Shaman Durek and Princess Martha Louise
Photo: Daniel Perez/Getty Images
- Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise married American shaman Durek Verrett in a picturesque ceremony in Geiranger.
- The couple sold exclusive photo and video rights to the ceremony, held under a white tent.
- Märtha Louise relinquished her royal duties to focus on her alternative medicine business with Verrett.
Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise married American self-proclaimed shaman Durek Verrett, a union of two alternative therapy devotees that has raised eyebrows in Norway.
READ | Norway’s Princess Märtha Louise to wed US Shaman Durek amid controversy and declining royal support
The pair tied the knot Saturday afternoon at a hotel in the hills of Geiranger, a picturesque village on the shores of a fjord on Norway’s west coast.
The ceremony took place under a white tent, concealing the party. The couple had sold exclusive photo and video rights to the ceremony.
According to photos taken by the Norwegian press, Märtha Louise wore a traditional white wedding dress and a tiara given to her by her grandfather, King Olav, on her 18th birthday. Durek wore a black suit with a gold cummerbund.
Aside from 87-year-old King Harald and Crown Prince Haakon, who wore dark suits, the royal family was dressed in traditional Norwegian dress, called bunad, which was made of embroidery and wool fabrics.
Norway’s King Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus pose for a group photo aboard the kingship Norway in the Geirangerfjord on August 31, 2024, where they attend Princess Martha Louise of Norway and her future husband Durek Verrett’s wedding. (Cornelius Poppe/AFP)
Festivities kicked off Thursday with a meet-and-greet party for the more than 350 guests.
According to Hello! magazine, the meet-and-greet party, featuring a sexy and cool dress code, took place in the garden of Hotel 1904 in the town of Alesund.
On Friday, guests embarked on a boat trip along the Geiranger Fjord to the village of Geiranger. This was followed by a Latin American-themed pre-wedding party, where the bridal couple delighted their guests with a surprise salsa dance at the Hotel Union.
The wedding ceremony took place on Saturday, followed by a breakfast and a reception at the hotel.
In an exclusive interview with Hello! Magazine, the couple, who met in 2018 through their mutual friend, health and wellness guru Millana Snow, shared the inside story of their love journey to the altar.
Märtha Louise shared that after receiving a healing session from Snow, she mentioned that the only other time she had experienced such intense levels of energy was with Shaman Durek.
“‘You two have to meet,’ she said. But it was a few months before Durek reached out to arrange it.”
When asked why he hesitated before reaching out to Märtha Louise, Verrett explained that he was intimidated by her status as a princess. He had previously been in relationships where he was held responsible for his partner’s happiness. As a result, he chose to focus on his faith and dedicate his life to helping people through his work.
Reflecting on their first meeting, Märtha Louise recalled that the moment he opened the door, she felt like she was greeting an old friend. “I said, ‘I already know you,’ to which he responded, ‘Yes, we were destined to meet before we were born'”.
The pair got engaged in June 2022 after dating for three years. Shortly after that Märtha Louise relinquished her royal duties to focus on her alternative medicine business with Verrett.
At the time, she said she felt it important “to distinguish between myself as a private person on the one hand and as a member of the royal family on the other” and hoped her personal views would be treated as her own “without others having to answer for them”.
READ MORE | Norway’s Princess Märtha Louise gives up royal duties for alternative medicine
Additional reporting by AFP