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Last year was admittedly a “challenging” one for Princess Märtha Louise of Norway. The royal, 51, reflected on 2022 in an Instagram post shared on New Year’s Day. Alongside a glamorous photo of herself, King Harald V and Queen Sonja’s daughter penned, “2022 was a challenging year for me in many ways. It was also a year filled with joy, happiness and love.”
“Life has its challenges. No one can escape them, but it is up to each and everyone of us how to meet those challenges. When we manage to meet everything with the love from our core, we manage to rise above the fear, the disturbance, the anger, grief and everything else,” she continued. “But the times we can’t live from our core, from love, we sink into despair, loneliness, anger, judgement and life’s challenges.”
The Princess admitted that she’s had her “fair share of ups and downs.” “I sincerely hope 2023 expands our deep love for each other. We all need to build a world where all of us can breathe freely, be who we are meant to be, grow and expand into our true selves from love,” she wrote. “When we build our lives from our core of love we start respecting ourselves and in turn we respect and love others in a new and more profound way. Without judgment.”
Märtha Louise concluded her caption writing, “Let 2023 be the year we step into love and shower our selves with doing things that make us happy. Have a great 2023[.] Happy New Year.”
The Princess’ fiancé, Shaman Durek Verrett, whom she announced her engagement to in June of 2022, commented on the post, “Oh my God, love! You light up the room like 10 thousand diamonds 💎 You keep it fire 🔥 slay!”
It was announced in November of 2022 that the Princess would be relinquishing her official duties. At the time, the Norwegian Royal House said that Crown Prince Haakon’s sister “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.”
Following the Royal House’s announcement, Märtha Louise and her fiancé released a joint video message. The Princess emphasized in the message that there had “been no discord within the royal family through this process.” She said, “We have embraced each other’s opinions and views in an amicable fashion with respect and love for one another.”