Princess Martha Louise of Norway’s daughter Leah has paid tribute to her father Ari Behn a year after his death.
Mr Behn, an author who shared three daughters – Maud Angelica, 17, Leah Isadora, 15, and Emma Tallulah, 12 – with his ex-wife Princess Martha Louise, 49, took his own life on Christmas Day last year.
Sharing a selfie with her 36,000 Instagram followers, Leah wrote: ‘One year ago today, my dad killed himself and it’s really been one of the hardest years of my life. But if you are alone and/or feeling lonely, I want you to know that you’re not alone!’
She went on to urge fans to seek help, posting several links to suicide prevention organisations.
Princess Martha Louise of Norway’s daughter Leah, 15, has paid tribute to her father Ari Behn a year after his death
In an emotional Instagram post, the teenager urged those who ‘feel alone’ to seek help and shared the phone number for suicide prevention services
Leah said: ‘I know my words can maybe not do anything, but if it can help at least one person it’s so worth it.
‘In these hard times, mental and physical health are so important!’
She continued: ‘And If you are struggling; maybe you’re alone, feeling drained, depressed, feeling broken, going through a loss or even just trying to hold on, I want to say that’s it’s going to be okay.
‘I know it might seem impossible, but I promise it’s going to get better. You are going to make it. Every day you grow and you have a choice to be better.’
The youngster begged followers to seek help and said she was ‘promising it’s going to get better’ in the emotional Instagram post shared to mark her father’s death
‘It’s okay to feel down, but you have to get up and remember who you are, who you want to be!’
Leah added: ‘And I can’t speak from your perspective, but I have been on the other side. And I can tell you that really hurts.
‘I know that there is someone out there who cares for YOU and who you are. And please, if you need to talk, please reach out to someone. I know I would rather listen to your problems then attend your funeral.’
It comes after Princess Martha Louise posted a tribute to her ex-husband online.
Leah’s tribute comes after Princess Martha Louise paid tribute to her ex-husband Ari Behn a year after his death (Pictured, Martha Louise and Ari Behn at the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden in 2015)
Sharing a post of a festive tree ornament last night on Instagram, the royal said her family had marked ‘a very different’ Christmas, saying: ‘We celebrated his life today, we cried over his loss and how much we miss him. It has been a day of loving whatever is.’
The mother-of-three, who was married to Ari in 2002 and divorced in 2017, urged her followers to ‘ask for help’ if they were struggling, adding: ‘I reach out to all of you who are struggling through the Holidays. Know you are loved. Know you are needed. Know you are worth the help you can get.’
In the emotional post, Princess Martha wrote: ‘Just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
‘This year has been a very different Holiday season because Ari, the beloved father of my three girls, is no longer among us. He chose to leave this plane last year on this day. ‘
In an emotional post, Princess Martha said the family ‘cried over his loss and how much we miss him’ on Christmas Day
She continued: ‘LIFE hits us all. We can’t avoid it. We have to meet it. Please ask for help. Please express how you are. You are loved.’
It comes weeks after Princess Martha’s daughter Maud Angelica, 17, paid tribute to her father in an interview.
Speaking to the Voici, Maud said her father was ‘someone who would stop in his tracks to chat with an acquaintance,’ and a man who was ‘genuinely interested in people’.
‘He was a generous man, who always had nice, poetic compliments to give to you,’ he was very good at that,’ she said.
Leah, pictured with her sisters Maud, Emma and Princess Marhta Louise at Ari Behn’s funeral, said the loss of her father still ‘really hurts’
Speaking of how she was processing her grief, the 17-year-old said: ‘I think it will always be a bit difficult. Of course, the pain will become less and less difficult to handle with time. But we never overcome grief. We eventually just accept it and decide to focus on life.’
After the divorce Mr Behn wrote a book Inferno, which critics described as ‘oozing with despair and sadness’ and describes his struggles with mental health, headaches, hallucinations and difficulty breathing.
Promoting the literary work last year, he told Norwegian newspaper VG: ‘I am yesterday’s news, even though the world has not yet been told. I’m a clown, at worst. At best, I am a publicist and a public actor. For many I’m a fool.’
Princess Martha Louise has since started a relationship with her ‘twin flame’ shaman Durek Verrett, 44, based in Los Angeles, who she began dating after becoming his client.
Mr Durek, who is a close friend of Gwyneth Paltrow, claims to be a 6th generation shaman and be able to communicate between the ‘physical and spiritual planes’.