Norway’s heir addresses controversy around sister’s wedding

With just days to go until Princess Martha Louise of Norway gets married, her brother has addressed some of the controversy around her big day.

Crown Prince Haakon spoke to journalists about the issues that have arisen ahead of Martha Louise’s wedding to Durek Verrett. The two tie the knot in Gerainger in Norway on August 31st 2024.

Just days ago, it was confirmed that the wedding will be covered exclusively by Hello magazine and its sister publication, Hola. That’s led to criticism in the press.

The couple had already run into trouble after claims that gin created to mark their marriage and labelled with the word ‘princess’ had broken the terms of an agreement that Martha Louise made with her family not to use her royal title for business purposes.

As he attended a conference about North Sea oil in Stavanger, Crown Prince Haakon took questions from the press about many of the issues currently facing the Norwegian royal family. The gravest remains the ongoing police investigation into allegations of assault made by several women about the Crown Prince’s stepson, Marius Borg Hoiby.

The heir to Norway’s throne addressed those, telling reporters that it was a ‘very serious’ matter but that he couldn’t be drawn on details for legal and police reasons. His wife and Marius’ mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has drawn some criticism for speaking to the alleged victim of the attack outside of the police investigation.

Crown Prince Haakon also took questions about his sister’s wedding. He told the press that ”first there will be a wedding and we’re looking forward to it” before adding ”there is an agreement that, we assume, will be followed.”

This has been taken as an indication that further changes to the agreement could come in the future. Martha Louise relinquished all her patronages when the deal was made and her new husband won’t receive a title on their marriage. However, she retains her title of princess although she is barred from using it commercially.

The Norwegian royal court has already confirmed that no member of the royal family will appear in photos for the magazines or in the Netflix programme which is also being filmed around the princess and her fiance.