Princess Märtha Louise & Durek Verrett: News & Information 2019 -

[Princess_Eleanor]

Norway has always had a Royal House vs. Royal Family. Ingrid Alexandra is in one. Her brothers are not. (Marius may not even be in either; I'm never sure.)

Exactly! They already have that distinction and the Royal House consists only of the King, Queen, Haakon, Mette-Marit and Ingrid Alexandra. The Royal Family additionally includes Sverre Magnus, Marius, Märtha Louise, Maud, Leah, Emma and Princess Astrid.

By the way, in their long statement it also says that Durek is forbidden from mentioning members of the Royal House on his social media accounts or in interviews, from using their images and tagging the monarchy's official social media accounts.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

The Royal House has indeed already differentiated from the Royal Family since the early 2000s. With the exception of Princess Astrid, due to the special circumstances of her being the only available First Lady for many years, only the members of the Royal House receive public funding.

Marius Borg Høiby is a member of the Royal Family.


https://www.royalcourt.no/seksjon.html?tid=28435&sek=27259

The Royal House of Norway belongs to the House of Glücksburg. The members of the Norwegian Royal House are Their Majesties King Harald and Queen Sonja and Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Ingrid Alexandra.

The members of the Royal Family are in addition the Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s other children, His Highness Prince Sverre Magnus and Mr Marius Borg Høiby; Her Highness Princess Märtha Louise, Miss Maud Angelica Behn, Miss Leah Isadora Behn, Miss Emma Tallulah Behn and Her Highness Princess Astrid, Mrs Ferner.​

I read a few articles suggesting this was actually the desired outcome in most polls asked in Norwegian media (though happy to be corrected if I'm wrong) so it seems really quite a "neat solution".

An NRK poll of the Norwegian public, showing that 51% wanted the princess to cease representing the Royal House while only 13% wanted her to continue, was discussed a few pages ago in this thread.

https://www.theroyalforums.com/foru...ews-and-information-46408-67.html#post2497074
https://www.dagbladet.no/studio/kjendisstudio/668?post=108049

I speculated at the time that NRK (the national public broadcaster, for those not aware) may have been nudged by the Royal House to conduct that public opinion poll about whether Princess Märtha Louise should stop representing the royal house. That appears even more likely now.

I still can't get past the fact his name is actually Derek, not Durak. I honestly laughed when I read that today. I guess Derek wasn't exotic enough...

He has legally changed his name to Durek and used it for many years.

Interesting the King and Queen actually gave a press conference and had the guts to face the press to answer questions about their actions. They did not act like they were oblivious or too entitled to subject themselves to press questions. But then again, this seems to have been done more as a family than as monarch and subjects. Glad they didn't just put out some cold, out-of-the-blue, statements and then sit back to let others deal with the fallout. Now THAT would have been weak and cowardice.

Without discussing your depiction of the Queen of Denmark's actions, as this is not the place for it, I think it is clear that this situation has far more in common with the British than the Danish royal family's. Especially in the press release about the couple's future roles, it seems that the Norwegian royal house has learned from the experience of their British counterparts.

 

[Prinsara]

It's very interesting that both Harald and Sonja said Verrett is "fun to be with" in this interview. https://www.nrk.no/norge/kongeparet-uttaler-seg-om-martha-konklusjonen-1.16171044

One wonders just how far diplomacy stretches. (Then again, confidence people don't get anything by being unpleasant.)

 

[tommy100]

Thank you for pointing out the Norwegians do already have a "Royal House". I think this probably was info stored in the very back of my brain. What I would say is if ML was still undertaking royal engagements and having official support from the Royal Court this isn't what I think a "Royal House" should be if being used to differentiate members of the RF.

 

[Prinsara]

Thank you for pointing out the Norwegians do already have a "Royal House". I think this probably was info stored in the very back of my brain. What I would say is if ML was still undertaking royal engagements and having official support from the Royal Court this isn't what I think a "Royal House" should be if being used to differentiate members of the RF.

She didn't have much official support, just some selected patronages; all of which stem from having been HRH and a member of the Royal House before she got married. Other than Astrid and her special circumstances, she is the only one to have "moved".

The younger generation has always been in their camp and seem pretty low-key and happy there. Whether Magnus might end up being called 'back'/upgraded at some future point is a separate notion.

