Fake images showing Norway’s Princess Märtha Louise with a baby bump have been removed days after they were circulated online, forcing the royal to issue a rare condemnation.
One of the artificially generated photos showed the 55-year-old with her husband, American shaman Durek Verrett, holding a sonogram.
The images appeared on two Facebook sites late last week, leading to rumours the princess and her husband were expecting their first child together.
Märtha Louise issued a statement, via her spokesperson, soon after the photos spread online, labelling the rumours as “false claims”.
“We are aware that false claims and manipulated images of Princess Märtha Louise are being spread on social media, and this is something we take seriously and are following up on,” the royal’s manager Carina Scheele Carlsen told Norwegian news outlet TV 2.
“Beyond this, we do not wish to comment further on the matter at this time.”
The photos were shared on two Facebook accounts, written in Norwegian and German.
Meta has since removed the profiles for breaching its guidelines on coordinated inauthentic behaviour.
TV 2 shared screenshots of the fake images before the posts were taken down.
Princess Märtha Louise is the elder sister of Norway’s new King Haakon VIII, who ascended the throne on August 28 following the death of their father, the late King Harald V.
She married American-born Durek Verrett in 2024, a self-professed shaman and healer.
Their union has not been without...
Fake images showing Norway’s Princess Märtha Louise with a baby bump have been removed days after they were circulated online, forcing the royal to issue a rare condemnation. One of the artificial...