– My sister and I grew up in a kind of shared destiny. We felt like we were in a situation that only the two of us understood, and we leaned on each other. Märtha has been incredibly important to me. This is what Crown Prince Haakon says in the new biography “Haakon – stories about an heir to the throne”, penned by journalist and author Kjetil Østli and in the Crown Prince’s own words. Angel school and contact with the dead There has been discussion several times in the past about Princess Märtha Louise’s role. Princess Märtha Louise and Elisabeth Samnøy met the press after they had started the so-called English school. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB Already over 20 years ago, in 2002, the king decided that she should no longer have the title Her Royal Highness. The reason was that the princess was to be self-employed, and the decision was to create a greater distance from the royal house’s official business. She started with cultural communication and reading Norwegian folktales. It attracted considerably more attention and criticism when, a few years later, she started Astarte Education, perhaps better known as the so-called “angel school”, and told that she has supernatural abilities. When the princess later said that she can contact the dead, there was an uproar. – It is completely within my heart that others believe differently than me. Now little brother Crown Prince Haakon defends his sister in some of the controversial path choices. It was a joyful reunion between the siblings when Princess Märtha Louise came to the concert on the occasion of the release of Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s favorite collection in 2008. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB – It went from rose therapy and little things under the radar, then cultural communication, and eventually this the school, to which some reacted negatively. This is dangerous, someone said. Her outlook on life evoked strong emotions. The condemnation my sister was met with surprised me, says Crown Prince Haakon in the biography. – It makes me a little angry to think about it, I notice. Yes, some of what my sister believes in also challenges me. I don’t have her view of the world. But it is completely within that others believe differently than me and mean something else. Crown Prince Haakon posed for the photographers with his sister and wife when he turned 45. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB Last year, the crown prince led the process and the “family council” that led to Princess Märtha Louise ceasing to represent the royal house. It had then stormed several times around the princess and her fiance Durek Verrett. Among other things, they have received criticism for mixing up commercial interests and the princess title, and Verrett has also been criticized for several controversial statements. The Crown Prince thought – and still thinks – the solution was right and good. But the lump in his stomach was there, because he had to balance two considerations that were important to him. – It is the consideration of the institution, the royal house, which I spend my life on, and the human consideration, i.e. my family. I want to take care of both the institution and the family, and I think we can achieve both at the same time. Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett attended the celebration of the 18th birthday of the Crown Prince’s daughter Princess Ingrid Alexandra last year. A few months later, the process about the princess’s role in the royal household began. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB Was bullied at school: – To this day, I find the word “prince” difficult to pronounce. The sister has always been important to him, the crown prince describes in the book. – If something has been particularly difficult, she has been there, he says. Like when he noticed at school that something was different about him. He who would rather just be Haakon, be like the other children and fit in. Just be liked and make the school day work. – We felt we were in a situation that only the two of us understood, says Crown Prince Haakon about the relationship with his sister. Here are the two of them on 17 May 1980 to wave to the children’s train at Skaugum. Photo: Erik Thorberg / NTB – The class went well. But the older school children I didn’t know very well treated me differently. They talked about me being a prince. The prince. They liked to come over, preferably when I was playing with others, and make it uncomfortable for me. It wasn’t a big deal, but as a child it was uncomfortable. He says that the older children took his lunchbox. Tossed it between them, so he was running between them. – Many have far worse school days, and it wasn’t always malicious. But everyday life became complicated, he says. He didn’t want to talk about it. But the sister saw it. – She went to the same school after all. She supported me. Märtha has been very important to me. He would rather just be like other children, says Crown Prince Haakon. But growing up as a royal meant, among other things, official photo sessions. Photo: Bjørn Sigurdsøn / NTB Childhood experiences have left their mark. It can still affect the crown prince. – To this day, I find the word “prince” difficult to pronounce, “I am a prince”. At school it made me anxious. I would rather not be seen, because it could quickly go wrong. – So, one might think, at school he could play the role? No, it was distant to me, incredibly distant. As I said, “being a prince” was a source of trouble, not of advantage. As a child, all this was a disadvantage, an obstacle in the way of good relationships. Do they really like me? Are they okay because I am who I am? Is that why they pay attention to me? I developed a social radar, a hypersensitive device to distinguish fake from real. I probably became both hypersensitive and square. If I sensed falsity and “mistakes”, it became difficult. I became extremely wet. It made me split up my identity, Crown Prince Haakon describes today. Anger and rage He talks about the anger he carried at the time. An existential anger, he calls it. – Frustration with life, frustration with my own inadequacy. (…) I had a power, and it could be violent and had some strange effects. I didn’t like being held. It triggered my anger, being held down, held down. “Irritation” does not cover the feeling that welled up. It was rage. – At the same time, I was a bad loser. If I felt humiliated, or if I lost in something I wanted to assert myself in, the rage grew. I was so sorry. Deep down, it wasn’t about winning in games or in a competition. It is the actual experience of loss I am talking about, triggered by strange things.
ttn-69
Getting angry at the condemnation of Princess Märtha Louise – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
