Cape Town – Princess Martha Louise of Norway is giving up her title – at least when engaging in any commercial activities.
The daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja took to Instagram to explain her decision after receiving backlash earlier this year for advertising her spiritual tour with her boyfriend, Shaman Durek (who's real name is Derek Verrett) with the rather evocative name The Princess and The Shaman.
"There have been many discussions about my use of title in a commercial context lately. The fact that I used Princess in the title of my tour, I have said before that I am very sorry, and I still stand by that. It was a mistake and I understand that it provokes when the princess title is used this way.
"The discussions are something I have taken seriously, and in collaboration with my family we have found that it is best that we make some changes. We have therefore jointly come to the conclusion that I use the title princess when I represent the Royal House, do my official assignments at home and abroad, and in private contexts.
"From now on I will not use my princess title in a commercial context. That is, in all commercial contexts, I only use Märtha Louise."
PRINCESS MARTHA – THE CLAIRVOYANT
In case you missed it – and to put things into perspective – Princess Martha was married to Norwegian author Ari Behn with whom she has three children. Earlier this year, after being separated from Ari for three years, the princess revealed she'd found her "twin flame" in Shaman Durek, who also shared his love for the princess who used to be one of his many high-profile clients.
Shaman Durek, "a spiritual guide and gifted healer", "a 'bridge' between the spiritual and physical planes", "who bring[s] success, happiness and healing into people's lives" according to his website, also works closely as a contributor for Gwenyth Paltrow's Goop – even calling the actress his "soul sis", reports Vogue.
READ MORE: Princess of Norway finds love with American shaman
Well before her relationship with Shaman Durek though, Princess Martha considered herself a spiritual being too – complete with her own gifts.
According to Hello Magazine, back in 2007 Princess Martha started the Astarte Education centre with the hope of helping students "create miracles" by using the power of angels that she, from a very young age, found she was able to communicate with.
"Through horses I learned to communicate with animals on a deeper level… I later learned the value of this enormous gift and want to share it with others," she said.
According to the BBC, Princess Martha mentioned on the education site that she has "always been interested in alternative forms of treatment".
It appears her spiritual journey continues – now with Shaman Durek.
This past weekend, the princess and the shaman hosted a webinar on "love, life and change on this planet". This time around, they refrained from using their respective titles.
On her decision to drop her title, the royal said, "I find this to be a good solution where there is a clear distinction between my business activities and my role as a representative of the Royal House, and that I have thus created room for greater freedom in my business activities."
At the moment, we aren't sure of any upcoming webinars hosted by the princess, but she did attend the Starlite Gala on Sunday with Shaman Durek. Princess Martha received the Starlite Foundation Award on the night for her work as "a leader of the new times", "as an agent of change being part of a social transformation" and for "creating awareness and helping people to conquer their own truth daring to follow their heart", as she certainly did.
SEE HER ACCEPTANCE SPEECH HERE: