SRINAGAR, June 20: Norwegian Crown Princess Mette Marit is in Kashmir on a two-week holiday.
Princess Marit, wife of Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon – the heir to the throne – arrived in Leh town in the frontier Ladakh region on Monday for a 13-day stay.
Though the princess is accompanied by her own security entourage, the state government has also deployed two English-speaking personal security officers with her, a local daily has reported.
Princess Marit’s visit comes just more than a month after a book authored by two westerners created a flutter by blaming security agencies for killing four foreign tourists, including Norwegian Hans Christian Ostroe in 1995.
The killings, till the book was released, were believed to have been a work of the Al-Faran militant group.
The Norwegian Princess will be visiting ancient monasteries besides going for trekking in the cold desert of Ladakh region.
The princess was in India last September, and was scheduled to visit Ladakh for two weeks but postponed her Ladakh trip at the last moment.
A Norwegian commoner and a single mother with a rebellious past, the princess has checked into an economy hotel instead of luxury hotels in the region.
