Death & Funeral of Ari Behn: December 25, 2019/January 3, 2020

[Moonmaiden23]

I haven't seen anyone trying to make a connection between Ari's suicide and Kevin Spacey. What's the reason for American media trying to make a connection between the two?

Because the tragic death of a former member of the Norwegian Royal Family is an international story, and there is a certain element in the American media eager to seize on a way to make the story sleazy enough to interest its audience.

 

[JR76]

Ari had told previously that Kevin touched him inappropriately below the table (and below too !) when they met.

That's surprising since from what I've heard through a few gay acquaintances in London, Ari was a bit older than the guys Kevin usually went for.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

That's surprising since from what I've heard through a few gay acquaintances in London, Ari was a bit older than the guys Kevin usually went for.

it was big news at the time:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...pacey-groped-Norwegian-royal-Nobel-party.html


Was Ari part of the celebrity community in Norway? Will there be lots of A/B/Z Listers at the funeral who want to be seen?

 

[King of the Jungle]

It will be a huge funeral, in support of his three young daughters.

I hope TV coverage is deemed inappropriate. All regard should be given to the wishes of his daughters so that they feel able to farewell their father in a meaningful way.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I hope it will be a covered like the funeral of Prince Friso (who died months after an avalanche) : just showing some arrivals and departures and a bird's view screenshot from inside the church. That was it. A few months ago the same with Princess Christina. Just a shots from some arrivals and departures and not one screenshot from inside. I have not heard ONE complaint about that, as the wishes of family are always leading. I fail to see why there should be a televised funeral. Are the Norwegians that hungry for sensation?

 

[eya]

"Swedish media reports that Crown Princess Victoria has canceled all her private plans.

She is said to have traveled directly to Oslo to support her good friend Princess Martha after Ari Behn took his own life.

She will also attend Behn's funeral on Friday January 3"

https://twitter.com/x/status/1211210869293670400

"Several hundred people showed up in a torchlight-parade in memory of Ari Behn in his hometown of Moss on Sunday."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1211340659233349634

 

[wartenberg7]

It will be a huge funeral, in support of his three young daughters.

I hope TV coverage is deemed inappropriate. All regard should be given to the wishes of his daughters so that they feel able to farewell their father in a meaningful way.

I guess there will be a public funeral service, justified by the public and widely known persona Ari Behn has been in Norway, and a very private part on the church yard with only family and close friends allowed.

 

[Stefanie]

Has there been mentioned somewhere HOW he comitted the suicide?
(We were 4 siblings and my younger brother of all people who had an unknown depression kept my father' s pistol from II World War and killed himself with it last year)

 

[wartenberg7]

I hope it will be a covered like the funeral of Prince Friso (who died months after an avalanche) : just showing some arrivals and departures and a bird's view screenshot from inside the church. That was it. A few months ago the same with Princess Christina. Just a shots from some arrivals and departures and not one screenshot from inside. I have not heard ONE complaint about that, as the wishes of family are always leading. I fail to see why there should be a televised funeral. Are the Norwegians that hungry for sensation?

I agree on a lot about your post, but I`m not sure if you can really compare the 3 persons you name. Friso and Christina have been very private people, reluctant about their roles they played they were born into (Pcss Christinas virtually blindness also might have played a role here), which Mr. Behn, despite his mental illness, never was. He was a public figure even before he married ML and remained so, made publications, giving interviews for newspapers and television, knew virtually everyone on the social and cultural scene in Norway.
I don´t think norwegians are "sensation hungry" at all - on the contrary. But Norway is a fundamentally democratic nation. And I guess they want to give everyone interested (obviously much more than what Oslo Cathedral would be able to contain) in this public, unfortunately now deceased person, the opportunity to take part in his farewell.

 

[Denville]

It seems he was a well liked person, and was famous for his writing etc.. so there are members fo the public who would like to see at least part of the funeral service out of respect and admiration for him....Provided there is no focus on the small kids, I cant see why it should not be broadcast...

 

[LadyFinn]

"Swedish media reports that Crown Princess Victoria has canceled all her private plans.

She is said to have traveled directly to Oslo to support her good friend Princess Martha after Ari Behn took his own life.

She will also attend Behn's funeral on Friday January 3"

https://twitter.com/x/status/1211210869293670400

That tweet is based on the article in Svensk Damtidning on yesterday morning. At the article is no confirmation from the court about Victoria's attendance.

