V Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the lin ...

and Queen Sonja, she is fourth in the

line of succession to the Norwegian throne The line of succession to the Norwegian throne consists of people entitled to become head of state of Norway. The succession is currently governed by Article 6 of the Constitution, altered most recently in 1990 to introduce absolute primogenitu ...

, after her younger brother Haakon, and his children, but is not a member of the royal house. Like her aunts Ragnhild and

Astrid Astrid is a feminine given name of Scandinavian origin, a modern form of the name Ástríðr. Derived from the Old Norse Ássfriðr, a compound name composed of the elements (a god) and (beautiful, fair). Variants * Assan (diminutive) (Swed ...

, she had no inheritance rights to the Norwegian throne at the time of her birth due to Norway's

agnatic primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

succession. This only changed in 1990, when the Norwegian parliament adopted

male-preference primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

succession for those born before 1990, which made her third in line at the time, after her younger brother. She is active as a private businesswoman and alternative therapist, and does not carry out official engagements on behalf of the royal house. From 2007 to 2018 she led her own alternative therapy center, commonly known in Norway as the "angel school" ( no, engleskolen), which provided training in

clairvoyance Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

and communication with angels and communication with the dead. She was married to the late writer and visual artist

Ari Behn Ari Mikael Behn (; , or ; 30 September 1972 – 25 December 2019) was a Norwegian author, playwright, and visual artist. Known as Mikael Bjørshol until 1996, Behn achieved early literary success with his 1999 short story collection ''Trist so ...

from 2002 to 2017. In May 2019 she publicly announced her romantic relationship and professional collaboration with Durek Verrett, a

conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

and self-described

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

who has served time in prison and who has been characterized by Norwegian media and other critics as a

conman A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have d ...

. As part of her withdrawal into private professional life, she lost the

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

"Royal Highness" in 2002; the lower style "Highness" is occasionally used informally abroad, but she does not hold a style in Norway. She has often faced criticism in Norway for her claims of being clairvoyant and for exploiting her constitutional title as princess commercially; in 2019, the royal court announced that she will no longer use the title princess in her business activities as a clairvoyant. In 2022, she relinquished her remaining royal duties to concentrate on alternative medicine.

Early life

Princess Märtha Louise was born on 22 September 1971 at The National Hospital the

Oslo University Hospital Oslo University Hospital ( no, Oslo universitetssykehus; OUS) is a university hospital in Oslo, Norway. With over 24,000 employees it is the largest hospital organization in Europe. It is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of the University ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, to the then Crown Prince Harald and Crown Princess Sonja. Princess Märtha Louise was named after her late

grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...

and her paternal great-great grandmother. At birth, she was not in line to the throne, because until 1990, only males could inherit the Norwegian throne. She was baptized a few months after her birth. Her godparents are King Olav V of Norway,

Princess Margaretha of Sweden Princess Margaretha of Sweden (Margaretha Sofia Lovisa Ingeborg; 25 June 1899 – 4 January 1977) was a member of the Swedish Royal Family by birth and the Danish Royal Family by marriage. She was the elder sister of Crown Princess Märtha of No ...

, Count Flemming of Rosenborg, Princess Ragnhild of Norway, Dagny Haraldsen, Haakon Haraldsen, Nils Jørgen Astrup and Ilmi Riddervold. In 1973, Märtha Louise's younger brother,

Haakon Magnus Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (; Haakon Magnus; born 20 July 1973) is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. He is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Haakon represents the fourth generation of the sitting Norwegian royal fam ...

, was born. In 1990 the

Norwegian constitution nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction = Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , ...

was altered, granting full cognatic primogeniture to the Norwegian throne, meaning that the eldest child, regardless of sex, takes precedence in the line of succession. This change only affects those born in 1990 or later. Females born between 1971 and 1990 (i.e. only Märtha Louise), were given succession rights, but their brothers would be before them in the line of succession, meaning that Prince Haakon still took precedence over Märtha Louise in the

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Ingrid Alexandra and Sverre Magnus, Märtha Louise was relegated to fourth in line.

Education and career

Princess Märtha Louise is a certified

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...