 

[Alisa]

I was very surprised to read these words from Queen Sonja,

"Americans have no idea what a kingdom is. So it's no wonder he doesn't realize," Sonja said, according to the publication.

"Americans don't understand the bearing of this here. They don't. He thought he could do whatever he wanted without compromising us at all," she added."

https://l.smartnews.com/1EBXp/vKkLGC

Clearly she is not a fan of Derek.

I hope for the preservation of peace, the couple finally gets the message this time!

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Durek himself has repeatedly emphasized his nationality and the nationality of his critics, including in his most recent public interviews. For example, in the King's first public comments concerning the Norwegian public's and Durek Verrett's criticisms of each other, the King attempted to frame Durek's identification of Norwegians as racist as referring to a minority of Norwegians. Mr. Verrett soon followed up with another interview in which he made clear that he believed the majority of Norwegians were racist, not only a minority.

He has also defended his (much criticized in Norway) statements about the need to cleanse "vaginal imprints" from previous sexual partners by saying that it is a common procedure in America.

I am sure those who have followed the controversies more closely than I have will be able to provide further examples.

So rather than the Queen's (and King's) words blaming cultural differences for their son-in-law's alleged lack of understanding being intended as a criticism of him, I would say they are being conciliatory by accepting part of his narrative.

 

[Heavs]

Durek himself has repeatedly emphasized his nationality and the nationality of his critics, including in his most recent public interviews. For example, in the King's first public comments concerning the Norwegian public's and Durek Verrett's criticisms of each other, the King attempted to frame Durek's identification of Norwegians as racist as referring to a minority of Norwegians. Mr. Verrett soon followed up with another interview in which he made clear that he believed the majority of Norwegians were racist, not only a minority.

He has also defended his (much criticized in Norway) statements about the need to cleanse "vaginal imprints" from previous sexual partners by saying that it is a common procedure in America.

I am sure those who have followed the controversies more closely than I have will be able to provide further examples.

So rather than the Queen's (and King's) words blaming cultural differences for their son-in-law's alleged lack of understanding being intended as a criticism of him, I would say they are being conciliatory by accepting part of his narrative.

I agree. "Cultural differences" have been used as a diplomatic way to explain problems or scandals by several other royal houses/families that pertain to an individual and not necessarily their culture of origin. Of course it annoys others from that culture who certainly would behave in that way.

But it's more diplomatic towards her problematic future son-in-law to frame it that way rather than saying "he's a dangerous snake oil salesman who wants to say and do what he likes without criticism and likes to use our daughter's title and his connection to us to stroke his own ego."

 

[Hans-Rickard]

One thing that is crystal clear is how close knitted the Norwegian Royal Family is… They talk WITH each other about exactly everything, like a normal family does - and not by Court Marshals delivering already signed orders to the monarchs children (watch and learn QMII)

As The King of Norway don’t have a ”lesser” title to grant his children, the Princess-title will likely stay forever as she is (with the Kings own words) his daughter… Maybe she will become Princess Märtha Louise Mrs Verrett after the wedding, like Princess Astrid is Mrs Ferner, but the ”Princess” word will always be there…

Any modern monarch living in 2022, will think 111 times before making their children a normal Mrs or Mr out of dissapointment for their behaviour… Princess Märtha Louise is 51 and will ofcourse marry whoever she wants to, regardless of what daddy says…
The Norwegian King is a modern man in close contact with his time and knows that…

The Norwegian Royals have my admiration for handling their problems within their family and not in Vogue or at Oprah Winfrey.

 

[Heavs]

The Norwegian Royals have my admiration for handling their problems within their family and not in Vogue or at Oprah Winfrey.

Well the couple *have* given interviews to Vanity Fair, Town and Country, The LA Times, Tamron Hall (Oprah Winfrey lite) and many more. As well as doing their own "stage show" called The Shaman and the Princess where they talked about their love story, did spiritualism sessions and ML was quoted as yelling "who hates the media here, I do!" (paraphrased) I would posit that that VF is as big as Vogue and that they would definitely go on Oprah if she would have them. They also have accused Norwegians as a whole of racism but that did not make many English speaking media outlets. This decision has come after her patronages actually started dropping her and a huge amount of criticism in Norway. So I don't think they've handled everything perfectly "in house" over the last three years.

