Ari Behn

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Shocking news in Norway today! Ari Behn, the Norwegian Author and artist who was the former husband of Princess Märtha Louise, has committed suicide! The eldest child of Olav Bjørshol and Marianne Rafaela Solberg, his parents divorced in 1982 but remarried in 2017, and he was born in Århus, Denmark but mostly grew up in Moss, Norway, attending the Waldorf School in Moss and obtaining a bachelor’s degree in history and religion from University of Oslo. Behn was an Norwegian author and an artist, writing three novels, two collections of short stories and a book about his wedding. His 1999 short stories collection Trist som faen (“Sad as hell”) sold about 100,000 copies and received several favourable reviews, being translated into Swedish, Danish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, and French. He made his debut as a playwright with Treningstimen in 2011. In 2002, Ari Behn married Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, the only daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja. The couple had three daughters, Maud, Leah and Emma, before divorcing in 2017, though he remained close to the Royal Family. Ari frequently spoke out about his depression, and even revealed that he had been groped by Kevin Spacey during the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. Our thoughts and prayers are with members of his family at this sad time!

King Harald said:

It is with great sadness the Queen and I have received the message of Ari Behn’s passing. Ari has been an important part of our family for many years, and we carry warm, fond memories of him. We are grateful that we got to know him. We grieve that our grandchildren have now lost their beloved father – and have deep compassion for his parents and siblings, who have now lost their beloved son and brother. We ask that Ari’s immediate family get some rest in this painful time.”

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit stated:

For us, Ari was a good friend, a dear family member and a wonderful uncle, with whom we shared many of life’s small and big moments. It is with great sadness that we have received the message of his passing away. We were all very fond of Ari. Our thoughts go especially to Maud, Leah, Emma, ​​Princess Märtha Louise and Ari’s immediate family.

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2 thoughts on “Ari Behn

  1. Such a terrible news. Sadly the holidays period is always a difficult moment for people with depression and such. RIP

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