Princess Märtha Louise, eldest child of Kong Harold V og Dronning Sonja (King Harold  V and Queen Sonja)was born in 1971, which means that she has succession rights to the throne.  However, even though her brother Haakon is younger than her, he comes first in the line of succession.  If Märtha Louise had been born prior to 1971, like her aunts, Kong Harold’s søstrer (sisters) for example, she would not have succession rights (Salic Law had previously excluded females from these rights).  In fact, Crown Prince Haakon’s children come before Märtha Louise in line to the throne.  However, in 1990, this arrangement changed once again, stating that the eldest child born after 1990, regardless of gender, would be first in line to the throne.  So, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, daughter of Crown Prince Haakon and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, will be placed before her younger brother in line to the throne.  I just wanted to give a little background about Märtha Louise’s place in the Royal family.

While Märtha Louise is 4th in line to the throne, she has actually taken steps to partially disconnect herself with her royal title.  As a successful businesswoman, she felt that it would be beneficial for her to remove her style of Her Royal Highness (HRH).  Kong Harold (with Märtha Louise’s consent) removed the title in 2002.  She still retains the title Royal Princess and performs royal duties.

  Märtha Louise was educated in Oslo and Maastricht, Netherlands to become a certified physiotherapist.  She is very interested in holistic medicine.  However, she has not practices her profession, and has instead devoted much of her time to establish a commercial entertainment business based on her fascination with fairytales, folklore, and music.  She recites folk tales and sings with well known Norwegian choirs.  She has also authored several books about fairytales, including Why Kings and Queens Don’t Wear Crowns (2004, her first children’s book).  In 2007, Princess Märtha Louise edited a book called Prinsesse Märtha Louises eventyrlige verden, Eventyr fra jordens hjerte, Rodinia (Princess Märtha-Louise’s adventurous world, adventures from the heart of the earth, Rodinia), a compilation of 67 fairytales from 50 countries. 

In the summer of 2007, Märtha Louise and her business partner, Elisabeth Samnøy, established a private school in Oslo called Astarte Education.  The school is a 3-year program for students interested in techniques of healing and reading.  It even promises to teach students to communicate with angels, something Princess Märtha Louise, claims to be able to do herself.  She is quite an interesting, successful individual, involved in many different activities and organizations.  I think it’s great to hear about members of royal families who are so motivated and have so much more going on than just their status as part of a royal family.  I encourage you to get a hold of a copy of one of her books.  I really liked Why Kings and Queens Don’t Wear Crowns.