HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit suffered a very personal loss in the massacre at Utøya in Norway. Her step-brother Trond Bernsten, was among 76 victims killed by the gunman. In her official capacity, the Princess needed to be front and center helping the country heal from the unbearable loss. But in that capacity, she was unable to stop the tears from showing the personal tragedy she was dealing with. Sadly, Trond was laid to rest this week in front of friends and family, but his step-sister was not there. There was no official word from the palace as to why the Princess chose to miss the ceremony; the obvious reason could be that she had official work that prevented her from being there. More likely the reason was that the Princess did not want to present one loss as bigger than another in what was a tragedy for the entire country. Princess Mette-Marit’s mother Marit Tjessem married Rolf Bernsten in 1994. The Princess had a close relationship with her step-father, and he in turn, had a close relationship with her son Marius. Rolf Bernsten died in 2008 after a long illness.
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Sources: Billed-Bladet
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