Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn’s mother dispute funeral arrangements six years later

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway has accused a gossip magazine of exploiting her late ex-husband Ari Behn’s funeral for profit, while Behn’s mother, Marianne Behn, denies the princess’s account of the events, Dagbladet reports.

The dispute follows claims by the news site iNyheter that the magazine Se og Hør allegedly paid up to 800,000 Norwegian kroner (approx. €70,000) for coverage of Behn’s 2020 funeral. Behn, a writer and former husband of the princess, died by suicide on Christmas Day 2019. His memorial service was held at Oslo Cathedral on January 3, 2020, followed by private gatherings at Theatercaféen and Tjuvholmen in Oslo.

Princess Märtha Louise stated that iNyheter’s reporting accurately reflects what happened, calling the magazine’s actions “cynical, unethical, and an exploitation of vulnerable people.” She claimed that Behn’s then-manager, Geir Håkonsund, advised her three daughters—Maud Angelica, Leah Isadora, and Emma Tallulah—not to attend the public memorial at Theatercaféen due to media presence, particularly from Se og Hør.

“As a mother, this was completely unacceptable,” the princess wrote in a statement to iNyheter, obtained by Dagbladet. She said she then organised a separate private memorial without the Behn family to protect her children. “In such a moment, it is the shared grief that matters most—something Se og Hør prevented.”

Marianne Behn and her husband, Olav Bjørshol, rejected the princess’s version of events in a statement to Se og Hør. “The story now being dragged up by Märtha Louise’s statement to iNyheter does not correspond with reality. Our family has a different account,” they wrote, calling the revival of the matter “painful.” They added that Behn’s public role made the funeral a non-private affair but declined further comment to Dagbladet.

The princess also criticised Norway’s Press Association and Editors’ Association for failing to address what she described as unethical media practices. “When consideration for privacy—and especially for children—is set aside in this way, it undermines trust in both the media and the bodies responsible for upholding press ethics,” she said.