Norwegian princess steps down from royal duties

By Busra Nur Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) - Norway's Princess Martha Louise stepped down from her official duties on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Nordic country's royal family.

"The Princess is taking this step to create a clearer dividing line between her business activities and her role as a member of the Royal Family," said the statement, adding that Louise and her fiance Durek Verrett "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."

However, her father King Harold decided she would keep her title as princess, said the statement.

Once married, Verrett will become a part of the royal family but will neither have a title nor represent the Royal House of Norway, it added.

The couple will, however, attend family-related gatherings that Norwegian royals traditionally attend together, it noted.

Louise, 50, is the only daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja and fourth in the line of succession after her brother Crown Prince Haakon and his two children.

She got engaged to her American boyfriend Verrett, a self-styled shaman, in June.

Louise has three daughters from her first marriage to Norwegian author Ari Behn, who took his own life in 2019.

The couple married had in 2002 and divorced in 2017.