Wedding in Norway: I do on the fjord: Princess Märtha Louise marries shaman

It is the climax of their love in front of a breathtaking backdrop: Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise (52) and self-proclaimed shaman Durek Verrett (49) have tied the knot on the picturesque Geirangerfjord. More than two years after their engagement, the daughter of King Harald V and her partner from the USA said “I do” at a ceremony in a closed tent. The press officer for the wedding confirmed this to the Norwegian media, who were not allowed to attend the wedding due to controversial exclusive rights for a British celebrity magazine.

One guest told NRK that it was an “absolutely magical” ceremony with gospel music and lots of love. “We were very moved.” Another was quoted by the newspaper “Verdens Gang” as saying: “Hollywood meets Geiranger. It was very beautiful.”

The bride and groom themselves were completely shielded from view with white sheets. However, footage from TV 2 briefly showed the princess in her white wedding dress and the groom in a tuxedo receiving a hug from the king. As the princess’ husband, Verrett is now an official member of the royal family. However, he will not receive a title.

Mette-Marit and Ingrid Alexandra in traditional costume

After afternoon tea and cocktails in a nearby hotel, the big wedding celebration awaited the bride and groom and the 350 invited guests in the evening. Before the ceremony, numerous guests walked across a red carpet, many of them in traditional Norwegian costume.

While King Harald (87) and his son Crown Prince Haakon (51) wore a tuxedo and a suit, respectively, Queen Sonja (87), Crown Princess Mette-Marit (51), Hereditary Princess Ingrid Alexandra (20) and Prince Sverre Magnus (18) also wore traditional costumes. Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby (27), was not there. Allegations of violence have been made against him this month.

Controversial couple with a penchant for esotericism

Märtha Louise is the eldest child of the royal couple and the big sister of heir to the throne Haakon. She herself is number four in the Norwegian line of succession. For the princess, this is the second wedding of her life: she was married to the writer Ari Behn (1972-2019) from 2002 to 2017. She has three daughters from the marriage. She is considered to be very interested in spirituality and esotericism.

Verrett says he is a shaman in the sixth generation of his family. The 49-year-old from California wants to help people find their true strength in a spiritual way. “Shamanism basically means that I am a bridge to the spirit world,” he once said. Critics accuse him of putting forward controversial theories about illnesses and their causes. He himself feels misunderstood and sometimes even exposed to racism.

In 2019, the couple made their relationship public after meeting through a mutual friend. Since then, there have been repeated controversies surrounding the princess and the shaman, who is considered eccentric. The criticism was directed, among other things, against Verrett’s promotion of alternative medical treatments – among other things, he had claimed that a medallion he sold had helped him survive a corona infection.

Controversies over anti-corona medallion and princess title

The couple has also been repeatedly accused of using Märtha Louise’s princess title for commercial purposes. This accusation dates back to the early days of the relationship, when the two went on a lecture tour as “The Princess and the Shaman”. That same year, it was decided that Märtha Louise would no longer use her title for business purposes. In 2022, she finally resigned from all official duties for the royal family in order to more clearly separate her role at court and her business activities.

There had also been several problems during the wedding preparations, most recently over an exclusive contract with the celebrity magazine “Hello!”: Contrary to all conventions, the bride and groom had given the magazine exclusive image rights to the wedding ceremony and reception for an unknown sum. A Netflix team is also said to have secured the film rights. The local media, on the other hand, were excluded from the most important moments of the wedding – a farce, as many of them made clear.

Multi-day wedding celebrations

The anger did not spoil the party mood. Märtha Louise and Verrett had already celebrated with their guests, who mainly came from Norway and the USA, on the two previous days. First there was a get-together party in nearby Ålesund, then a salsa party in Geiranger, where Verrett and Märtha Louise thrilled the guests with their hip swings.

Royals from abroad were also present at the actual wedding ceremony and reception, although there were significantly fewer of them than at Märtha Louise’s first wedding. The Swedish heir to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria (47), came to Geiranger with her husband Prince Daniel (50) as well as her brother Prince Carl Philip (45) and his wife Princess Sofia (39). Prince Constantijn (54) and Princess Laurentien (58) from the Netherlands were also among the guests.