Princess Märtha Louise, the eldest daughter of the Norwegian royal couple, and her American fiancé, Durek Verrett, a self-proclaimed 'shaman,' will be married on 31 August 2024, the couple announced on Wednesday.
The nuptials will take place in the village of Geiranger on the shores of a UNESCO-listed fjord by the same name in the south-west of the country.
Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett had announced their engagement in June 2022 with the blessing of King Harald, himself married since 1968 to a commoner who went on to become Queen Sonja.
The African-American, who describes himself as a “sixth-generation shaman” with stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Antonio Banderas among his followers, has nevertheless made waves in Norway.
Controversies include his implication in a book that cancer is a choice, exercises he recommends to erase the vaginal “imprint” of women who have had multiple sexual partners, and the sale for $222 (just over €200) of a medallion, the 'Spirit Optimizer,' which is said to have helped him overcome Covid.
While he says he understands that his positions may be disconcerting, the shaman also, and above all, considers himself to be a victim of racism, in an echo of the treatment that actress Meghan Markle claimed have been subjected to within the British royal family.
Fourth in the order of succession, Märtha Louise is also no stranger to controversy. A proponent of alternative therapies, she claims to be able to communicate with angels, a gift she has tried to share and monetise through courses and books.
Last November, she gave up her official duties to concentrate on her business activities, although she is not entitled to use the title of princess in that context.