It's just that outside of Scandinavia they draw much less attention than the BRF does and a lot of the storm over the couple has not been written in English and thus not picked up by the world's media until something "big" happens.

ML began the process of stepping apart from the Royal House 20 years ago and has lived her life mainly how she pleased since then. Who knows how she would react if she was a full time member now forced to step down.

It IS good that she appears to have (once again) agreed to stop using her title for self promotion and money making and that she and the family are happy (Durek is not in a position to really have an official say) but she's also in a different position than others of several different Houses who've faced sort of the same thing.

 

[Alisa]

The Queen's comments have made the news here.

https://l.smartnews.com/YbDxV/3b6fCs

 

[Toledo]

From Spain's El Pais - right click and select translate unless you see the Translate drop down prompt on your browser first -


Sonia from Norway talks about her daughter Marta Luisa's shaman boyfriend: "He thought he could do whatever he wanted without getting engaged"

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Maybe she will become Princess Märtha Louise Mrs Verrett after the wedding, like Princess Astrid is Mrs Ferner, but the ”Princess” word will always be there…

I will respond in the titles thread.

 

[Sister Morphine]

Durek himself has repeatedly emphasized his nationality and the nationality of his critics, including in his most recent public interviews. For example, in the King's first public comments concerning the Norwegian public's and Durek Verrett's criticisms of each other, the King attempted to frame Durek's identification of Norwegians as racist as referring to a minority of Norwegians. Mr. Verrett soon followed up with another interview in which he made clear that he believed the majority of Norwegians were racist, not only a minority.

He has also defended his (much criticized in Norway) statements about the need to cleanse "vaginal imprints" from previous sexual partners by saying that it is a common procedure in America.

I am sure those who have followed the controversies more closely than I have will be able to provide further examples.

So rather than the Queen's (and King's) words blaming cultural differences for their son-in-law's alleged lack of understanding being intended as a criticism of him, I would say they are being conciliatory by accepting part of his narrative.

As an American woman (cue The Guess Who), I can say that's an absolute pile of bull cookies. I'm 40 years old, far from a blushing virgin. I have never heard of that before in my life until just now.

(..)

 

[polyesco]

I was very surprised to read these words from Queen Sonja,

"Americans have no idea what a kingdom is. So it's no wonder he doesn't realize," Sonja said, according to the publication.

"Americans don't understand the bearing of this here. They don't. He thought he could do whatever he wanted without compromising us at all," she added."

https://l.smartnews.com/1EBXp/vKkLGC

Clearly she is not a fan of Derek.

I hope for the preservation of peace, the couple finally gets the message this time!

I was a little disappointed reading this from Sonja. Of course the American didn't understand. hmm, But where was her Norwegian born and raised Princess daughter? Surely she understands? no? it looks like she was very happy to do those instagram posts, and cringy tiktok videos with Princess splashed all over. Magazine covers and tv interviews in the Us, etc.
So maybe the Norwegian Princess didnt undertsand either or didnt care
She is 51 not 18.

 

[Prinsara]

I was a little disappointed reading this from Sonja. Of course the American didn't understand. hmm, But where was her Norwegian born and raised Princess daughter? Surely she understands? no? it looks like she was very happy to do those instagram posts, and cringy tiktok videos with Princess splashed all over. Magazine covers and tv interviews in the Us, etc.
So maybe the Norwegian Princess didnt undertsand either or didnt care
She is 51 not 18.

Her daughter does not, actually, understand very well, as seen by how she promised to stop using "her title" for "business activities" years ago and has gone blithely on either showing no sense of judgment or wanting to push things. It's not being "18", it's being an immature 18.

 

[victor1319]

Her daughter does not, actually, understand very well, as seen by how she promised to stop using "her title" for "business activities" years ago

Well, this is dangerous "half-knowledge", but I think, her apanage was around mere 1 500 €uros, imagine this: a thousand and five hundred!

So, she had to make money one way or another just to maintain her survival!

And she is a Princess! A Princess in dire need of money. And it is a thin line, being a Princess and everybody knows this and to not get 'the title' involved in keeping her life up...

But I have no sympathies and no understanding at all for this 'snake oil' thingy and 'The Shaman and the Princess'. There are surely more decent ways for a Princess to rake in some monies!

