The Norwegian king’s eldest child, Princess Märtha Louise, will marry her partner, the Hollywood self-professed spiritual guru Durek Verrett, next summer, the couple have announced.
King Harald V said in a statement that his family was “delighted to welcome” Verrett, who is from California and a self-proclaimed sixth-generation shaman. The Norwegian princess can trace her ancestry back to Britain’s Queen Victoria.
The couple, who toured Norway in 2019 as “the princess and the shaman”, have created waves in the country with their alternative beliefs.
The wedding will take place on 24 August in the village of Geiranger, prized for its mountains and fjords, which is located 265km (165 miles) north of Bergen.
Princess Märtha-Louise with Durek Verrett Norwegian princess quits royal duties to work with ‘shaman’ fiance
The VG newspaper said the wedding would be paid for privately.
In a statement, the couple said: “We are incredibly happy to be able to celebrate our love in Geiranger’s beautiful surroundings.
It means a lot to us to gather our loved ones in a place that is so rich in history and spectacular nature. Geiranger is the perfect place to embrace our love.”
The state broadcaster NRK said Verrett will move to Norway and will join the royal family, although he will not have a title.
Princess Märtha Louise is King Harald V’s first child, but her brother, Crown Prince Haakon, who is two years younger than her, will succeed his father as king.
The Norwegian constitution was altered in 1990 to allow the first born, regardless of gender, to take precedence in the line of succession.
However, this was not done retroactively, meaning Haakon remains first in line to the throne. Haakon’s oldest child, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, will one day ascend the Norwegian throne.
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