Norwegian Princess Martha Louise is set to marry American self-proclaimed shaman Durek Verrett on Saturday, a union that has sparked controversy in Norway due to the couple’s unconventional beliefs and practices.
Martha Louise, 52, is a divorcee who claims to be a clairvoyant capable of communicating with angels, a skill she has monetized through books and courses. Verrett, 49, hails from California and identifies as a “sixth-generation shaman,” selling expensive gold medallions that he claims can save lives.
“I’m very spiritual, and it’s just so nice to be with someone who embraces it,” Martha Louise shared on Instagram after their engagement was announced in June 2022.
The couple will wed at a hotel in the scenic hills of Geiranger, a village on the fjord-studded west coast of Norway. The festivities will begin on Thursday with a party for over 350 guests, including Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and her husband, Prince Daniel.
According to Verrett, Saturday’s ceremony will actually be a renewal of the couple’s vows. He claims that in a previous life, he was a pharaoh and Martha Louise was his wife. Verrett’s followers include Hollywood celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Antonio Banderas.
The couple’s eccentricity and disregard for science, combined with their use of royal ties for commercial purposes, have caused unease in Norway. To prevent confusion about her role, Martha Louise stepped down from her royal duties in November 2022. She retained her title but agreed not to use it in her business ventures.
However, she has violated this agreement multiple times, most recently by launching a “wedding gin” in Norway that bore her princess title on the label. In response, historian and royal expert Trond Noren Isaksen argued that it might be time to strip Martha Louise of her princess title before King Harald’s legacy is further damaged.
The couple has also drawn criticism from Norwegian media for signing exclusive deals with Hello! magazine and Netflix to cover the wedding.
Martha Louise has three daughters from her first marriage to Norwegian author Ari Behn, who took his own life three years after their divorce in 2016. She is fourth in line to the Norwegian throne, with her younger brother Crown Prince Haakon expected to succeed King Harald.
Norway’s royal family has generally avoided scandal—until now. Martha Louise and Verrett have contributed to a decline in public support for the monarchy, with a recent NRK poll showing a drop from 81 percent approval in 2017 to 68 percent now. A recent scandal involving Marius Borg Høiby, the 27-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has also played a role. Høiby admitted to a cocaine- and alcohol-fueled assault on his girlfriend, and two ex-girlfriends have since made similar claims.
The poll revealed that four in ten Norwegians have a more negative view of the royal family compared to last year, with many citing Martha Louise, Verrett, or Høiby as the reason.
Martha Louise has accused the media of conducting a witch hunt against her, but it is Verrett who has faced the most criticism, often being labeled a “charlatan and a quack” in the press. He has made controversial claims, such as suggesting that cancer is a choice and promoting exercises to remove “imprints” left by previous sexual partners.
Verrett also sells a $222 “Spirit Optimizer” medallion on his website, which he claims helped him recover from COVID-19. He has acknowledged that his beliefs might be unsettling to some and has claimed to be a victim of racism, comparing his experience to that of Meghan Markle after she joined Britain’s royal family.
“White people write all this hate and death threats to us… because… they don’t want to see a black man in the royal family,” Verrett said on Instagram in June 2022.
Meanwhile, 87-year-old King Harald, who himself fought for years to marry Queen Sonja, a commoner, has been relatively quiet about his future son-in-law, describing him as “a great guy and very funny.” He acknowledged their differences, saying, “We’ve agreed to disagree” on some matters.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
