The daughter of a Norwegian princess has become the first member of the country’s royal family to come out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
In a June 29 Instagram post, 22-year-old Maud Angelica Behn – daughter of Martha Louise of Norway, granddaughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, and fifth in line to the throne – identified herself as bisexual while wishing her followers a happy Pride.
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They danced to a defiant song about staying true to oneself in the face of societal disapproval.
“Happy Pride from a bisexual person!” she wrote, according to a translation from Vanity Fair. “This year’s Pride was absolutely amazing and there was so much love.”
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Along with the message, she shared photos of herself at a Pride celebration decked head to toe in the colors of the bisexual flag.
In her own post, Martha Louise shared photos of herself with her daughter at Pride and expressed unbridled support for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Love is never wrong,” she wrote. “This Pride Month, I want to honour the courage it takes to live your truth. During Pride I see a deep capacity for love – love that doesn’t ask for permission or explanation.”
“There’s something profoundly beautiful about daring to love who you love, even when the world tells you to be quiet, to shrink, or to hide,” she continued. “But love isn’t meant to be hidden. It’s meant to be celebrated, lived, and shared in all its wonderful forms.”
She also said that Pride is about both identity and freedom, as well as “the bravery to be fully yourself in a world that often doesn’t make it easy.”
“To everyone out there still trying to find the words or the courage: You are seen, you are loved, and you never have to apologise for who you are,” she concluded.
Martha Louise, a self-described clairvoyant, kept her title but relinquished her royal duties in 2022, dedicating herself to an alternative medicine business with her controversial now-husband Durek Verrett. She has two other daughters in addition to Maud. Their father, Martha Louise’s first husband Ari Behn, took his own life in 2019. Two years earlier, he had accused Kevin Spacey of misconduct.
Maude has since become known for her mental health advocacy. At only 16 years old, she became famous for a powerful speech she made at her father’s funeral, imploring people to reach out for help when they need it.
“There’s always a way out,” she told people struggling. In the aftermath, she was named 2020’s “Bravest Woman in Norway” by Tara Magazine.
She said at the time that she wanted to use her grief to help others, and now, with coming out, she is using her Pride to do the same.
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