Her decision this summer to teach classes in alternative treatment, and help people contact angels, is just the latest unconventional pursuit for a member of Norway's royal family who's been both admired and ridiculed.
Reaction ranged Tuesday from those who said she was making healing and clairvoyancy more credible, to those who think she should resign as a member of the state Evangelical Lutheran church.
There was no official reaction from either King Harald or her mother, Queen Sonja, both of whom are on summer holiday. They have always defended their daughter in the past though, and are expected to either do so or keep quiet.
Princess Märtha Louise has long been somewhat controversial, and caused some headaches for her parents. Her brother and heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, always seemed the smart one, and appeared far more studious and serious.
The princess' academic interests, meanwhile, were vastly overshadowed by her love for horses, romance and good times. An alleged alliance with a married man in England in the early 1990s made her party to a divorce case there, and prevented her from entering the country where her grandfather was born, for fear of getting dragged into court.
Her ultimate marriage to self-styled Bohemian author Ari Behn was also controversial, not least because of Behn's own written accounts of drug use and love of publicity. Signs of mutual spirituality emerged quickly, however, not least when the couple secretly made a traditional pilgrimage by walking over the muntains to the historic city of Trondheim before the wedding there in 2002. They later wrote a book about the wedding experience, in which Märtha compared herself to a "fountain of light."
Her choice of physiotherapy training surprised many, not least when she once said it was a career she could practice from home. Would-be patients couldn't quite imagine knocking on the door of the palace to get a massage.
Even though she now lives in a large home in suburban Bærum, after securing special dispensation from local zoning rules to expand and remodel it, and inherited her grandfather King Olav's summer home on the island of Hankø, she still used the palace phone number for her new healing business.
Palace officials have tried hard to distance themselves from Princess Märtha Louise's personal business ventures, which have generated controversy as well because of accusations she was using her royal title for commercial gain.
Sven Gjeruldsen, who initially said he wouldn't comment on the princess' personal business affairs, later said the palace number was used "because the princess’ protocol adviser has her office at the palace."
Protocol adviser Mari Sørli said she didn't know why the palace phone number was used, and that it would be changed because its usage was a mistake.
She said neither she nor the palace had any role in Princess Märtha Louise's new venture. Sørli's job, according to the royal family's official web site, is to coordinate the professional and personal activities of the princess.
