"It was so beautiful" Princess Märtha Louise marries her shaman
The couple held their wedding reception at a posh hotel on the Geirangerfjord.
Image: dpa
Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria with her husband Prince Daniel.
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Kisses for the onlookers.
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The Norwegian royal family.
Image: dpa
Hotel staff shield the bride and groom from view.
Image: dpa
Happy and in love: Shaman Durek Verrett and Princess Märtha Louise.
Image: dpa
The couple appeared in public in the evening.
Image: dpa
A happy bridal couple: Princess Märtha Louise and the shaman Durek Verrett.
Image: dpa
The couple held their wedding reception at a posh hotel on the Geirangerfjord.
Image: dpa
Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria with her husband Prince Daniel.
Image: dpa
Kisses for the onlookers.
Image: dpa
The Norwegian royal family.
Image: dpa
Hotel staff shield the bride and groom from view.
Image: dpa
Happy and in love: Shaman Durek Verrett and Princess Märtha Louise.
Image: dpa
The couple appeared in public in the evening.
Image: dpa
A happy bridal couple: Princess Märtha Louise and the shaman Durek Verrett.
Image: dpa
It is one of the more unusual weddings that the Norwegian royal family has experienced. A princess and a shaman say yes to each other. Exclusive rights for a celebrity magazine cause a stir.
31.08.2024, 19:33
31.08.2024, 19:37
dpa
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- The Norwegian princess Märtha Louise (52) and the self-proclaimed shaman Durek Verrett (49) said "I do" at the picturesque Geirangerfjord.
- Norwegian media were not allowed to attend the wedding ceremony due to controversial exclusive rights for a British celebrity magazine.
- The bride and groom were completely shielded from view with white sheets around the wedding ceremony.
It is the culmination of their love against a breathtaking backdrop: Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise (52) and self-proclaimed shaman Durek Verrett (49) have tied the knot at the picturesque Geirangerfjord. More than two years after their engagement, the daughter of King Harald V and her US-born partner tied the knot in a private ceremony in a closed tent.
Norwegian media were not allowed to attend the wedding ceremony due to controversial exclusive rights for a British celebrity magazine. The bride and groom were completely shielded from view with white sheets around the wedding ceremony. However, footage from TV 2 showed the princess briefly in her white wedding dress and the groom in a tuxedo receiving a hug from the king. As the princess's husband, Verrett is now officially a member of the royal family. However, he does not receive a title.
"It was so beautiful. It was a completely fantastic experience," said Märtha Louise about the wedding ceremony when she and her husband finally stepped out in front of reporters and onlookers that evening. "I cried so many times," reported Verrett. "It was phenomenal." It was breathtaking to see Märtha Louise in her dress for the first time.
Mette-Marit and Ingrid Alexandra in traditional costume
After afternoon tea followed by cocktails in a nearby hotel, the big wedding reception awaited the bride and groom and the 350 invited guests in the evening. Before the ceremony, numerous guests walked down a red carpet, many of them in traditional Norwegian costume.
While King Harald (87) and his son Crown Prince Haakon (51) opted for a tuxedo or suit, Queen Sonja (87), Crown Princess Mette-Marit (51) and Hereditary Princess Ingrid Alexandra (20) and Prince Sverre Magnus (18) also wore traditional costumes. Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby (27), was not present. Allegations of violence have been made against him this month.
Controversial couple with a penchant for esotericism
Märtha Louise is the eldest child of the royal couple and the big sister of heir to the throne Haakon. She herself is number four in the Norwegian line of succession. For the princess, this is the second wedding of her life: she was married to the writer Ari Behn (1972-2019) from 2002 to 2017. She has three daughters from this marriage. She is said to be very interested in spirituality and esotericism.
According to Verrett, she is a shaman in the sixth generation of her family. The 49-year-old from California wants to help people find their true strength in a spiritual way. "Shamanism basically means that I am a bridge to the spirit world," he once said. Critics accuse him of spouting controversial theories about illnesses and their causes. He himself, on the other hand, feels misunderstood and sometimes subjected to racism.
In 2019, the couple made their relationship public after meeting through a mutual friend. Since then, there has been repeated controversy surrounding the princess and the shaman, who is considered eccentric. Among other things, criticism has been directed at Verrett's promotion of alternative medical treatments - including claims that a medallion he sold helped him survive a coronavirus infection.
Controversy over anti-corona medallion and princess title
The couple were also repeatedly accused of exploiting Märtha Louise's princess title for commercial purposes. This accusation stems from the early days of the relationship, when the two went on a lecture tour as "The Princess and the Shaman". That same year, it was decided that Märtha Louise would no longer use her title for business purposes. In 2022, she finally resigned from all official duties for the royal family in order to separate her role at court and her business activities more clearly.
There was also trouble several times during the wedding preparations, most recently over an exclusive contract with the celebrity magazine "Hello!": contrary to all conventions, the bridal couple awarded the exclusive image rights to the wedding ceremony and wedding reception to the magazine for an undisclosed sum. A Netflix team is also said to have secured the film rights. The local media, on the other hand, were excluded from the most important moments of the wedding - a farce in the eyes of many.
Wedding celebrations lasting several days
The anger did not dampen the party atmosphere. Märtha Louise and Verrett had already celebrated with their guests, mainly from Norway and the USA, on the two previous days. First there had been a get-to-know-you party in nearby Ålesund, then a salsa party in Geiranger, where Verrett and Märtha Louise wowed the guests with their hip-swinging.
Royals from abroad were also present at the actual wedding ceremony and wedding reception, albeit far fewer than at Märtha Louise's first wedding. The heir to the Swedish throne, Crown Princess Victoria (47), came to Geiranger with her husband Prince Daniel (50) as well as her brother Prince Carl Philip (45) and his wife Princess Sofia (39). Prince Constantijn (54) and Princess Laurentien (58) from the Netherlands were also among the guests.
