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Leah Isadora Behn

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Leah Isadora Behn
Born (2005-04-08) 8 April 2005 (age 19)
Hankø, Fredrikstad, Norway
FatherAri Behn
MotherPrincess Märtha Louise of Norway

Leah Isadora Behn (born 8 April 2005) is the second daughter of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her 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]

The second daughter of Princess Märtha Louise, Leah Isadora was born at Bloksbjerg, her mother's summer residence on the island of Hankø, Norway.

On 17 June 2005, Leah 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. Leah's grandmother, Queen Sonja, carried her to the baptismal font. The christening made headlines around the world when Märtha Louise revealed that the name Leah had been inspired by the Star Wars character Princess Leia. She 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]

Leah 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, Leah’s parents started divorce proceedings, intending to share custody of their daughters,[7][8] and the divorce was finalized in 2017.[9] Ari Behn killed himself on Christmas Day, 2019. He was buried in Oslo Cathedral.[10] In April 2021, Princess Märtha Louise revealed that she was planning to move to the United States with her daughters when the problems of COVID-19 were out of the way.[5]

The web site of the Norwegian royal family names the core members of the family as King Harald and Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus, Princess Märtha Louise, her three daughters, and Princess Astrid.[11]

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ "Order of succession". The Royal House of Norway. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Christening of Leah Isadora". The pink royals. 16 June 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Norwegian royals christen little Leah Isadora". Hello!. 16 June 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Jeg er Leah (in Norwegian)". Aftenposten. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b "PRINCESS PLANS TO MOVE TO THE US: The royal said that her children will ‘of course join’" Hola!, 6 April 2021
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Berglund, Nina (August 5, 2016). "Royal Divorce 'Painful and Sad'". News in English Norway. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Her Highness Princess Märtha Louise". The Royal Court. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Caroline Hallemann, "Get to Know the Norwegian Royal Family", Town & Country at townandcountrymag.com, 5 April 2021
Leah Isadora Behn
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 8 April 2005
Lines of succession
Preceded by Line of succession to the Norwegian throne
6th position
Succeeded by
Line of succession to the British throne
descended from Maud, daughter of Edward VII