Princess Märtha Louise & Durek Verrett: News & Information 2019 - 2024

[Chimene]

I meant it in the way that especially in the US, due to the Shaman's Hollywood background with the respective publicity, a race discussion could easily be taken the wrong way and make world wide headlines, for example having Gwyneth Paltrow talking about what a terrible country Norway is.
I fully agree that ML is just a tool, everybody sees that but her.

Hollywood is a swamp. A lot of them love to rage about white privilege, but a bunch are busy knocking on doors to belong. You’re talking about a bunch of people who protected Harvey Weinstein and that’s including the media.

When you encounter people like that you have to cut them off. People like this guy are a travesty to the fight against bigotry. If you really want to fight for justice, be a Michelle Obama. You must exhibit and model the change you want to see by having the strength and courage of your convictions.

Someone who’s yelling racism for no good reason at every turn is just looking for get out of jail free card. That is not how you change hearts and minds which what is needed to combat racism or any negative perception.

When was this? She’s one of those over privileged trust fund babies, so she probably can’t see past her bubble, but I’ve never thought of her as stupid.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

It did not happen but it could, if the conman mobilises his 'friends' to get his way in case the NRF will cut him off.

 

[Chimene]

Which friends? Gwyneth? She will run for the hills too if there’s no more benefits to whatever is in it for her. I don’t understand the paralysis over a conman? The real problem is ML and they should find someone to deprogram her.

 

[LadyFinn]

Experts disagree about Märtha Louise's princess title

Eksperter uenige om Märtha Louises prinsessetittel: – Blir ikke kvitt koblingen til monarkiet uansett

Flere mener bryllups-ginen ble dråpen som fikk begeret til å renne over, og at Märtha Louise nå bør miste prinsessetittelen. – Blir ikke kvitt koblingen til monarkiet uansett, svarer kongehusekspert.

www.nettavisen.no

There is no doubt that Princess Märtha Louise's actions and actions weaken the royal house's reputation. Can King Harald do something about it? Yes, he can.

Slipp Märtha Louise fri

Det er ingen tvil om at prinsesse Märtha Louises gjøren og laden svekker kongehusets omdømme. Kan kong Harald gjøre noe med det? Ja, det kan han.

www.nettavisen.no

Ready to get married, Durek tells VG that he has been granted half a year's residence in Norway.
An American citizen can stay visa-free in Norway for up to 90 days, but if the person wishes to stay longer than this, a residence permit must be applied for.
- I am happy to inform you that I currently have a six-month stay in Norway. All my belongings are here, and I am looking forward to establishing a more permanent presence after our wedding, writes Durek in an e-mail to VG.
According to the documents, the application was granted on 24 April.

Durek Verrett har seks måneders oppholdstillatelse i Norge

Gifteklare Durek Verrett (49) forteller til VG at han har fått innvilget et halvt års opphold i Norge – og nå har alle eiendelene sine her.

www.vg.no

 

[Prinsara]

Not approving the marriage would have been the strongest signal imho but the king didn’t want to do that.

I guess this is just the next in line of controversial marriages in the Norwegian royal family. We need to go 3 generations back for the last marriage that wasn’t controversial at the time.

No. Every single marriage has been controversial.

That includes Olav and Märtha, and Maud and Carl/Harry and Charles before that. It really is the family curse.

(Marius seems like a good bet to follow suit, so...)
We can only wait for Ingrid, Magnus, or one of their cousins to decide to be a curse-breaker.

 

[blooms_rulers]

No. Every single marriage has been controversial.

That includes Olav and Märtha, and Maud and Carl/Harry and Charles before that. It really is the family curse.

(Marius seems like a good bet to follow suit, so...)
We can only wait for Ingrid, Magnus, or one of their cousins to decide to be a curse-breaker.

What was controversial about Olav and Märtha or Maud and Carl?

 

[Chimene]

Controversial is one thing, Mette-Marit was controversial and I understand why, but there’s a difference between prejudice based on indiscretions of youth and what we have now. ML is too old for this nonsense. What sort of example is she setting up for her daughters? Bleh.

 

[Noble Consort Ming]

No. Every single marriage has been controversial.

That includes Olav and Märtha, and Maud and Carl/Harry and Charles before that. It really is the family curse.