, following education in Oslo and internship in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. She has not practised her profession, however, choosing instead, from her fascination in traditional Norwegian folk tales as well as a love of music, to establish her own commercial entertainment business based on giving public and televised performances reciting folk tales and singing with well-known Norwegian choirs. In December 2003, she took part in Oslo Gospel Choir's Christmas concert with a solo performance, included on the companion CD album. On 1 January 2002, Princess Märtha Louise started her own business, in order to work with more freedom from her constitutional role as a princess. She began paying income tax, and the King, after consulting her, issued a royal

edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu Pro ...

which removed Princess Märtha Louise's style of ''

Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Monarchs and their consorts are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it t ...

'' (she is conventionally accorded the lesser style '' Highness'' abroad, although this style has no legal standing in Norway). However, she retains her place in the line of succession, and though her activities were reduced, she still carries out some public duties on behalf of the King. After several postponements due to family births and her father's illness, during which the princess took on some representation duties, Princess Märtha Louise and her husband moved to New York City in October 2004. In 2004, her first book, a children's story about the first royal family of Norway was released – '' Why Kings and Queens Don't Wear Crowns''. Accompanying the book is a CD version of the Princess reading her story aloud. Princess Märtha Louise has studied physiotherapy, trained as a Rosen therapist and studied at an academy for holistic medicine. She claims she can communicate with animals and angels and started her own alternative therapy center named Astarte Education, after one of the oldest goddesses in the Middle East. Astarte Education offered a three-year course on healing, readings, and angels. The princess drew criticism in Norway after the announcement that she would start Astarte Education. The newspaper ''

Bergens Tidende ''Bergens Tidende'' is Norway's fifth-largest newspaper, and the country's largest newspaper outside Oslo. ''Bergens Tidende'' is owned by the public company Schibsted ASA. Norwegian owners held a mere 42% of the shares in Schibsted at the end ...

'' called for her to give up her royal titles. Norwegian state director of Health Lars E. Hanssen, Norwegian alternative medicine advocate Dr. Bernt Rognlien, Norwegian University of Science and Technology ( NTNU), religious historian Asbjørn Dyrendal and

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

theology professor Inge Lønning all expressed misgivings about the princess's plans. Author

Jan Guillou Jan Oskar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou (, ; born 17 January 1944) is a French-Swedish author and journalist. Guillou's fame in Sweden was established during his time as an investigative journalist, most notably in 1973 when he and co-reporter Pe ...

questioned the princess's mental health. On 11 August 2007, Märtha Louise defended the school on

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

, the Norwegian public service television network. In the interview, she regarded her relationship with angels as "creatures of light, which gave her a feeling of a strong presence and a strong and loving support." She responded to criticism that she should leave the Church of Norway by stating she still considered herself a Christian that was thankful the Church still had room for her. On 2 October 2007, Princess Märtha Louise became the first member of the Norwegian royal family to ever appear in a court of law as she wanted to halt sales of a book entitled ''Martha's Angels'', which used her photo on its cover without permission. She stated that she felt "commercially exploited" by the book's use of her photo, which she regarded as misuse of her name and picture. Film critic Pål Bang-Hansen stated that Märtha Louise was a "thief and hypocrite", claiming that she had stolen translated texts from his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

's books. In 2007, the Princess was editor of the book ''Prinsesse Märtha Louises eventyrlige verden, Eventyr fra jordens hjerte, Rodinia'' containing 67 fairy tales from 50 countries. In 2009, she and her Astarte Education partner Elisabeth Samnøy published ''Møt din skyttsengel'' (''Meet your guardian angel''), followed by ''Englenes hemmeligheter. Deres natur, språk og hvordan du åpner opp for dem'' (''The secrets of angels: Their nature, language, and how you open up for them'').

Princess Märtha Louise's Fund

Her Royal Highness Princess Märtha Louise's Fund was founded on 15 September 1972 and awards funds to projects carried out by non-governmental organizations in order to provide assistance to disabled children under the age of 16 in Norway. Princess Märtha Louise is the fund's chairperson. In 2005, the fund had assets of approximately NOK 13,285,000, and total annual allocations came to about NOK 500,000.

