The King and Queen are among those planning to snub the two major media companies who have secured exclusive rights to cover the controversial wedding

It should be all smiles for the Norwegian royal family, as Princess Märtha Louise and her fiancé, Durek Verrett, prepare to tie the knot at the end of the month. 

However, the already-controversial event risks being overshadowed by grumblings over the couple’s chosen media deals.

The impending nuptials, taking place on 31 August, mark the first royal wedding for Norway in 22 years, since the union of the Crown Prince and Princess.

 However, meticulous planning for the occasion has reportedly been upset by the pair’s announcement that they have sold the rights for their three-day celebration to Hello! magazine. 

They are also said to have signed a deal with Netflix for an exclusive documentary, and a film crew has been spotted following the couple – with some of the team linked to past projects that have streamed on the platform.

In a swift and robust response, the communication manager at Norway’s Royal Household, Guri Varpe, told local broadcaster NRK that the royal family would not allow themselves to be photographed by the couple’s chosen organisations, because it denies other outlets fair access.

‘I think it is deeply regrettable and a shame,’ said general secretary Reidun Kjelling Nybø of the Norwegian Editors’ Association. ‘Here, a central member of the Norwegian royal family is breaking what has been a long and good tradition. Major events have been documented via Norwegian broadcast media, on ​​behalf of the entire press, which has passed the images on to the people and to other newsrooms that want them, including foreign ones.’

Christina Dorthellinger, news editor at Norwegian outlet NTB, agreed, adding: ‘It is historic if we do not have that access. We have been to all major public events and celebrations and anniversaries related to the Norwegian royal house ever since King Haakon arrived in Norway in November 1905.’

It isn’t the first time that Princess Märtha Louise has courted royal controversy. As the daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja, she is fourth in line to the throne and has come under scrutiny for her relationship with Verrett – a sixth-generation shaman, writer and alternative therapist, whose unorthodox views and jail time have caused plenty of raised eyebrows, with many considering him a conspiracy theorist.

In 1991, Verrett was convicted of felony arson and trespassing and sentenced to five years imprisonment in California after he illegally organised a party in an unoccupied house that was set on fire and burned to the ground. In 1993, after he was released from prison, Verrett was arrested on three separate occasions and charged with crimes including trespassing, theft of services and fare evasion. He has also had charges of domestic abuse levelled against him.

During his career as a shaman, Verrett has made several outlandish claims, many of which have been contested. At 27, he claims to have had a near-death experience, during which he underwent an emergency tracheotomy and sternotomy – but media observers have pointed out that he bears no scars on his throat or chest. In 2018 and 2019, he claimed to have worked at Shamir Medical Center in Israel during 1998, where he said he treated children for cancer using shamanistic methods. In 2019, the hospital’s HR department said that Verrett never worked at the institution.

In the same year, Verrett claimed to have foreseen the September 11 attacks, but said that it was not his role to intervene. In 2021, he stated that he considers himself to be ‘a hybrid species of reptilian and Andromeda’ and also claimed to ‘hold the energies of the ancient spirits from the old world’.

By May 2019, Verrett had begun dating and professionally collaborating with Märtha Louise – who, herself, claims to be a clairvoyant with the capacity to communicate with angels. He has made even wilder claims since embarking on his relationship with the royal, telling People magazine that he believes the two of them have been reincarnated from a past life as Egyptian rulers.

‘When we’re together and I look at [Märtha Louise], sometimes I see another face,’ he said. ‘And she sees it in me, too. I have memories of us in Egypt, and she was my queen and I was a pharaoh.’

In the early days of their romance, Märtha Louise spent time with Verrett promoting his latest spiritual guidance tome, Spirit Hacking: Shamanic keys to reclaim your personal power, transform yourself and light up the world. At the launch event in LA, Märtha Louise was full of effusive praise for her beau’s book: ‘I find that on every page there’s something new to ponder upon, like a surprise or an in-depth new door opening,’ she told DailyMailTV. ‘I see how it can inspire us to open up to our own powers.’

Shortly after the two got engaged in June 2022, Verrett – who counts Gwyneth Paltrow among his clients – was dropped by his publisher over pseudoscientific claims in Spirit Hacking, which included suggesting that cancer is a choice, caused by ‘negative thoughts’. Märtha Louise announced a Sussex-style step-back from royal duties shortly afterwards, which she attributed to a lack of public acceptance of her alternative attitudes.

‘There’s been so much turmoil with me, you know, taking a different path than being a traditional royal,’ she told The Times. ‘There’s been a lot of criticism through the years, especially with me being spiritual, and in Norway that’s taboo.’ She added, referencing Verrett’s controversial beliefs, that ‘the Norwegian people I guess… have decided it’s best for me to step down because of his views about things.’ These days, Märtha Louise no longer represents her father or the royal household; although she retains her title of ‘princess’, she must not use it for commercial gain.

It is now just over a week to go until Märtha Louise and Verrett tie the knot at the historic Hotel Union in Geiranger, one of Norway’s most picturesque locations. The couple are remaining tight-lipped about arrangements: one photograph of the newlyweds will be shared with the media, and the rest of the event, including the guest list and programme, will be kept secret.

The King and Queen, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit are likely to be in attendance, though it’s been speculated that many high-profile European royals will skip the occasion. ‘It is indeed my impression that the foreign royal houses are not too keen on being part of this circus, as it has become commonly known,’ wrote Norwegian historian and author, Trond Norén Isaksen, on his Instagram page.

Exactly what the wedding will entail – and, indeed, what the future holds for this unorthodox couple – remains to be seen.

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Source: Tampa Bay Times