At Expressen today:
Expressen has been in contact with the court, which announces that they will notify the royal family's participation at the funeral at the earliest tomorrow, Monday.
Ari Behns död_ Victoria reser för att största Märtha Louise

 

[Sister Morphine]

Has there been mentioned somewhere HOW he comitted the suicide?
(We were 4 siblings and my younger brother of all people who had an unknown depression kept my father' s pistol from II World War and killed himself with it last year)

That's not information that needs to be made publicly known. It's highly inflammatory, and his daughters don't need to know the manner in which their father took his life. Ari's family might know, in that the coroner or detectives investigating might have told them, but that's as far as the information needs to travel.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I'm pretty sure his daughters know what exactly their father did to himself. I'd want to know. It's part of the process to understand that he's dead.

Not that I see the necessity, I'm sure media will write about it at some point after the funeral.

 

[Denville]

I'm pretty sure his daughters know what exactly their father did to himself. I'd want to know. It's part of the process to understand that he's dead.

Not that I see the necessity, I'm sure media will write about it at some point after the funeral.

Depends how old they are. I think thtat they should find out, exactly what happened but perhaps not for a few years...

 

[LadyFinn]

VG tells that Ebba Rysst Heilmann has posted to her Instagram:

Ebba Rysst Heilmann: "I'm always with you, my dear Ari"
Ebba Rysst Heilmann_ «Jeg er alltid hos deg, elskede Ari min» – VG

 

[Sister Morphine]

I'm pretty sure his daughters know what exactly their father did to himself. I'd want to know. It's part of the process to understand that he's dead.

I don't necessarily agree. You may want to know, and it might be useful information to you, but I can't say that it's the same for everyone across the board. If my father took his own life, the last thing I'd want to know is how. Why, so I can be tortured with it the rest of my life? It's bad enough that my father is now gone, I don't need to also deal with the pain of knowing we could have kept sharp objects away from him, or we could have kept the gun locked up better or any number of other self-recriminations people in the aftermath put themselves through.

Believe me, I speak from experience.

 

[Skippy]

Depends how old they are. I think thtat they should find out, exactly what happened but perhaps not for a few years...

Maud Angelica is 16 years old, Leah Isadora is 14 years old and Emma Tallulah is 11.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I don't necessarily agree. You may want to know, and it might be useful information to you, but I can't say that it's the same for everyone across the board. If my father took his own life, the last thing I'd want to know is how. Why, so I can be tortured with it the rest of my life? It's bad enough that my father is now gone, I don't need to also deal with the pain of knowing we could have kept sharp objects away from him, or we could have kept the gun locked up better or any number of other self-recriminations people in the aftermath put themselves through.

Believe me, I speak from experience.

Of course I can only speak for myself, I would want to know, and of course everyone is different and will deal with this differently. I assumed that in Ari's case, there is a high risk that details will eventually get out in the media, with police, paramedics, neighbors etc around the house, so it's better the girls will learn from the family and not from speculation out there. It's bad enough, a very good friend's father killed himself over 30 years ago when there was no therapy available for children etc. and she says the pain will never really leave her.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Has there been mentioned somewhere HOW he comitted the suicide?
(We were 4 siblings and my younger brother of all people who had an unknown depression kept my father' s pistol from II World War and killed himself with it last year)

Stefanie, I am so sad to read that about your brother. What a horrible thing for the family and especially for your father!

I am certain that Ari's close family members have already been notified of the details of his suicide.

It's not necessary that the public be informed as well, but have no doubt...in the days and weeks ahead this information will slowly trickle out via tabloid.

At least that is the way it tends to happen here in the United States.

 

[Osipi]

If it was my daughters facing this type of trauma, my decision would be to not tell them the details of just how the suicide was accomplished until a later date when they've had time to process and deal with the trauma of losing their father and not have the mental image of just how it was accomplished compounding their grief and loss.

Eventually they'll want to know and be more open to the discussion. Right now the pain and the shock has barely had time to register with them let alone go through the stages of grief to arrive at acceptance.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

VG tells that Ebba Rysst Heilmann has posted to her Instagram:

Ebba Rysst Heilmann: "I'm always with you, my dear Ari"
Ebba Rysst Heilmann_ «Jeg er alltid hos deg, elskede Ari min» – VG

What a beautiful and sensitive partner Ari was blessed to have found. She seems to have cared deeply for him.

This man was talented, handsome, productive and apparently loved beyond measure. The fact that he either was so deeply surrounded by fog that he could not see this...or he DID grasp it but still could not summons the will to forge ahead....should give people some idea of the tragic power of this disease.

 

[Osipi]

Its becoming aware of things like the torch-lit parade in Ari's home town that does help to create a soothing blanket type of comfort around a grieving family. All the visible outpourings of grief and remembrance at this time speak so much louder than words ever could.