 

[hereditarytitles]

Well, this is dangerous "half-knowledge", but I think, her apanage was around mere 1 500 €uros, imagine this: a thousand and five hundred!

So, she had to make money one way or another just to maintain her survival!

And she is a Princess! A Princess in dire need of money. And it is a thin line, being a Princess and everybody knows this and to not get 'the title' involved in keeping her life up...

But I have no sympathies and no understanding at all for this 'snake oil' thingy and 'The Shaman and the Princess'. There are surely more decent ways for a Princess to rake in some monies!

I am much surprised to hear that her apanage ist just 1500 Euros. That would be very little indeed, about what a retired person would get as a pension. Are there reliable sources for this? I cannot really believe it. That would look like she had to earn her own money because she did not get anough from her parents?

A rich country as Norway with a probably rich royal family does not provide enough money for the only daughter?
I cannot believe it, it cannot be the reason why she got attached to the "conman shaman".

 

[victor1319]

I am much surprised to hear that her apanage ist just 1500 Euros. That would be very little indeed...

I checked it. It was even less: 1 300 €uro per month!

Sorry, my source is in German only!
https://www.gala.de/royals/skandina...cht-mir-ihrer-apanage-auskommen-22470766.html

 

[Princess_Eleanor]

I am much surprised to hear that her apanage ist just 1500 Euros. That would be very little indeed, about what a retired person would get as a pension. Are there reliable sources for this? I cannot really believe it. That would look like she had to earn her own money because she did not get anough from her parents?

A rich country as Norway with a probably rich royal family does not provide enough money for the only daughter?
I cannot believe it, it cannot be the reason why she got attached to the "conman shaman".

I don't remember the exact amount, but that sounds about right. It was very, very little. In general and even more so if you consider that Norway is one of Europe's most expensive countries.

Norway only provides a proper apanage to the monarch and heirs. For the others it's a very small amount, Princess Astrid gets the same.

What she has gotten from her parents is a different story, that is not publicly known, but since she has always had a very nice lifestyle, I do believe that she has always gotten money from them. All those horses and holidays alone... upkeep of her large property - how could she possibly afford that by herself?

 

[Tatiana Maria]

The princess voluntarily renounced her appanage in 2002.

https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=28745&sek=27287
https://members3.boardhost.com/scandinavia/msg/1558720657.html

 

[Prinsara]

The princess voluntarily renounced her appanage in 2002.

https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=28745&sek=27287

Sort of like she voluntarily renounced her royal duties — not amounting to much.

 

[Princess_Eleanor]

Sort of like she voluntarily renounced her royal duties — not amounting to much.

Lol yes, the Norwegian Household will always announce it this way. That's the way to do it, it creates less public issues than Denmark for instance...

If the Princess title had been taken from her, it would also have been announced as "Märtha Louise renounces her title" in my opinion.

But that appanage really was not enough for a working royal. Far from it.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Although the Gala article cites a Norwegian news source, it seems to be claiming that the princess is still receiving an apanage, which is certainly wrong as she renounced it 20 years ago and it has never been restored. So it appears something has gotten lost in translation, and I am skeptical about whether it is a reliable source on the size of the apanage which the princess received up through 2001.

That information is not available on the official website either as its annual reports do not go back that far.

 

[Somebody]

FRom Spain's El Pais - right click and select translate unless you see the Translate drop down prompt on your browser first -

Sonia from Norway talks about her daughter Marta Luisa's shaman boyfriend: "He thought he could do whatever he wanted without getting engaged"

That's not exactly what Sonja said. She said he could do what he wanted without 'engaging them' (she used comprometernos - so engage 'us' (not himself)), so, I take that to mean that he thought he could do what he wanted and didn't realize it would affect them.

 

[Princess_Eleanor]

I was a little disappointed reading this from Sonja. Of course the American didn't understand. hmm, But where was her Norwegian born and raised Princess daughter? Surely she understands? no? it looks like she was very happy to do those instagram posts, and cringy tiktok videos with Princess splashed all over. Magazine covers and tv interviews in the Us, etc.
So maybe the Norwegian Princess didnt undertsand either or didnt care
She is 51 not 18.

It was actually King Harald who said that, I don't know why all the international media are misquoting it. I suppose someone got it wrong and all the other media outlets are just copying...

