Princess Märtha Louise’s fairytale wedding is not thrilling Norwegians. Sixty-nine percent of them believe the daughter of King Harald V should lose her princess title, according to a poll for NRK, Norway’s public broadcaster.
Although her marriage to a controversial “shaman” is not directly in question, recent controversies surrounding the use of her titles for commercial purposes have raised eyebrows in Norway.
Märtha Louise may have resigned from her duties within the royal family at the end of 2022 and promised to refrain from using her title of princess in her business ventures, but she does not always play the game.
This is evidenced by the recent controversies over the marketing of a bottle of gin on the occasion of her marriage to Durek Verrett, or the exclusive sale of images of the wedding to a British celebrity magazine, not to mention her contract with Netflix.
Popularity falling
These controversies, as well as the recent case involving Crown Princess Mette Marit’s eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby, are hurting the monarchy. The young man spent around thirty hours in police custody in August 2024 for assault and battery on his girlfriend.
The popularity of the Norwegian monarchy has been falling since 2017. While 81% of Norwegians supported the monarchy in 2017, this figure is down to 62% in September 2024. The decline has been particularly noticeable in recent months. Support for the monarchy, from 73% last May, fell to 68% in August, then 62% in September.
“The monarchy still has more than twice as many supporters as the republic in Norway,” Tor Bomann-Larsen, historian and author of royal books, notes to NRK.
- BFMTV.com