If only Ari had really realized just how much he was appreciated and respected and cared about before taking his own life. When things happen such as this tragedy, it reminds us how much we need to let other people know how much they mean to us.

 

[Sister Morphine]

It's becoming aware of things like the torch-lit parade in Ari's home town that does help to create a soothing blanket type of comfort around a grieving family. All the visible outpourings of grief and remembrance at this time speak so much louder than words ever could.

If only Ari had really realized just how much he was appreciated and respected and cared about before taking his own life. When things happen such as this tragedy, it reminds us how much we need to let other people know how much they mean to us.

You can show someone how loved and appreciated they are, you can tell them the same until you're blue in the face. Depression does not care. Just like someone who has an eating disorder can look at themselves in the mirror and see a person who weighs 400 pounds when they barely tip the scales at 100 pounds, a person with depression will think they're worthless, unloved, unwanted, and superfluous no matter what the people around them say.

Yes, it's important to let the people in our lives know just how much we love them and how much they mean to us, but that knowledge won't stop someone from taking their own life if they feel it's the only way to end their pain.

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

I find the notion that ML's daughters would "want" to find out how Ari committed suicide rather strange. Isn't the fact that their father is no longer here because he was in pain hard enough?

Has there been mentioned somewhere HOW he comitted the suicide?
(We were 4 siblings and my younger brother of all people who had an unknown depression kept my father' s pistol from II World War and killed himself with it last year)

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[carlota]

Perhaps....love...?!

love? it is highly distasteful to post details about your sex life online so i wouldn't call that love. love can be expressed in a number of ways but airing your intimacies ain't one of them.

thank godness i don't see people in my social media feeds proclaiming the great (tantric) sex they have with their partners.

Has there been mentioned somewhere HOW he comitted the suicide?

typically details of suicides of public figures do not go public - as it should be.
why would they need to air all the morbose details of this event?

 

[Skippy]

Its becoming aware of things like the torch-lit parade in Ari's home town that does help to create a soothing blanket type of comfort around a grieving family. All the visible outpourings of grief and remembrance at this time speak so much louder than words ever could.

If only Ari had really realized just how much he was appreciated and respected and cared about before taking his own life. When things happen such as this tragedy, it reminds us how much we need to let other people know how much they mean to us.

Osipi, please, we don't know whether he realized that or not. And if he did, it clearly wasn't enough for him.

I get where you are coming from, but some of your posts imply a guarded accusational tone - as if he didn't do enough to seek help.

I presume that we may suppose that he did, but it wasn't enough.

You can show someone how loved and appreciated they are, you can tell them the same until you're blue in the face. Depression does not care. Just like someone who has an eating disorder can look at themselves in the mirror and see a person who weighs 400 pounds when they barely tip the scales at 100 pounds, a person with depression will think they're worthless, unloved, unwanted, and superfluous no matter what the people around them say.

Yes, it's important to let the people in our lives know just how much we love them and how much they mean to us, but that knowledge won't stop someone from taking their own life if they feel it's the only way to end their pain.

This! Exactly! For people who suffer from depression, every day is a fight to survive. Unfortunately, I (also) speak from experience.
Luckily I recovered, but I can understand why others may not. Even when they have all the help, love and support available, they can still feel as if they are a burden and the world is better off without them.

 

[maria-olivia]

I am looking forward the King's Speach already done before Christmas. the suicide of Mr Behn will not change the Norvegians life.
But I think he is now like a Saint , if He says nothing they will critics.
I feel sorry for the King , He had to wait 10 years before he could marry Sonja Haraldson, and he allowed both of his Children Weddings who were critized at that time.
People of Norway has short memories ...as wrote someone before.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Ari Behn's parents and family seem to have kept a low profile during his marriage to the kings daughter ,I don't recall seeing much of them.

 

[norwegianne]

Queen Sonja's programme on January 2 has been cancelled.

The year with the royal family that was supposed to have aired on Boxing Day, has been postponed to January 7.

The funeral will be televised on NRK1 on Friday from 12:00:

"The family's wish has been that everyone who want to say a last goodbye with Ari shall have the possibility to do so. I want to remind everyone that it is a family in deep sorrow, and hope people respect that and don't photograph or take video in church" - the family spokesman.
https://www.nrk.no/norge/nrk-sender-ari-behns-bisettelse-i-trad-med-familiens-onske-1.14841038

 

[fortimo]

If I were a grandmother, I would not let the whole world see the pain and tears of my grandchildren. If somebody want to say goodbye, than should go to the funeral... I assume then, Mr. Durek will be invited, no discretion... Disappointment.