The former Norwegian royal who took his own life on Christmas Day had battled against alcoholism and spoke last year about feeling ‘terrified’ with ‘devouring anxiety’ two years after his divorce from Princess Märtha Louise.
Ari Behn’s book ‘Inferno’, published in 2018, detailed his struggles with mental health issues and described the author having headaches, hallucinations and difficulty breathing.
Reviewers in Norway said the book ‘oozed with despair and sadness’ and Behn, who had previously described drinking from the early afternoon while he was a royal, worried that he was seen as a ‘fool’ by the public.
Behn and the princess had announced their divorce in August 2016 and he had also made headlines the following year when he accused disgraced actor Kevin Spacey of groping him under a table.
Norway’s Princess Märtha Louise celebrates the Swedish king’s 70th birthday with her then-husband Ari Behn in April 2016, months before they announced their divorce
Princess Martha Louise kisses her husband Ari Behn outside the Trondheim’s Stiftsgarden royal residence after their wedding ceremony on May 24, 2002
Ari Behn’s book ‘Inferno’, published in 2018, detailed his struggles with mental health issues and described the author having headaches, hallucinations and difficulty breathing
Behn was an author and artist who published his first book in 1999, a collection of short stories under the title ‘Sad as f***’.
He rose to public prominence in 2002 after marrying Märtha Louise, the daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja.
The couple had three daughters together – Maud Angelica, Leah Isadora and Emma Tallulah – and wrote a book about their wedding called ‘From Heart to Heart’.
But Behn also hinted at trouble in the marriage in a 2009 interview in which he spoke about his depression, loneliness and excessive drinking.
‘I just work harder until lunch, and I can take the day’s first drink around 1.30pm… that’s happening more often, unfortunately. It’s a bad habit I’ve picked up,’ he said.
He clashed with Norwegian media and a row erupted in 2013 when he was allegedly paid by a celebrity magazine despite complaining about its coverage.
The princess has also raised eyebrows by writing books in which she claimed to have had contact with angels.
Princess Martha Louise (left) and her husband Ari Behn (right) wave to well wishers on the balcony of Trondheim’s Stiftsgarden royal residence after their wedding ceremony on May 24, 2002
(Princess Martha Louise of Norway and her husband Ari Behn pose with their daughter Maud Angelica as they leave the Rikshospitalet in Oslo on May 3, 2003
Ari Behn pictured with Princess Martha Louise. Behn, 47, who was the father of Martha Louise’s three children, died by suicide
The couple announced their divorce in August 2016, with Märtha Louise said the couple had ‘grown apart’.
The following year, Behn alleged in an interview that Kevin Spacey groped his genitals during a Nobel Peace Prize party in 2007.
Behn told Norwegian radio that Spacey, who sat next to him, suddenly said ‘hey, let’s go out and have a cigarette,’ before touching him on the genitals.
The Norwegian said he declined Spacey’s alleged approach by saying ‘maybe later.’ Spacey has not commented on most of the claims against him.
Behn also wrote several novels and plays, and in 2018 published his last book, ‘Inferno’, in which he detailed his mental health struggles.
While promoting the book, he gave an interview to VG in which he was described as ‘terrified and divorced, with a cyst in his ear and devouring anxiety.’
‘I am yesterday’s news, even though the world has not yet been told,’ he told the newspaper.
‘I’m a clown, at worst. At best, I am a publicist and a public actor. For many, I’m a fool,’ said Behn, who also wrote novels and plays.
Ari Behn, pictured centre, with brother Espen and sister Anja. Behn was a published writer and in his most recent book, published in 2018, detailed his struggle with mental health issues
Princess Martha Louise and Ari Behn pictured at the Coronation of Sonja and Harald, in Trondheim, Norway, in June 2016
Last night Norway’s royal palace put out a statement in which King Harald said: ‘It is with great sadness that the Queen and I have received the message of Ari Behn’s passing.
‘Ari has been an important part of our family for many years, and we carry warm, fond memories of him.
‘We are grateful that we got to know him.
‘We grieve that our grandchildren have now lost their dear father, and have deep compassion for his parents and siblings, who now have lost their dear son and brother.
‘We ask that Ari’s immediate family get some rest during this difficult time.’
Geir Hakonsund, Mr Behn’s manager, said on behalf of his family: ‘It is with sadness in our hearts that we, the closest relatives of Ari Behn, announce today that he has taken his life.
‘We ask for respect for our privacy in the coming time.’
Märtha Louise announced a new relationship with Shaman Durek, 44, on Instagram in May.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.