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Norway

Crown Prince Haakon speaks out about Princess Martha Louise’s title

Princess Martha Louise of Norway

The Crown Prince of Norway has confirmed that there is an ongoing debate within his family about whether his sister, Princess Martha Louise, will keep her royal title.

The engagement of Princess Martha Louise and her American fiancé Durek Verrett has led to much debate in Norway. Earlier this month Norwegian press reported that several meetings had taken place at the Royal Palace in Oslo where Princess Martha Louise’s title was discussed. It follows criticism of Durek Verrett for several health claims including the advertisment of a medallion for sale which he claimed cured Covid.

On an engagement, the Crown Prince confirmed that talks were continuing about his sister’s royal status.

Crown Prince Haakon said to the press: “This is a topic that I find difficult. On the one hand, my sister got engaged, and I got to know Durek Verrett and think it is nice to be with him. I have been with him on many occasions. I would like him to feel welcome in our family.”

The Crown Prince continued ”At the same time, I feel very responsible for the institution. We have of course noticed that some of what has been said and done has caused quite a bit of discussion. Some of it has also been controversial. We have to talk about figuring this out and that is what we are trying to do now that we now have this process where we are trying to find a good way forward.”

His Royal Highness continued: “At the same time that brings us the feelings and thoughts about the different aspects. So this is going to take some more time. It is natural that if something happens that people think something about, that it creates debate. I think that is part of the living democracy that Norway is a part of.”

In September, a survey carried out by the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet showed that as many as 53,9 % of the asked people believe that the princess should give up her title.

Earlier this autumn, the Norwegian TV-channel NRK revealed that the Norwegian Epilepsy Association has ended its collaboration with Princess Martha Louise. They did so, among other things, as a result of the criticism surrounding Verrett. A short time later, the Association for Muscular Dystrophy also chose to break with the princess.

In the wake of the news, King Harald and Queen Sonja commented for the first time on Princess Martha Louise’s choice of partner. Then King Harald said they noticed a “cultural clash”.

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.