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Festivities have kicked off in Norway for this weekend’s royal wedding between Princess Märtha Louise and her American finance, self-proclaimed shaman Durek Verrett.

Guests are royalty from across Europe have gathered in a historic hotel in Alesund in western Norway for a ‘meet and greet’ and will then travel by sea to the scenic town of Geiranger, on the shores of a fjord designated a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Along the way, guests will enjoy a “light lunch on the boat while witnessing the majestic mountains and waterfalls”. The couple is then set to marry in a private ceremony on Saturday.

Reports from the fjord say that several social media influencers and TV stars will be there, in addition to members of the Swedish royal family. Norwegian media also said that attendees have been requested not to use cameras or cell phones during the festivities, and they have been warned not to publish anything on social media.

Princess Märtha Louise, 52, and Mr Verrett, 49, announced their engagement in 2022. Princess Märtha was previously married to the late writer and artist Ari Behn. The two divorced in 2017 after which Behn died on Christmas Day 2019.

Märtha gave up the “Her Royal Highness” title in 2002 in order to start a business, and soon after claimed she was clairvoyant and, until 2018, ran a school which taught students to “create miracles” and talk to angels.

Her husband-to-be on the other hand, is a sixth-generation shaman and “servant of god energy activator” who “demystifies spirituality” through his “no-nonsense teachings”. In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, he claimed to have risen from the dead and said that when he was a child a relative had predicted he would one day marry the princess of Norway.

A match made in the eleventh dimension.

 

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A post shared by Durek Verrett (@shamandurek)

Princess Märtha Louise used an Instagram post to reveal her engagement to Mr Verrett. Maybe trying to head off any criticism that could come her way, she hashtagged: “To those of you who feel the need to criticise: Hold your horses. You don’t get to decide for me or pass judgement on me. Shaman Durek is just a man who makes me feel fulfilled and with whom I like spending time.”

You tell them, Princess.

 

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Norwegian subjects don’t seem to be as impressed by Shaman Durek as the princess is and complain that he “says very strange things and there are many cultural differences.”

Despite their spiritual leanings, the couple will be married by Parish Priest Margit Lovise Holte in accordance with the Norwegian Church’s wedding liturgy. No crystals and energy activation in other words.

The Norwegian palace also announced that Märtha Louise will “relinquish her patronage role” as she and Mr Verrett work to “distinguish more clearly between their activities and the Royal House of Norway – to prevent misunderstandings regarding the Royal House”.

 

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A post shared by Princess Märtha Louise (@princessmarthalouise)

Although this may sound suspiciously like banishment, it is more likely an escape for Princess Märtha Louise. Her father, King Harald, has however said that she could keep her title but that the princess may not use it in her commercial endeavours. Also, it seems the old man likes Mr Verrett as well.

King Harald told Norwegian reporters that Mr Verrett was “a great guy” and that the two of them “laughed a lot, even in this difficult time. I think both we and he have gained a greater understanding of what this is about, and we’ve agreed to disagree.”

It has also been revealed that the couple has been working with Netflix for a year on what the streaming giant called an “in-depth and moving documentary” on their relationship.

“We’re going more global and there’s nothing more powerful than the love that fuels us,” Mr Verrett wrote on Instagram recently.

We’re not sure the world is ready for another Harry & Meghan.

 

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[source:bbc]