(Marius seems like a good bet to follow suit, so...)
We can only wait for Ingrid, Magnus, or one of their cousins to decide to be a curse-breaker.

Were Olav and Martha and before them Maud and Carl controversial because the couples were first cousins? I didn't think it was a big deal then. There were first cousin marriages in European royal families after those two as well.

 

[Toledo]

My take, if she wants to marry a former five-time USA inmate and con man, fine. Let her ruin her life but remove herself from the succession line so that spot can go to Maud.

She's literally four heartbeats away, and in a few weeks Durek will be tied to her and I don't trust this guy. His proximity reminds me of how Catherine de Medici in France ended up from sister-in-law of the king to boss lady.
Am I far-fetched? Let's hope this # 4 spot does not give this con a motivation and bad thoughts.

King Harald V (born 1937)
(1) Crown Prince Haakon (b. 1973)
(2) Princess Ingrid Alexandra (b. Jan 2004) age 20, unmarried
(3) Prince Sverre Magnus (b. Dec 2005) age 18, unmarried

(4) Princess Märtha Louise (b. 1971)

(5) Maud Angelica Behn (b. 2003)
(6) Leah Isadora Behn (b. 2005)
(7) Emma Tallulah Behn (b. 2008)

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Ready to get married, Durek tells VG that he has been granted half a year's residence in Norway.
An American citizen can stay visa-free in Norway for up to 90 days, but if the person wishes to stay longer than this, a residence permit must be applied for.
- I am happy to inform you that I currently have a six-month stay in Norway. All my belongings are here, and I am looking forward to establishing a more permanent presence after our wedding, writes Durek in an e-mail to VG.
According to the documents, the application was granted on 24 April.

Durek Verrett har seks måneders oppholdstillatelse i Norge

Gifteklare Durek Verrett (49) forteller til VG at han har fått innvilget et halvt års opphold i Norge – og nå har alle eiendelene sine her.

www.vg.no

Thanks, do we know how if Durek gets a Norwegian passport after the marriage? In Germany he would have to speak a certain level of the language on top of other things, married or not.

 

[JR76]

Were Olav and Martha and before them Maud and Carl controversial because the couples were first cousins? I didn't think it was a big deal then. There were first cousin marriages in European royal families after those two as well.

First cousins and because Olav was poor. I think it was Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who wrote her niece, Queen Mary, how shocked she was that the couple wouldn't even be given a house of their own.

 

[LadyFinn]

Alt for Durek -podcast
Märtha and Durek have an unusual love story, hear all about the road and the challenges they have faced in the new VG podcast below:

Alt for Durek: VGs podkast om Durek Verrett og Märtha Louises reise før bryllupet i Geiranger

Nå er det få uker til bryllupsfesten er i Geiranger. Ånder skal ha varslet prinsessen om starten på alt.

www.vg.no

 

[Prinsara]

What was controversial about Olav and Märtha or Maud and Carl?

Were Olav and Martha and before them Maud and Carl controversial because the couples were first cousins? I didn't think it was a big deal then. There were first cousin marriages in European royal families after those two as well.

First cousins and because Olav was poor. I think it was Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who wrote her niece, Queen Mary, how shocked she was that the couple wouldn't even be given a house of their own.

Olav and Märtha – not just first cousins; but his parents were first cousins and her parents were first cousins once removed. In Harald's immortal words "Haven't you noticed everyone looks a little funny around here...?" I think the NRF was trying not to end up like the Spanish Habsburgs; in any case they did have to go see the 1920's equivalent of a geneticist, who said they would probably be fine.

Olav wasn't poor. Both his parents were from very wealthy families and had inherited substantially; Queen Maud's money is still considered to be the basis of the family's fortune. They were just good at convincing people they didn't have very much money for PR. In any case, they certainly had more than Carl and Ingeborg, so the objection wouldn't have come from that source.

The idea was for the couple to live at Oscarshall but that was apparently uncomfortable and unrealistic and Olav said if that was the only option he'd take an apartment in Oslo instead. In any case, they did end up being given a home...

Aunt Augusta just liked to complain about the NRF because the elected monarch thing offended her old-school sensibilities too much, but she died during the First World War, so it couldn't have been her in this case. (Although people were shocked when his parents got married, and were not given a house, and ended up living in a "flat" in Copenhagen...)

Which leads me to...