Controversy

In 2014, Princess Märtha Louise faced some criticism due to her association with British clairvoyant Lisa Williams. Williams was in Oslo on 14 September 2014, and gave a seminar for Soulspring, formerly known as the Angel School, which Princess Märtha Louise co-founded. Williams is known for her claims that she can communicate with the deceased. The Soulspring website carried the following message: "We in Soulspring do not communicate with dead souls in our work. And here is where our work is separate from Lisa's. To be completely honest, we don't see the point of contacting the dead. They passed over to the other side for a reason and should be allowed to stay there." No one representing the royal family commented.

Marriage and family

On 24 May 2002, Princess Märtha Louise married author

(1972–2019) in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. The couple had three daughters: Maud Angelica, Leah Isadora, and Emma Tallulah – all of whom are untitled. The family lived in Islington,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and Lommedalen, Bærum. Emma Tallulah Behn is a junior member of the national equestrian team, and won a bronze medal during the Norwegian National Horse Jumping Championships in 2021. The couple divorced in 2017. In 2016, the Royal Court had announced that Märtha Louise and Behn would have joint custody of their three daughters. Ari Behn died by suicide on Christmas Day 2019. In May 2019, the princess announced that she was in a relationship with an American citizen, a self-styled

named Durek Verrett (born 17 November 1974). He has faced strong criticism in Norway and been characterized by Norwegian media and other critics as a

. Together Märtha Louise and Verrett have organised seminars titled "The Princess and the Shaman," which also were widely criticised. Verrett claims to have been initiated spiritually by an American woman who calls herself "Princess Susana von Radić of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

". In June 2022, the princess announced that she and Verrett were engaged.

Bibliography

* ''Underveis : et portrett av prinsesse Märtha Louise'', 2001, . * ''Fra hjerte til hjerte'' ("From Heart to Heart"), 2002 in collaboration with husband

, is a book about their wedding, . * ''Why Kings And Queens Don't Wear Crowns'', 2005 in collaboration with Svein Nyhus (Illustrator), . * ''Eventyr fra jordens hjerte: Rodinia'', 2007 (as editor) in collaboration with Kirsti Birkeland and Kristin Lyhmann (Editors), . * ''Englenes hemmeligheter: Deres natur, språk og hvordan du åpner opp for dem'', 2012 in collaboration with Elisabeth Nordeng, .

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

* 22 September 1971 - 1 February 2002: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Märtha Louise of Norway * 1 February 2002 - present: ''Her Highness'' Princess Märtha Louise of Norway On 8 November 2022, Märtha Louise announced that she will no longer have royal duties within the Norwegian royal house but will retain the title of Princess of Norway.

Honours

Royal Monogram of Princess Martha Louise of Norway

National

* : Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of Saint Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav I ...

* : Dame of the Royal Family Decoration of King Olav V of Norway * : Dame of the Royal Family Decoration of King Harald V of Norway * : Recipient of the Medal of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of King Haakon VII * : Recipient of the King Olav V Silver Jubilee Medal * : Recipient of the King Olav V Commemorative Medal * : Recipient of the Medal of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of King Olav V * : Recipient of the Royal House Centennial Medal * : Recipient of the King Harald V Silver Jubilee Medal

Foreign

* : Knight of the Order of the Elephant * : Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...

* : Knight Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Star of Jordan The Order of the Star of Jordan (Wisam al-Kawkab al-Urduni) or The Order of Hussein ibn Ali (Wisam al-Hussein ibn Ali) is an award and military decoration of the sovereign state of Jordan and is awarded for military or civil merit. It was founde ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the CrownNot a state decoration but a personal gift from

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husban ...

. * : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau * : Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Civil Merit The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

* : Member Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of ...

* : Recipient of the 50th Birthday Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf * : Recipient of the 70th Birthday Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf

Notes

References

External links

Official Site of the Norwegian Royal Family: Princess Märtha Louise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martha Louise Of Norway 1971 births Clairvoyants Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Daughters of kings Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands) Grand Crosses of the Order of the House of Orange House of Glücksburg (Norway) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon Living people Norwegian Christians Norwegian people of Danish descent Norwegian people of English descent Norwegian people of French descent Norwegian people of German descent Norwegian people of Swedish descent Norwegian princesses Order of Civil Merit members Recipients of the Order of Prince Henry Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands) Recipients of the Order of the Falcon Recipients of the Order of the House of Orange United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassadors