How Princess Märtha Louise of Norway's big day to shaman fiancé has been blighted throughout - from public rows with mother-in-law to brother's stepson's arrest

PUBLISHEDSun Aug 11 2024 13:39 GMT

UPDATEDSun Aug 11 2024 13:39 GMT

It should be one of the happiest times of her live as she prepares to tie the knot with her self-professed shaman fiancé Durek Verrett - but Princess Märtha Louise of Norway's big day has been hit with dramas throughout.

The daughter of King Harald V, 52, was even forced to step down as a working royal in 2022 due to the American's controversial views, including that childhood cancer is caused by unhappiness.

But the troubles have continued, with the couple more recently becoming embroiled in a public row with Durek's estranged mother, 81, and the Norwegian monarch facing renewed calls to strip his daughter of her princess title.

It's not, however, only the bride and groom that have rocked Norway's Royal Household in recent times; Crown Princess Mette-Marit's son was arrested after a serious incident on Sunday night.

So, as the loved-up couple prepare to wed at the Union Hotel in Geirangerfjord on August 31, FEMAIL takes a look at the all the drama plaguing the Norwegian Royal Family ahead of Princess Martha Louise's big day...

Princess' brother's stepson faces preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage

The eldest son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit is under suspicion for causing bodily harm and criminal damage, Oslo police said Wednesday.

Marius Borg Høiby is the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon, and is the son of Mette-Marit from a previous relationship. He has no royal title or official duties.

On Sunday, officers responded to a disturbance in downtown Oslo and a man in his 20s was briefly detained. Police have confirmed it was Borg Høiby, 27, who faces preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage, one stage short of formal charges, and was released.

Details were unclear but police said there was 'a relationship between the suspect and the victim.'

In a statement, officers said they 'currently do not have information that the victim has suffered serious injuries.' The case was top news in Norway where the royals are popular.

Norwegian news agency NTB said that Mette-Marit had postponed a planned trip to attend the Olympic Games in Paris while her husband Haakon traveled to the French capital. The reason for the postponement was not given.

In Paris, Haakon told Norwegian reporters that 'it is a serious matter when the police are involved in the way they are, but at the same time it is not right for me to go into the details of the case.'

Marius Borg Høiby (pictured) is the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon, and is the son of Mette-Marit from a previous relationship. He has no royal title or official duties

Borg Høiby lives with the royal couple and their two children - Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus (pictured with Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Crown Prince Haakon and the Crown Princess in 2022)

Borg Høiby lives with the royal couple and their two children - Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.

Norway's future queen made headlines in 2001 when she married Haakon, because she was a single mother who had lived a freewheeling life with a companion who had been convicted on drug charges.

Princess forced to step down as a working royal over fiancé's controversial views

Princess Martha Louise, who describes herself as 'spiritual' and claims to be a clairvoyant, spoke to the BBC in May 2023 after announced she was stepping back from royal duties in November, admitting it had been a process filled with 'turmoil'.

The Norwegian royal discussed how her fiancé's controversial 'views' had contributed to how the public viewed her position in the royal family.

She said: 'The Norwegian people I guess... have decided it's best for me to step down because of his views about things.'

Durek was dropped by his publisher shortly after the couple announced their engagement in June 2022 over pseudoscientific claims he made in his book 'Spirit Hacking'. Among the claims were that children 'can get cancer from being unhappy'.

Princess Martha (pictured in 2021) was forced to leave her role as a working member of the royal family because of her fiancé's controversial views

Shaman Durek and Princess Martha of Norway are pictured in West Hollywood in 2022

Durek has also claimed he once came back from the dead, recovering from a month-long coma, by letting his soul 'burn' and he has also spoken of having to undergo a kidney transplant from his sister as a child.

It is unclear why he needed the kidney or how he became wheelchair bound, as he has described. The illness which sent him into a coma is also undisclosed.

Princess Martha Louise's comments echoed an interview she gave on Swedish TV in March 2023, in which she claimed she had 'received the most criticism of anyone in Norway' for her spiritual beliefs.

As she sat down with Anna Hedenmo on Min Sanning - which translates to My Truth - the royal said she felt she needed to step back because of public image.

She said: 'I am probably the one in Norway who has received the most criticism of alrll, I think.'

Public row with her mother-in-law

Last month, the couple reportedly issued a cease-and-desist letter to his estranged 81-year-old mother and threatened legal action over her 'slander' and 'false statements'.

Durek explained on Instagram how the pair believe their decision is 'the only remaining option for change'.

He said his mother Veruschka Urquhart has 'repeatedly slandered our characters through false statements showing a significant lack of care and love towards Märtha, myself, and our respective families'.

Last month, the couple reportedly issued a cease-and-desist letter to his estranged 81-year-old mother and threatened legal action over her 'slander' and 'false statements'

Undated photo of Shaman Durek with his mother Veruschka Urquhart, who has given interviews to local media in recent months

In interviews with celebrity magazine Se og Hør, Veruschka has labelled her son 'dangerous', alleging that he had 'brainwashed' the princess and that their family was not as wealthy as Durek has tried to make out.

The publication claimed last month to be sharing the 'shock letter, word for word', in which Märtha has reportedly threatened her future mother-in-law with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, if she does not retract what she has said.

The letter from 'Shaman Durek and Princess Martha Louise' allegedly reads: 'We are writing to order you to refrain from defaming, disparaging and making false and provocative statements about Shaman Durek.

'If you do not fully and loyally comply with this order, and choose not to deny your statements, Shaman Durek will use the civil remedies at his disposal against you to the extent possible under the law, including seeking damages of millions of dollars. To put it plainly, Shaman Durek will sue you.'

The princess's manager reportedly confirmed to newspaper VG that the letter was sent from the royal and her partner.

Following the reports, Durek took to Instagram to explain his reasoning, saying: 'I wanted to clarify Märtha Louise's and my recent decision to issue a cease-and-desist letter to my mother, Veruschka.

'VG’s research earlier this year has uncovered Veruschka being in a paid contract with Se og Hør, and she has, because of this contract, repeatedly slandered our characters through false statements showing a significant lack of care and love towards Märtha, myself, and our respective families.

'The cease-and-desist letter directly addresses these issues and is a standard procedure in the United States when defamatory situations occur.

'We hope this clarifies our position on this matter. Sincerely, Durek D. Verrett,' he concluded his post, in which he shared a picture of him and his partner, posing on a beach in sunglasses and vibrant outfits

'Regrettably, we have found the cease-and-desist letter to be the only remaining option for change. We are sorry that it has come to this step. We see no other options.'

He continued in the post: 'Veruschka has been estranged from much of our family for a considerable period.

'As previously expressed in VG @vgnett, our family is deeply concerned for her mental health and well-being and has made numerous efforts to help her achieve a better quality of life.

'Unfortunately, she has rejected the guidance and support offered by most of her children, including myself. Instead of communicating with us as a family, she has chosen to go to the press with continuous fabrications.

'Her false claims about me are regrettably a ploy to secure a position with Se og Hør to support her livelihood.

'This estrangement extends to my younger brother Brandon and his family, my older sister Angelina and her family, Martha, and myself. Despite this, our family remains united in our stance against her actions.

In April, Martha Louise furiously hit back at her future mother-in-law's claims that Durek 'was not from a wealthy family'.

In a defiant Instagram post, the royal included comments from one of Durek's former classmates who insisted he was 'one of the richest kids' in their school.

Martha Louise's social media rant comes after her future mother-in-law Veruschka gave another interview to celebrity magazine Se og Hør - having previously labelled her son 'dangerous' and alleging that he had 'brainwashed' the royal.

In the bombshell interview, Veruschka commented on the family's finances and claimed they were not as wealthy as Durek - who previously told Vanity Fair that he had access to a private plane growing up - has tried to make out.

Accusing the publication of 'spreading lies', the royal wrote: 'This time they are repeating the lie that Durek was not from a wealthy family as a child [...], when the truth is that he grew up in a good neighbourhood, his mom left him at an early age and it was in reality his mom not having money, not him.

The final image in the Instagram carousel in April was a statement from a woman called Danielle Washington, who claims to have attended school with Durek

Official royal family photograph celebrating Crown Prince Haakon (Up 2nd L) 45th birthday with his family, while he poses beside Princess Martha Louise (Up L), Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Up C), Princess Ingrid Alexandra (2nd R), Maud Angelica Behn (R), (Bottom L-R) Prince Sverre Magnus, Queen Sonja and King Harald V, in July 2018

'She wasn’t even around. Durek’s father’s bankruptcy came after Durek moved out, so he was not affected by his father’s bankruptcy.'

Martha Louise then proceeded to share photos of the Californian mansion Durek claims to have grown up in, which was listed for over $3m when it was last on the market.

She continued: 'This is the house Durek grew up in in Foster City, California. It is worth more than NOK 30mill today and is 321 square meters(3460 square feet).'

The images show a sprawling open-plan living and kitchen area and large front garden.

The final image in the Instagram carousel was a statement from a woman called Danielle Washington, who claims to have attended school with Durek.

It read: 'Many kids were jealous of his family's wealth as it seems like he had it all when it came to material items. It didn't help that Durek was the ONLY person in school that had limos and taxis outside of the ones taking him to school because that wasn't what people did here in Foster City.

'However, it always felt like his parents were too busy to take time out of their lives (and happiness) to take care of him.

'When Durek became a shaman, it didn't surprise me. He has lived his entire life dedicated to sharing love with all. You'd think growing up with tons of money and very little parental love would make him bitter or arrogant.

'He is neither bitter, arrogant or acts like he is better than the next person. Durek is still the same jovial spirit I met many years ago who is open to sharing his gifts with all and someone I'm proud to call a friend.'

The Princess added: 'It is not important to me wether he was from a family with money or not as a child, but the fact is that he was, and I am sick and tired of Se og Hør’s lies about us. And about Durek.'

Signing off the post, the royal wrote: 'Please don’t believe what Se og Hør says about Durek or me leading up to the wedding.

'From experience I know it will get worse as we move closer to the wedding. It is so sad that it needs to be this way as a wedding should be a joyous occasion for everyone involved. Also for us…'

In an interview with the magazine, Durek's mother claimed she had not heard from her son for over a year. In a previous Instagram post, Durek gushed about his 'amazing and powerful' mother who 'raised him to be a leader'.

In December 2020, Durek told Vanity Fair that he was the son of a wealthy architect and that his family had their own private plane and servants.

Using her Princess title to promote brands

Despite not working as a royal, Princess Martha Louise was allowed to keep her title - a decision that has been hotly contested in Norway.

This is because of Märtha Louise reportedly using her 'princess' name commercially - despite agreeing not to - to sell gins and promote her clothing brand.

Princess Martha of Norway (far left) is pictured with King Harald V, Queen Sonja, Prince William, Princess Kate, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette Marit and Princess Astrid in 2018

A specially made gin from Oslo Handcraft Distillery for the wedding of Martha Louise and Durek Verrett had her princess title reportedly referenced on the label of the bottle and the brand's website.

Her manager Carina Scheele Carlsen told Norwegian newspaper VG that it was apparently a 'mistake' to include the title at the start of last month and that it would be removed from the next batch of the bottles and the website.

But when asked by the publication why the royal used her Princess title in the letter to her mother-in-law, the manager claimed: 'Princess Martha Louise is her name in the national register, and must be used on legal documents such as this,' according to an English translation of the quote.

Martha Louise was noted to have broken her 'Megxit' agreement with the King seven times in less than two years.

Royal expert Trond Norén Isaksen told Aftenposten, one of Norway's largest printed newspapers: 'When the agreement is not respected, it is time to strike Martha Louise's princess title before King Harald's life's work takes further damage.'

The expert also noted: 'In October 2022, three different opinion polls showed that more than half wanted Martha Louise to give up the princess title, while less than a quarter wanted her to keep it.'

Calls for Princess Martha to give up her title

Last month, King Harald V faced renewed calls to strip Princess Märtha Louise of her royal title after she reportedly used it in a cease-and-desist letter issued to her estranged 81-year-old mother-in-law.

Following the news, Editor-in-chief of Se og Hør Ulf André Andersen wrote a comment piece calling for the monarch to 'take action'.

In the text, translated from Norwegian to English, the editor wrote: 'The title of princess is dignified and hangs high in a strong monarchy.

Queen Sonja of Norway and King Harald of Norway are pictured with their daughter, Princess Martha Louise in 2017

The Norwegian media published articles in which royal experts called for Martha's Princess title to be removed

'But now is definitely the time for a family council. The result must be one of two - either Martha herself allows the title to remain at the Castle, or the king puts his foot down for her.'

Norwegian online newspaper Nettavisen's royal expert, Tove Taalesen, echoed this, saying: 'I think that King Harald and Crown Prince Haakon should distance themselves more from the princess and Durek, if that is how they are going to act in the future.'

The expert previously said: 'It is probably time to remove Princess Martha Louise's right of succession to the throne.'

Death threats over relationship

Princess Martha and Durek previously told how they've received harsh criticism and even death threats because of their interracial relationship.

In 2021, they appeared on the Tamron Hall Show, and Durek, who is of Norwegian, Indian, and Haitian descent, said: 'You know, going into her life being a person of dark skin, a person who represents the melanated skin tone, being a shaman, a lot of people don't like the idea.

'A lot of the messages I would get from people around the world would be [that] they didn't want us together and it came from both sides.'

The groom admitted at the time that the public outcry was so difficult that Martha told him he should leave her if it was too much for him.

Pictured: Princess Martha Louise of Norway and her American shaman fiance Durek Verrett

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (pictured, right) will wed her fiance Shaman Durek Verrett (pictured, left) in August

He said: ''She said to me, 'If you don't want to be in this, we can leave. I'm okay. This is the life of a royal. Anyone who comes into my life and my family, this is what they go through."

'I looked in her eyes and she was crying and I said, "I will go through the fire with you. I will go through the ice with you. I will go through anything that's thrown at us because our love can withstand anything".'

Durek added: 'It's about educating people and helping people understand interracial relationships and how we are bringing an understanding that fear is the big issue of why racism and all these things continue and we have to move past those things so we can evolve as a species.'

In June 2022, the newly-engaged couple appeared in a video together on Durek's Instagram account where the American spiritual guide - whose celebrity clients have included Gwyneth Paltrow, Nina Dobrev and James Van Der Beek - hit back at online trolling they've faced.

He said: 'One, they don't want to see a black man in the Royal Family because there's never been one in the history of the European royal family.

'Second, she's a female - it's different when a royal prince chooses a woman of colour because it's like, "oh he's a man, he can choose whoever he wants".

'But for a princess to choose a man of colour, has never been done in history. So it's really tough for a lot of people to be able to handle that.'