Maud and Carl - their engagement is so sudden that there's no real definitive story or reason for it. One theory is they had been having feelings for each other/a bit of a relationship for a few years that wasn't really acknowledged.

His mother Crown Princess Louise apparently really wanted her prize child to marry Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (and not his relative-nobody British cousin and thus stay a nobody-Danish naval officer). As Aunt Lovisa had all of Carl's money, she did get to have a say in things... don't ask me how she was convinced, but you can see how happy she was(n't) at the wedding... (having a moment in the Pearl Poire tiara next to Queen Victoria). In my humble opinion, the curse stems from her... since without this marriage, there wouldn't be an NRF to begin with, of course.

 

[JR76]

Olav wasn't poor.

Olav = Haakon VII. I wrote the wrong name.

 

[Prinsara]

Olav = Haakon VII. I wrote the wrong name.

Fair enough. He wasn't poor, either.

 

[maria-olivia]

They do not deserved my 2.147 post

 

[Stefan]

First cousins and because Olav was poor. I think it was Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who wrote her niece, Queen Mary, how shocked she was that the couple wouldn't even be given a house of their own.

But Aunt August wasn't around anymore when Olav and Märtha married

 

[JR76]

But Aunt August wasn't around anymore when Olav and Märtha married

Read the rest of the thread. I wrote the wrong name.

 

[Moran]

It's almost as if the members of the NRF have been trying to outdo each other.

Olav: Hey, I'll marry not just a cousin but a cousin descended from cousins, just like me! Oh, and Swedish to the boot!

Ragnhild: I'll marry a commoner!

Astrid: Ha! I can do better! I'll marry a divorced commoner!

Harald: MY commoner will be queen! See? I showed you!

Haakon: Youthful lack of foresight is SO MUCH a thing!

ML: I concur!

All this looks amusing and hardly worth pearl-clutching in our modern eyes. But I - and it seems, many in Norway - draw the line at actual legal troubles, Durek-type. I do need my smelling salts.

I suppose the ones who want the withdrawal of the title want to see at least symbolic distances of the Royal House which represents them from THIS.

 

[Prinsara]

All this looks amusing and hardly worth pearl-clutching in our modern eyes.

Yeah, except for anything potentially really medically-serious that could have come from inbreeding before genetic testing was a thing (the odds are that nothing happens, but do you really want to play that game...?), potential political consequences from the population re: the country you seceded out of a union with less than 25 years ago (didn't happen either, but), turning the NRF into the testing ground for new social experiments when you are a relatively brand-new little monarchy very much there on sufferance and you have to decide whether progressive or conservative is going to work better...

But all of this aside, I wouldn't be surprised if Verrett was well-aware of the controversial marriage history. I've said it before: how does the conman end up with the ONLY royal family that would allow him in...? It's not coincidence, it's a Tommy Lascelles-style permissive ball rolling downhill. Which might make everything a bit less funny in retrospect and turn this into a real curse.

(Although even Aunt Lovisa, who was fiercely proud of her son getting the same throne as her father, would not have wanted it like this...)

 

[Moran]

Yeah, except for this.

I'm thinking of Aunt Ragnhild and what SHE might have shared after a glass or two.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

All this looks amusing and hardly worth pearl-clutching in our modern eyes. But I - and it seems, many in Norway - draw the line at actual legal troubles, Durek-type. I do need my smelling salts.

Having read press coverage from the time, the most salient public objections to the engagements to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby and Ari Behn did involve the fact that they had (reportedly) violated the law by partaking in illegal drug use during their years as part of the "house party" scene, though no charges were ever filed against either of them and neither of them publicly admitted to drug use (however, it did not help Ms. Tjessem Høiby that the father of her son had indeed been charged with and convicted of a drug offense). In Ari Behn's case, there was also the fact that, while engaged to Princess Märtha Louise, he publicly criticized the war in Afghanistan - which, while not an explicit breach of the law, conflicted with the Royal House's unwritten but generally understood constitutional duty to be politically neutral (the Royal House quickly responded with a statement that Ari Behn would not carry out any representational activities).

