He just married a Norwegian princess, but he’s still Durek Verrett. Why isn’t he a royal prince following marriage? We’ll explain.
In the modern Norwegian Royal Family, no man has married a royal princess and gained a title or carried out duties on behalf of the monarch.
And given that King Harald, Crown Prince Haakon and Prince Sverre Magnus are the only three blood princes born in Norway in the past century, the majority of royal weddings have been between blood princesses and commoners.
Absolute primogeniture was also not made the law until 1990, meaning that Princess Märtha Louise only gained succession rights at the age of 19, and her first-born daughter, Maud, was the first woman born into the Norwegian Royal Family who would have succession rights at birth.
King Harald’s two sisters, Princess Astrid, 92, and the late Princess Ragnhild, were born without succession rights and both married commoners.
Princess Ragnhild married an upper-class merchant named Erling Lorentzen in 1953 and lost her royal style upon marriage. Their three children were not in line to the Norwegian throne, and Princess Ranghild became Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen.
Princess Astrid married a sailor and Olympian named Johan Ferner in 1961, and, like her older sister, lost her royal style upon marriage. She became known as Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner, and their five children were not born with succession rights.
Although both men became members of the Royal House by virtue of marriage to blood princesses, neither were given titles or expected to carry out royal duties.
The next royal weddings were King Harald’s in 1968, which saw his bride become Crown Princess Sonja (later Queen Sonja in 1991), and Crown Prince Haakon’s in 2001, where his bride became Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
In 2002, Princess Märtha Louise married for the first time to Ari Behn, who did not gain a title or a royal role after their wedding. Their three daughters were given succession rights, and are currently fifth, sixth and seventh in line to the throne.
Following a divorce, Princess Märtha Louise began dating Durek Verrett in 2019. The couple have walked a tightrope between pursuing their own careers and personal lives while appeasing the Norwegian royal court. It hasn’t always been successful.
Following controversies surrounding the royal using her title in commercial ventures, the Norwegian royal court shared in 2022 that she would cease to carry out duties for the Royal Family, would be barred from using her title for commercial purposes, and would have no official role moving forward except for official family and state occasions where her presence would make sense.
In the same statement, the court announced: “In the same way as Erling Lorentzen, Johan Martin Ferner and Ari Behn, Durek Verrett will become part of the royal family when the couple marry, but in line with tradition he will not have any title or represent the royal house.”
It poses a unique question for Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s potential future groom: will he receive a title as he will be married to the future Crown Princess and future Queen of Norway?
