Leah Isadora Behn (born 8 April 2005) is a member of the Norwegian Royal family. She is the second daughter of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her late former husband Ari Behn, and a grandchild of King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway. She is the sixth in the line of succession to the Norwegian throne, after her sister Maud Angelica.[1]
Leah Isadora Behn | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 April 2005 Hankø, Fredrikstad, Norway |
| Parent(s) | Ari Behn Princess Märtha Louise of Norway |
| Relatives | Maud Angelica Behn (sister) House of Glücksburg |
Although Behn and her sisters are members of the royal family, they hold no royal titles, are private citizens, and are free to pursue other interests more than their cousins who do hold titles. Some of Behn's public activities include modeling, photography, and makeup tutorials. She has her own YouTube channel as well as a TikTok page where she talks about her life and interests.[citation needed]
Life
editThe second daughter of Princess Märtha Louise, Behn was born at Bloksbjerg, her mother's summer residence on the island of Hankø, Norway.[citation needed]
On 16 June 2005, she was christened in the chapel of the Royal Palace, Oslo.[2][3] Her godparents were Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, her mother's friends Gry Brusletto and Katharina Salbu, her father's brother Espen Bjørshol, her father's friend Jon Andreas Håtun, and Didrik Vigsnæs, the husband of Princess Märtha Louise's bridesmaid and second cousin Marianne Ulrichsen. Behn's grandmother, Queen Sonja, carried her to the baptismal font. The christening made headlines around the world when Behn's mother, Märtha Louise, revealed that the name Leah had been inspired by the Star Wars character Princess Leia. Märtha Louise said in an interview with the newspaper Aftenposten, "I must admit that I have always been a big 'Star Wars' fan, and Princess Leia has always been the most beautiful in the whole world".[4]
Behn has an older sister, Maud Angelica, and a younger one, Emma Tallulah.[5] The family lived in Islington, London, then in New York, and finally in Lommedalen, a valley outside Oslo.[6]
On 5 August 2016, Behn’s parents started divorce proceedings, intending to share custody of their daughters,[7][8] and the divorce was finalized in 2017.[9] Her father, Ari Behn, died by suicide on Christmas Day, 2019. His funeral service was held in Oslo Cathedral.[10] In April 2021, her mother revealed that she was planning to move to the United States with Behn and her sisters when the problems of COVID-19 were out of the way, but they did not.[5]
In 2022, Behn became the first Norwegian debutante to be presented at Le Bal des débutantes in Paris.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Order of succession". The Royal House of Norway. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
- ^ "Christening of Leah Isadora". The pink royals. 16 June 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
- ^ "Norwegian royals christen little Leah Isadora". Hello!. 16 June 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
- ^ "Jeg er Leah (in Norwegian)". Aftenposten. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
- ^ a b "PRINCESS PLANS TO MOVE TO THE US: The royal said that her children will ‘of course join’" Hola!, 6 April 2021
- ^ Telegraph Obituaries (December 27, 2019). "Ari Behn, acclaimed writer who was compared to Scott Fitzgerald and was controversially married to Princess Märtha Louise of Norway – obituary". The Telegraph. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ^ Berglund, Nina (August 5, 2016). "Royal Divorce 'Painful and Sad'". News in English Norway. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ^ "Prinsesse Märtha Louise og Ari Behn har bestemt seg for å gå fra hverandre [Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn decided to go apart]". The Royal Court (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Her Highness Princess Märtha Louise". The Royal Court. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ Boucher, Phil (3 January 2020). "Princess Martha Louise's Ex-Husband, Ari Behn, Laid to Rest in Oslo Cathedral Following Christmas Day Suicide". People. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "I went to le Bal des Débutantes, where kids of Hollywood legends, royals, and business moguls make their high-society debut. It was a night full of glamour I'll never forget". Insider.com.