 

[Prinsara]

Alt for Durek -podcast
Märtha and Durek have an unusual love story, hear all about the road and the challenges they have faced in the new VG podcast below:

Alt for Durek: VGs podkast om Durek Verrett og Märtha Louises reise før bryllupet i Geiranger

Nå er det få uker til bryllupsfesten er i Geiranger. Ånder skal ha varslet prinsessen om starten på alt.

www.vg.no

I just loathe this podcast name, so much. Free speech, but it's such a mockery of the NRF who a) are not involved with Verrett, except for Harald still apparently enabling this, I guess... and b) have been working so hard to represent sane levelheaded normality (the opposite of this dude) for the last 119 years. If someone was trying to be cute and clever, it's not particularly funny.

 

[Somebody]

I suppose the ones who want the withdrawal of the title want to see at least symbolic distances of the Royal House which represents them from THIS.

I am less interested in symbolic action (although it is meaningful as well) but more in actions that have real-life implications, such as not granting permission resulting in removal of the line of succession. I guess coming from the Netherlands where this has been put in practice multiple times including in recent marriages, I don’t understand why other countries/monarchs no longer are willing to take this measure but allow each and every marriage just to keep the peace.

 

[Prinsara]

I don’t understand why other countries/monarchs no longer are willing to take this measure but allow each and every marriage just to keep the peace.

Maxima Zorreguieta required an extremely thorough parliamentary inquiry just to keep Willem-Alexander from handing the responsibility off to his brother, for whatever definition of "keep the peace" that falls under.

Aside from the Netherlands where it's a decision of parliament and not the monarch, which countries other than Norway (with its very complicated and very personal history of royal marriages) have been allowing all marriages just "to keep the peace"? As opposed to it being a family matter or there apparently being no issue with the potential spouse?

 

[Somebody]

There was no problem with Máxima herself. The problem was her father. Unlike the future spouses of Irene and Friso (although I am sure Beatrix as monarch wasn’t happy with how that played out).

It seems, in addition to the Netherlands, only Luxembourg is not allowing all marriages. Or am I missing other unapproved marriages in the last decades?

Previously it was much more common; some marriage didn’t go ahead because of it (Margaret and Peter Townsend being the most famous example), while others were stripped of their place in the line of succession as well as their title.

 

[Snowangel]

There was no problem with Máxima herself. The problem was her father. Unlike the future spouses of Irene and Friso (although I am sure Beatrix as monarch wasn’t happy with how that played out).

It seems, in addition to the Netherlands, only Luxembourg is not allowing all marriages. Or am I missing other unapproved marriages in the last decades?

Previously it was much more common; some marriage didn’t go ahead because of it (Margaret and Peter Townsend being the most famous example), while others were stripped of their place in the line of succession as well as their title.

As I don't know The Luxembourg royal family that much, who wasn't allowed to get married there?

 

[Stefan]

As I don't know The Luxembourg royal family that much, who wasn't allowed to get married there?

I would say it not that Consent was withould, but rather then that individuals renounced their succession rights like Prince Louis and Prince Jean

 

[Snowangel]

I would say it not that Consent was withould, but rather then that individuals renounced their succession rights like Prince Louis and Prince Jean

Ah, I see

 

[LadyFinn]

Nettavisen's royal house expert Tove Taalesen believes the couple will invest in a life in Norway.
- They are super-celebrities in Norway, or A-celebrities. But in the US they are really nothing. Not even Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have really succeeded in the US, so it is not very likely that Märtha Louise and Durek will do it either.
Taalesen thinks Durek wants to establish himself in Europe. With a princess title and a royal family behind him, he sees that he will be interesting in a completely different way than he is in the US. And Norway is not enough, he is thinking Europe. It may well be that he wants to do more than just his shaman activities. He is interested in fashion and fashionable, so it may be that he wants to work as both a shaman and speaker, but also in a way an influencer.
Taalesen also believes that Märtha Louise wants to stay in Norway for some time to come because of her daughters. And Märtha Louise and Durek have understood that, considering how big celebrities they are, they can make a lot of money from being precisely "Märtha and Durek". Regardless of the princess title or not, because it doesn't matter since she is the king's daughter anyway.

Prinsesse Märtha Louise og Durek Verrett får ekspert til å reagere – sterke utspillet etter store beskjeden: "Tror Durek ønsker..."

Prinsesse Märtha Louise og Durek Verrett får ekspert til å reagere – sterke utspillet etter store beskjeden: "Tror Durek ønsker..."

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