The US edition of Vanity Fair has published an interview with Durek Verrett and Princess Märtha Louise, the daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, revealing plans for a new royal wedding for Norway. In the interview, the shaman says that since last Christmas he has wanted to propose to the princess and that he has received the blessing of King Harald and Queen Sonja.
Verrett says he had plans to ask the Princess to marry him when the couple went to Hawaii in February of this year. However, by then the princess and her children were in deep mourning following the death of Märtha Louise’s former husband, Ari Behn, who committed suicide on December 25th 2019.
The secretary to Princess Märtha Louise has issued a clarifying statement to the Norwegian press that there is no official engagement that yet and Princess Märtha Louise does not want to comment further on the possible plans of a marriage.
On her Instagram Princess Märtha Louise also made a personal statement regarding the interview. She says that the article is the result of several interviews, the first of which was done already in the summer of 2019. The Princess wrote among other things: “There are things I say in this article that I would never say today. Things that make me cringe from the perspective I see the world anno November 2020. But yet, it is important to honour who I was then.”
She also writes that she and Verrett have developed as a couple, after being apart for large parts of the year due to the travel restrictions. According to Princess Märtha Louise, they saw each other for the first time in six months, when Verrett came on a surprise visit when she turned 49 on 22 September. The interview also reveals that Durek’s family immediately embraced the princess and their relationship. King Harald and Sonja are said to have spent more time accepting the relationship. Princess Martha Louise says in the interview: “My father has always said, ever since I was little, that you have to be true to yourself, otherwise people will see right through you. I think maybe he has regretted saying it sometimes”.
Norwegian TV2 is currently making a TV series about the princess that is scheduled to appear on TV sometime in 2021. Shaman Durek has a role in the series that also follows the princess’ children. It is uncertain whether the Crown Prince’s family or the King and Queen will participate in the TV series.
