Princess depressed − attacks media

 

Märtha Louise suffered from depression 

 

Of:  

 

Jenny Alexandersson  

 

Published: Less than 2 hours ago  

 

Princess Märtha Louise Princess Märtha Louise suffered from a depression when she thought the media became too close-minded. 

 

In an interview at the Norwegian conference Medieledarna, she says that she felt that her privacy was invaded.  

 

- It felt as if I had nowhere to hide, says the princess according to

VG.

 

Princess Märtha Louise

was born into the royal spotlight. But even though she has had the eyes of the media directed at her all her life, she has never felt comfortable. 

 

Media coverage increased significantly when she was paired with the American shaman

Durek Verrett.

His controversial statements have made big headlines.  

 

A couple of weeks ago she attacked the Norwegian press at the annual SKUP conference (a conference for investigative journalism). 

 

 

Princess Märtha Louise was interviewed at the conference Medieledarna i Norge. She talked about her experiences with the Norwegian press and how hunted she felt all these years. Photo: Tuva Åserud / NTB  

 

Followed her on the way to school  

 

Today on Medieledarna, she attacks the media again. At the same time, she openly tells how tough she finds it to be constantly written about and monitored. 

 

- The media has been a big part of life from the start. It has been very invasive. I felt like I couldn't hide anywhere, or any privacy. Everything was public. And I was told that the press was entitled to it because I was a public figure, says the princess to Hanne Skartveit, political editor at VG.

 

When she was in her twenties, she suffered a deep depression because she felt hunted.  

 

Märtha Louise says that photographers and reporters followed her on the way to school. She began going to therapy and confronted journalists by knocking on car windows as they nested outside her home. 

 

Princess Märtha Louise and her fiance Durek Verrett who is a shaman. Photo: Babak Golkar/elevateYOU  

 

The criticism contributed to Ari Behn's mental illness 

 

In an interview with SVT last winter, Märtha Louise claimed that she was Norway's most criticized person. She also said that the criticism in the media contributed to ex-husband Ari Behn's mental health problems before he took his own life. 

 

- The reason I'm sitting here is my children. I don't want them to experience the same thing I did. But there was a much harsher climate in the past, says the princess.  

 

Tore Bakke Håndlykken, news editor at VG, says that it is important to listen to the princess' criticism. 

 

- It is important to have critical journalism both against the royal house as an institution and the choices the princess has made in her role and through her activities. But we in the press must also be able to see the whole and listen to the experiences she has, says Håndlykken.