In my opinion he just said it this way because
a) they want to avoid a public conflict a la the UK & Denmark at all costs (and the cost is high if you think about what they are putting up with and how they spent 5 months negotiating this agreement)
b) They avoid accusations of racism by saying that it's Americans who don't understand. If they said it is only Durek who does not understand, it could not only create a public conflict with Durek, but they might be accused of racism.

But it's not completely wrong either. There are many things about monarchies and Royal Families that people from Republics often don't understand - I mean people who are not royal watchers... But what remains unsaid in this context is that the main problems with Durek are things that don't necessarily require an understanding of monarchies. The things he says about cancer and claiming to cure diseases would be considered outrageous in most places.

On the other hand, things like talking about your sex life publicly might be acceptable in Hollywood, whereas it definitely isn't for a Royal Family.

Märtha Louise in my opinion understands monarchies perfectly well, but doesn't always live by what is expected... But there is some limit to what she will say, whereas for the shaman, there is no limit at all.

 

[Prinsara]

That's not exactly what Sonja said. She said he could do what he wanted without 'engaging them' (she used comprometernos - so engage 'us' (not himself)), so, I take that to mean that he thought he could do what he wanted and didn't realize it would affect them.

I would say "do whatever he wanted without consulting us", but I haven't actually seen if there's an English translation for that part of the remarks.

 

[Princess_Eleanor]

That's not exactly what Sonja said. She said he could do what he wanted without 'engaging them' (she used comprometernos - so engage 'us' (not himself)), so, I take that to mean that he thought he could do what he wanted and didn't realize it would affect them.

Yes, affect them.


King Harald: Han trodde han kunne gjøre hva han ville uten at det gikk ut over oss i det hele tatt.

He thought he could do what he wanted without it affecting us at all.


Queen Sonja: Men det har han forstått nå, at vi er sammen om dette. At han også må ta hensyn til hva vi står for.

But he has understood that now, that we are in this together. That he must also take into account what we stand for.

 

[polyesco]

It was actually King Harald who said that, I don't know why all the international media are misquoting it. I suppose someone got it wrong and all the other media outlets are just copying...

In my opinion he just said it this way because
a) they want to avoid a public conflict a la the UK & Denmark at all costs (and the cost is high if you think about what they are putting up with and how they spent 5 months negotiating this agreement)
b) They avoid accusations of racism by saying that it's Americans who don't understand. If they said it is only Durek who does not understand, it could not only create a public conflict with Durek, but they might be accused of racism.

But it's not completely wrong either. There are many things about monarchies and Royal Families that people from Republics often don't understand - I mean people who are not royal watchers... But what remains unsaid in this context is that the main problems with Durek are things that don't necessarily require an understanding of monarchies. The things he says about cancer and claiming to cure diseases would be considered outrageous in most places.

On the other hand, things like talking about your sex life publicly might be acceptable in Hollywood, whereas it definitely isn't for a Royal Family.

Märtha Louise in my opinion understands monarchies perfectly well, but doesn't always live by what is expected... But there is some limit to what she will say, whereas for the shaman, there is no limit at all.

Thank you.
Then yes, Harald. Does his Norwegian born and raise Princess daughter not understand monarchies and what is expected? It seems to me they want to blame Durek being American instead of blaming their daughter. And maybe admitting that it is the Norwegian Princess who is a willing participant in using the Princess title in tiktok, instagram, magazines, low rated US tv shows. etc.

 

[Princess_Eleanor]

Thank you.
Then yes, Harald. Does his Norwegian born and raise Princess daughter not understand monarchies and what is expected? It seems to me they want to blame Durek being American instead of blaming their daughter. And maybe admitting that it is the Norwegian Princess who is a willing participant in using the Princess title in tiktok, instagram, magazines, low rated US tv shows. etc.

He is definitely only blaming Durek, and not his daughter at all.

Like I said, she understands it all but doesn't want to live by everything... When Harald and Haakon both said that it was a pity, that she was good at doing engagements, that was true. She always did know how to behave like a Princess - when she wanted to - and on engagements she did.

Obviously she should not have been using her title etc. And the fact that she willingly participates in all this stuff with Durek - it's terrible. Of course she knows it's inappropriate. She probably has been coddled too much, as many have commented here before...

But Durek is the worst royal son-in-law I can think of. In most European monarchies he would probably not be allowed to join the Royal Family.