Princess Märtha Louise of Norway Marries Self-Described “Shaman” Durek Verrett

Following two days of celebrations. It’s official: Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and self-described “shaman to the stars” Durek Verrett are officially married, following a five-year courtship. The 52-year-old princess is fourth in line to the Norwegian throne and the eldest daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja (both age 87).

Even before a mutual friend set Princess Märtha Louise and Verrett (who also goes by “Shaman Durek”) up in 2019, she was known for her interest in the spiritual, as in 2007 she opened an alternative-therapy center known as “the angel school,” where people were offered classes in clairvoyance and alternative healing methods.

That business shuttered a decade later, but the mother of three remained interested in the unknown. When Verrett reached out to invite Märtha “over to his Airbnb in the Hollywood Hills for lunch,” as the couple told Vanity Fair in 2020, she was in.

Märtha’s relationship with Verrett, a 49-year-old California-born spiritual healer who counts Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Pine, and Rosario Dawson as clients, inspired her to produce a reality show to explain herself a year after they started dating. The series, entitled Märtha, ran on Norweigan TV in 2021.

That interest in reality programming was evident on Saturday, the BBC reports. Typically, royal weddings the world over are at least peripherally visible to a waiting crowd, but not yesterday’s nuptials near the Geiranger Fjord. Instead, the ceremony was “obscured by a tent or white sheets” as a Netflix documentary crew and Hello! magazine had secured the right to cover the event. Unlike Märtha’s first wedding in 2002 to late writer Ari Behn, her ceremony with Verrett was not televised.

The princess had announced a plan to move with her children to America in 2021, and said in 2022 that she would step down from all royal duties once wed. This follows years of wrangling with the greater royal family over her use of her title while promoting the spiritual healing services Verrett provides.

“Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett are seeking to distinguish more clearly between their activities and their association with the Royal House,” the royal family said in 2022. “Accordingly, they will not indicate an association with the Royal House of Norway in their social media channels (with the exception of @PrincessMarthaLouise on Instagram), in media productions or in connection with other commercial activities.”

It’s unclear how that decision will jibe with the Netflix production, which the streamer describes in a statement as an “in-depth and moving documentary [that] offers an unprecedented look inside the love story between the Norwegian king’s eldest child, Märtha Louise, and her partner, Shaman Durek.” Director Rebecca Chaiklin (Tiger King) has been following the couple for over a year, Netflix says, and is set to deliver “a never-before-seen look at one of the most-discussed couples [that] explores their love story from the early days to the present day and how they navigate their new life surrounded by constant attention from the public.”

A release date for the project has yet to be announced.

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