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Princess Märtha Louise of Norway will no longer carry out royal duties. The Norwegian Royal House announced on Nov. 8 that King Harald V and Queen Sonja’s 51-year-old daughter is relinquishing her official duties.
The Norwegian Princess “wishes to differentiate more clearly between her own activities and her relationship to the Royal House of Norway” and 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 House said.
Märtha Louise, who is patron of various organizations, also relinquished her patronage role “to create a clearer dividing line between her business activities and her role as a member of the Royal Family.”
The Royal House noted that Märtha Louise and her fiancé, Shaman Durek Verrett , “are seeking to distinguish more clearly between their activities and the Royal House of Norway. This means, among other things, that they will not employ the title of Princess or refer to members of the Royal House in their social media channels, in media productions or in connection with other commercial activities (with the exception of @PrincessMarthaLouise on Instagram).”
Back in 2019, it was decided that Märtha Louise would no longer use her title of Princess in her business endeavors. The Royal House shared on Nov. 8, 2022 that the Princess will keep her title.
“His Majesty The King has decided that the Princess is to keep her title. The King and Queen wish to thank Princess Märtha Louise for the important work she has carried out in her official capacity for several decades,” the Royal House said. “She has performed her duties with warmth, care and deep commitment.”
Royal Central reported last month that Märtha Louise’s brother, Crown Prince Haakon, confirmed that there was an ongoing debate about whether his sister would keep her title. “This is a topic that I find difficult,” he said, per Royal Central. “On the one hand, my sister got engaged, and I got to know Durek Verrett and think it is nice to be with him. I have been with him on many occasions. I would like him to feel welcome in our family.”
“At the same time, I feel very responsible for the institution. We have of course noticed that some of what has been said and done has caused quite a bit of discussion. Some of it has also been controversial. We have to talk about figuring this out and that is what we are trying to do now that we now have this process where we are trying to find a good way forward,” the heir to the Norwegian throne continued. “At the same time that brings us the feelings and thoughts about the different aspects. So this is going to take some more time. It is natural that if something happens that people think something about, that it creates debate. I think that is part of the living democracy that Norway is a part of.”