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It is one of the most anticipated – and most controversial – royal events of the year.
Today (August 31) Princess Märtha Louise of Norway will marry Durek Verrett, a self-proclaimed shaman from San Francisco who also claims to be a reincarnated Egyptian pharaoh.
But while a royal wedding is normally an occasion for public celebration, the couple's nuptials have also come under fire in Martha Louise's home country, thanks to Verrett's outlandish pronouncements on spirituality and health.
News that the couple has made agreements with Hello! The magazine and Netflix, instead of working with local media, have also raised questions.
The Royal Rebel
Märtha Louise is the eldest daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, making her fourth in line to the throne. Her younger brother Prince Haakon and his two sons are above her in the line of succession due to the country's primogeniture rules.
The 52-year-old gave up her royal title in 2002 so she could start her own business. She believes she is clairvoyant and has long been a supporter of alternative medicine practices.
From 2007 to 2018, she ran an alternative therapy center known as the “School of Angels,” an organization that claimed to help its clients communicate with angels and the dead.
She was married to Ari Behn from 2002 to 2017 and the former couple had three daughters: Maud, Leah and Emma. Behn, a Norwegian writer and artist, committed suicide in 2019.
The spiritual guru
Meanwhile, Verrett, 49, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and claims he felt his first connection to the spiritual world at the age of just five.
He then made a name for himself as a spiritual healer and acquired a famous clientele, working with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Selma Blair and Vampire Diaries Star Nina Dobrev.
In a brief biography posted on Paltrow’s Goop website, Verrett is described as “a mediator or ‘bridge’ between the spiritual and physical planes” who comes from “a long lineage of spiritual practitioners that includes Seven-Day Adventist ministers, oracles and spiritual healers.”
However, Verrett also has a criminal record. In 1991, he was convicted of arson and breaking and entering after hosting an illegal party in a vacant house that was set on fire, and was sentenced to five years in prison.
The pair are believed to have met in 2019, after a mutual friend introduced them. Shortly after, Verrett became the subject of even more controversy when her book Spiritual Hacking He made a number of strange claims.
Among the wild theories Verrett proposed were suggestions that children get cancer if they are unhappy and that casual sex “attracts underworld entities” who are “the source of all sexually transmitted diseases.” The book was eventually abandoned by its publisher due to concerns about its content.
The real reaction
In 2022, Märtha Louise stepped down from royal duties so she could focus more on the couple’s alternative medicine business, in a move that has been dubbed the Norwegian equivalent of “Megxit.” She was allowed to keep her title as princess, a decision that has since sparked debate in Norway.
The couple announced their engagement that same year and Verrett gifted his fiancée with an emerald ring.
In a statement, King Harald described his future son-in-law as a “great guy” and said he and Verrett “had a lot of laughs” but “agreed to disagree” on some issues. He also condemned “the racist attitudes Durek Verrett has been subjected to, especially on social media,” stressing that “it is a strength that the Royal Family reflects the ethnic diversity that exists in Norway.”
The wedding of the year
The couple's wedding preparations have not been without drama. Martha Louise came under fire earlier this year when her royal title appeared on the label of a commemorative wedding gin, and the title was eventually removed from the product.
The decision to reach agreements with Hello! and Netflix, instead of reaching out to the local press, was also not well received by Norwegian media, prompting the royal family to issue a statement confirming that “they will not be photographed or filmed by these two media outlets, in cases where the press does not otherwise have access.”
The lavish celebrations began on Thursday (August 29) in the Norwegian city of Alesund, before guests travelled to the Union Hotel in the picturesque UNESCO World Heritage town of Geiranger. The dress code for all events? “Cool and sexy.”
The ceremony took place on Saturday afternoon at the hotel and was also attended by members of the Swedish royal family.
Curious? You may have to wait for the Netflix documentary to find out more.
