Norwegian Princess Martha Louise is set to marry her American boyfriend, Durek Verrett, at a ceremony in Geiranger, with festivities kicking off on Thursday.
This will be the second marriage for Princess Martha Louise, daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. She has three daughters from her previous marriage to the late Ari Behn. Martha Louise, 52, started dating shaman Durek Verrett, 49, in 2019, and the couple announced their engagement in June 2022.
Verret has been a controversial figure for the Norwegian royal family. As a self-proclaimed third generation Shaman, he has made headlines with his unconventional beliefs, including claims of not being fully human and possessing the ability to reverse aging by "turning atoms."
But those are hardly his weirdest beliefs.
When the pair first began dating, he told a Scandinavian talk show that he and Princess Martha had run into each other in a previous life. Then, in a later interview with People Magazine, he said he had memories of ruling ancient Egypt as a pharaoh, with Martha Louise by his side as queen. Later, on Instagram, he said he was a "hybrid species of reptilian and andromeda."
Although Verrett had generated much media attention with his remarks, the Norwegian had brushed off most of them as harmless.
However, some of Verrett's other beliefs have cast an even darker shadow over the royal family.
According to Norwegian journalist Ingeborg Senneset, Verrett has previously discussed "removing bad spirits from children."
"In 2021 he left me a series of voice mails 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," Senneset told The Times.
He also suggested in his 2019 book Spirit Hacking that children could get cancer simply by being unhappy. The book was later withdrawn by Norwegian publishers.
Meanwhile, in an interview with an Irish newspaper, he claimed that there are "certain imprints that women get inside of their vaginas when they have too many sexual partners that they need to clean out." Verrett added that he "gives exercises for that."
Verrett's financial schemes have also caused concern. On his website he sells golden medallions that he claims can ward off Covid-19, for $222.
Ole Henrik Krat Bjørkholt, Norway's state secretary of health, has called him an "unscrupulous and dangerous charlatan" while Trygve Hegnar, editor-in-chief of the financial magazine Finansavisen, has said that the shaman "should be in jail."
However, Verrett, who is Black, has brushed off criticism, claiming that his remarks have been taken out of context and willfully misinterpreted by what he calls a "racist" Norwegian press.
But while the 49-year-old American has undoubtedly received racist abuse on social media, Trond Noren Isaksen, a historian and author of seven books on the Norwegian monarchy, told The Times there are other reasons criticism is aimed at him.
"There is no doubt that he has received quite a lot of racist abuse on social media, and elsewhere, which is obviously unacceptable," Isaksen said. "But there are other reasons than the color of his skin, for why people are critical—most Norwegians believe his claims to be humbug."
Amid intense scrutiny of Verrett for his views, his fiance Princess Martha, who herself is a self-described clairvoyant, stepped back from her royal duties.
"There's been turmoil with me taking a different path. There's been a lot of criticism, especially with me being spiritual; in Norway, that's taboo," Martha said, adding: "The Norwegian people, I guess, have decided it's best for me to step down because of Durek's views."
Princess Martha runs her own alternative therapy center, Astarte Education, which focuses on communication with angels and the dead.
In 2019, the couple embarked on "The Princess and the Shaman" tour around five cities in Norway and Denmark, where they challenged people to "expand their horizon" and "give you some tools on the road so you can get deeper into an understanding of who you are," according to the website's description.
The couple will marry at a ceremony on Saturday.
Newsweek has contacted the couple individually via social media for comment.
The wedding will be attended by celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow, a friend of the couple.
"His appeal is that he is both human and otherworldly," Paltrow previously said of Verrett. "He receives hugs with the openness of a child. He's disarming with big laughs but can tell you everything about yourself just by touching your arm."
The dress code for the wedding is "sexy and cool," according to the invitations.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
