Emerald Ring She Waited For; Romantic and Priceless Jewelry Gifts of Princess Martha Louise.

If Britain has Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for constant discussions, Norway has its own royal rebel, Princess Martha Louise, the only daughter of King Harold and Queen Sonja. From childhood Martha has said that she could sense things other people could not. She has described herself as clairvoyant, spoken about communicating with angels, and eventually turned those beliefs into a very public debate. Her personal life has been just as complicated, but amidst all, she has access to some of the most beautiful jewels, the grandpa's gift, parents' diamonds and aquamarine heart, and finally the emerald that changed her life forever. So, keep watching to get to know Princess Martha Louise closer. Princess Martha was born on September 22nd, 1971 in Oslo, the eldest child of then Crown Prince Harold and Crown Princess Sonja. She was followed two years later by her younger brother Haakon. Today that fact sounds surprisingly important, because if Martha had been born under Norway's current succession rules, the story could have been very different. When she was born, Norway still followed a system in which a male heir took precedence over a female heir. The constitution was changed in 1990 to introduce equal succession for future generations, but a transitional rule meant that males born before 1990 still came before their sisters. So although Martha Louise was eventually included in the line of succession, her younger brother remained ahead of her, and therefore she was never Crown Princess. There is also no reliable evidence that she publicly campaigned to become Crown Princess. In fact, her life would eventually move in a direction very different from traditional royal service. She grew up at Skagom with Haakon, and her parents deliberately gave their children an upbringing resembling that of ordinary Norwegian children. She attended regular school, sang in a choir, played flute, danced folk dances, and became a highly accomplished equestrian, even competing at national level. But there was another side to Martha Louise. She has said that she experienced unusual abilities from childhood, and later described herself as clairvoyant. And this would be only the beginning of her complicated relationship with royal expectations. But, as befits a princess, she accumulated a substantial jewelry collection, although not as pompous as you might expect. One of the most recognizable pieces in Martha Louise's early jewelry collection is her multi-strand pearl choker. The five-strand necklace features an antique pearl and diamond clasp, and three diamond pendants. Its exact provenance is not formally documented, but royal jewelry researchers believe it was a gift from King Olaf around the time of Martha Louise's confirmation in 1986, when she first wore it with a lovely white embroidered dress for the gala dinner. And the young princess wore it repeatedly. It appeared during important royal birthday celebrations, gala events, and major family occasions throughout the 1990s. Its last well-documented appearance came in 2010, during a Dutch state visit. It is exactly the kind of jewel that makes a royal collection feel personal. Not a gigantic state jewel. Not a just something a grandfather may have chosen for his granddaughter, and something she continued wearing for years. And now it appeared again, after so many years, as a part of her morning jewelry at the funeral of her father. And indeed, pearls are exactly those kind of gems worn both at happy and solemn moments. Another extraordinary early gift came from her parents. The moonstone and diamond demi-perure was given to the young princess as a confirmation gift, consisting of an ornate necklace, matching drop earrings, and a ring, so they could be worn before she reached the age to wear a tiara. Thus, she started to don this antique in style, but very delicate demi-perure the same year, including at the gala celebrating her father's 50th birthday in 1987. And the story continued from there. The suite later appeared in portraits and was worn at royal weddings and other important occasions. For her 50th birthday in 2021, Martha Louise once again chose the moonstone jewels for a series of official birthday portraits. But it's not clear whether it was a newly acquired set of jewels, or came from the Norwegian vault, where some of the moonstone jewels may be kept, as Queen Sonja was previously wearing a diamond and moonstone sautoir necklace and earrings. But then came one of her most dramatic and important jewels, her first and only personal tiara, and it belonged only to her. It was an 18th birthday gift from her grandfather, King Olav, the tiara that up to now bears his name, King Olav's gift tiara, reminding of how important it was and stays to her. Made by Garrard and featuring a delicate wheat ear design, it had already been worn by the Duchess of Kent as a lone piece at a banquet in 1982, before entering the Norwegian family collection. What's interesting, Queen Sonja's emerald bead suite was also worn by Duchess of Kent before reaching her jewelry box. For Martha, however, it became something much more personal. She wore it repeatedly for major milestone events like royal birthdays, state visits, and foreign banquets. But its most shining moment came later, but we will return to it in a few minutes. At the same 18th birthday portrait, she also wore her parents' gift, an Edwardian diamond necklace, featuring intricate diamond swags and delicate pearls. I guess this necklace was bought as a match for King Olav's tiara to create a demi suite. She wore it through the 1990s for events like a Swedish state visit, and Queen Margrethe, and Prince Henrik's 25th wedding anniversary, and later at King Harold V's 70th birthday celebrations in 2007. And there is something particularly fitting about these early jewels. Her collection was not built overnight. It grew with her. Confirmation gifts, birthday gifts, family jewels. In 2001, Martha Louise became engaged to Norwegian writer Ari Bane, despite his bohemian writer background, provocative public image, and a turbulent countercultural past that shocked traditional royal expectations. The wedding took place on May 24, 2002, at Naderos Cathedral in Trondheim. And for jewelry lovers, this was a fascinating royal wedding. The bride wore the small setting of Queen Maud's pearl tiara, specifically the replica made after the original historic tiara was stolen from Garrard in London. She also wore a wedding brooch, creating a distinctly Norwegian royal bridal look. But this was also a turning point in her royal status. In connection with her marriage, she relinquished the style Her Royal Highness, and she had already stopped receiving dotations in 2002, as she developed her own professional career. Yet, after growing apart, the couple