The wedding of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway to shaman Durek Verrett on August 31st in the village of Geiranger has become a hot topic, generating headlines and sparking debate. The princess, the daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja and fourth in line to the Norwegian throne, has always embraced an unconventional lifestyle. She is a self-proclaimed clairvoyant and alternative therapist, and once even opened an “angel school” to teach healing techniques and how to connect with celestial beings. In 2019, after facing criticism, the royal court confirmed she would no longer use her title of princess during her business activities, and in 2022, she ceased undertaking royal duties altogether.
Verrett, meanwhile, has faced accusations of promoting pseudoscience and has a long history of legal issues. During the pandemic, he faced criticism for selling a medallion that he claimed could protect against COVID-19. Despite their individual backgrounds, the couple’s relationship has been a source of contention with the Norwegian press from the start. Verrett told outlets that their meeting, while orchestrated by mutual friends, was a reunion from a past life, claiming, “I have memories of us in Egypt, and she was my queen and I was a pharaoh.” However, the press soon began accusing Verrett of spreading misinformation, with journalist Ingeborg Senneset of the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten telling The Times of London, “He has been talking about removing bad spirits from children. In 2021 he left me a series of voicemails and tried to convince me of the existence of the Illuminati. It’s kind of important people know just how far out he actually is.”
The couple has countered such criticism by attributing it to racism, with Märtha telling Vanity Fair in 2020, “Before I met him, I never thought that there was racism in Norway.”
Adding to the controversy, the couple decided to grant exclusive rights for their wedding photos to Hello! magazine instead of sharing them with multiple media outlets as is customary for royal families. This move, which The Times reports involved the sale of the photos, has raised eyebrows in Norway. While Märtha is no longer a working royal, this decision is seen as a departure from tradition for a family connected to a taxpayer-funded institution. Reidun Kjelling Nybø of the Norwegian Editors’ Association told NRK, the Norwegian state broadcasting company, “Here a key member of the Norwegian royal family is breaking what has been a long and good tradition. Major events have been documented via Norwegian broad media, such as NTB and NRK, on behalf of the entire press, which has passed the images on to the people and to other newsrooms that want them, including foreign ones.”
To avoid further conflict, Guri Varpe, the head of communications for the Royal House of Norway, has announced that the rest of the royal family will refrain from taking any exclusive wedding photos. The relationship between the couple and the media seems to be growing increasingly strained. Whether this affects the couple remains to be seen. If the Daily Mail is to be believed, the couple has requested a “cool and sexy” dress code for their welcome party at a local hotel and plans to take a boat ride along the Geiranger Fjord.
