The only daughter of King Harald V of Norway has given up royal duties amid ongoing controversy.
Princess Martha Louise will step back immediately from representing her family. In a brief statement, the Norwegian Court said ”Princess Märtha Louise wishes to differentiate more clearly between her own activities and her relationship to the Royal House of Norway. 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 princess will also give up all her patronages. The Norwegian Royal Court announced that organisations affected will be offered the patronage of another member of the Royal Family.
Taking to Instagram, Princess Martha Louise said she had made the decision to bring ”calm” to the Royal Family. In recent months, there has been debate about whether she would keep her title as she and her fiance, Durek Verrett, attracted controversy.
Durek Verrett, a self proclaimed shaman, was sharply criticised after starting to sell a medallion which he said cured Covid. The couple have also run live broadcasts on social media called ‘The Princess and the Shaman’. Now, the Royal Court says that the decision taken by the Princess to step back means that ”must not highlight affiliation with the Royal Family in their own social media channels”.
However, the princess will retain her title and she will remain as Chair of Princess Martha Louise’s Fund.
The announcement comes after a period of debate about Martha Louise’s status which has seen organisations including the Norwegian Epilepsy Association and the Association for Muscular Dystrophy end their links with the princess. She has faced controversy before over her use of her title in business enterprises and stopped that practice several years ago.
The decision to step back from royal duties comes just weeks after her brother, Crown Prince Haakon, confirmed that the Royal Family had been discussing his sister’s future role. After speculation that she could lose her title, the Crown Prince was asked about conversations in the family and said ”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.”
Earlier in the year, Martha Louise’s father, King Harald, said that there was a ”cultural clash” with his future son-in-law but they were trying to work things out.
Now, the family says they have taken the decision for the princess to step back to ‘‘ to safeguard the relationship of trust with the Norwegian people, while at the same time taking care of the family in the best possible way. The boundaries of what one can say and do, while representing the Royal Family, have been questioned and challenged. That’s why we see a need to clarify roles and the use of the princess title.”
And the family sharply criticised racist attacks on Durek Verrett, saying ” The racist attitudes Durek Verrett has been subjected to, especially on social media, we strongly oppose. It is a strength that the Royal Family reflects the ethnic diversity that exists in Norway. It can be difficult to understand how direct or indirect, conscious or unconscious racism can be experienced, for those of us who are not in it ourselves. Unfortunately, there are many in Norway today who experience discrimination and racism. We must work together to put an end to this.”
Princess Martha Louise is the elder of the two children of King Harald and Queen Sonja and is fourth in line to the throne of Norway.