divorced in 2017 after 15 years of marriage and three daughters, Maud Angelica, Leah Isadora, and Emma Tallulah. But two years later, Ari Bane passed away at age of 47, presumably not being able to cope with the public scrutiny and pressure he always felt during the marriage, and even after the divorce. For Martha Louise, this was an extraordinarily difficult chapter of her life. But her story was not finished. Because another relationship was about to transform both her private life and her position within the Norwegian monarchy. Martha Louise publicly announced her relationship with Durek Verrett in 2019. Verrett describes himself as a shaman and spiritual guide, and his relationship with the Norwegian princess generated enormous controversy. There was criticism in Norway over their beliefs, their commercial activities, and the unusual intersection between spirituality and royal identity. Eventually, the palace and Martha decided that the separation between those worlds had to become much clearer. In 2022, she announced that she would no longer perform official duties for the royal house. But then came the engagement. And suddenly, all eyes were on one piece of jewelry, the ring. Durek did not choose a conventional diamond solitaire. Instead, he worked with jewelry designer Joy Sangalang-Smith to create a custom emerald and diamond engagement ring. The central emerald was sourced from Brazil, and the design was packed with symbolism. The emerald was chosen partly as a tribute to Queen Sonia, because emeralds have long been among the queen's favorite jewels. Other elements of the design were intended to evoke Viking symbolism, protection, the elements, and eternal love. So this was not simply an emerald ring, it was almost a family tree transformed into jewelry. After everything that had happened in Martha Louise's first marriage, this ring symbolized a new beginning, while still carrying reminders of the family she had already built. The couple eventually married on August 31, 2024, in Gairanger. And Princess once again reached into her family's jewelry history. For her second wedding, Princess Martha Louise chose the most personal jewel, King Olav's gift tiara. More than three decades after receiving it, she wore the same tiara as bride. But this time she wasn't the young Norwegian princess celebrating her 18th birthday. She was a mother of three, a divorcee, and a woman beginning an entirely different chapter of her life. The tiara had remained the same. The princess had not. For her 2024 wedding to Durek, she paired it with pearl earrings and a modern diamond necklace, creating a bridal look that connected her second marriage with the royal family tradition surrounding her. And yet, King Olav's tiara is only one of the jewels that tell the story of Martha Louise. She possesses some of modern gemstone jewels, yet with a bit of vague history. Martha has worn a striking Tanzanite suite, the story of which first takes place at the box of Queen Sonja, the then crown princess of Norway, who wore a Tanzanite as a pendant along Tanzanite and diamond earrings. Around 2013, the pendant with two additional heart-shaped Tanzanites was set into the elaborate modern diamond necklace and given to Princess Martha, along with the earrings and a ring. This same year she wore the entire suite with Queen Maud's pearl tiara, in its small version to the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden. And I must admit, the Tanzanite is one of the gemstones that suit her best. She kept wearing the suite all these years, including for King Harold and Queen Sonja's 80th birthday banquet, matching it with a new pair of large, pear-shaped earrings, and then again to Princess Ingrid Alexandra's 18th birthday banquet, but this time accompanied by Durek Barrett. And then there is a jewel that blurs the line between mother's jewelry and daughter's jewelry. Queen Sonja's modern aquamarine and amethyst suite features a large heart-shaped aquamarine pendant suspended from a necklace of amethyst beads, accompanied by inverted rectangular earrings. Its provenance is uncertain, although it is probably a gift from King Harold. The queen notably wore the suite during a 2003 state visit to Brazil and during a 2004 state visit to Vietnam. But the important part is what happened later. Martha Louise wore the suite on loan from her mother, including during the Dutch state visit to Norway in 2021, when she paired it with the Norwegian amethyst tiara. The heart-shaped aquamarine is particularly appropriate for a princess whose jewelry story is so closely connected to romance. And as you already saw, there was another remarkable loan. The Norwegian amethyst peruer is now strongly associated with Queen Mette-Marie, but it has never been exclusively hers in terms of wear. The convertible peruer includes a tiara, necklace, earrings, bracelets, and brooch. Mette-Marie became its most frequent wearer, but in 2010 she loaned the set to Martha Louise for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. Martha Louise wore the tall amethyst tiara together with coordinating pieces, creating one of her most memorable gala appearances. Of course, throughout her life she had loaned many pieces of jewelry from Norway's vault, including the Maltese circlet tiara, which she wore without upper cross-sections, and I must say it looked very delicate on her. She also constantly loaned her grandmother's silver wedding earrings, which later were gifted to Mette-Marie. Interestingly, the borrowing relationship goes both ways. Martha once loaned her own personal King Olaf's gift tiara to Sonja in 1995, when her mother needed a headpiece after a major jewel theft in London. And now we come back to that emerald. Because the most interesting thing about Martha's engagement ring isn't simply that it is unusual. It is that almost every important chapter of her life seems to be reflected in it. The emerald recalls her mother, Queen Sonja. The Viking-inspired elements connect it to Norwegian heritage, and the fact that it was designed specifically for her makes it completely different from the historic jewels she inherited or borrowed. The King Olaf tiara tells the story of a grandfather giving a young princess her first and only personal tiara. The pearl choker tells the story of family gifts and decades of royal occasions. The moonstone perure recalls her parents. The aquamarine heart connects her to her mother. The amethysts connect her to her sister-in-law, Mette-Marie, through the tradition of royal loans. But the emerald engagement ring belongs to another chapter. A chapter she chose for herself. No matter what and against all odds. And perhaps that is why it feels like the perfect jewel for Norway's most unconventional princess. If you liked today's story, write down your impressions and thoughts, hit the like button, and subscribe to help us bring you more jewelry stories.