Norwegian princess to marry Hollywood self-professed shaman next year

The Norwegian king’s eldest child, Princess Märtha Louise, will marry her Hollywood partner, the self-professed shaman Durek Verrett, next summer, the couple announced Wednesday.

King Harald V said in a statement that his family was “delighted to welcome” Verret, who is from California and claims to be a sixth-generation shaman. The Norwegian princess can trace her ancestry back to Britain’s Queen Victoria.

The couple, who toured the country in 2019 as “The Princess and The Shaman,” have created waves in Norway with their alternative beliefs.

For the past several years, Märtha Louise, 51, has said she can talk with angels, while Verret, 48, claims that he communicates with a broad range of spirits, wields ancient medicine and has a medallion which helps ward off heavy energies, spells and darkness.

The wedding will take place on August 24 in Geiranger, prized for its typical Norwegian scenery among mountains and fjords. Geiranger is 265 kilometers (165 miles) north of Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city.

The VG newspaper, one of Norway’s biggest, said that the wedding would be privately paid for.

“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 couple said in a statement.

The state broadcaster NRK said that Verret will move to Norway. And while he will join the royal family, he won't have a title.

• Britain's King Charles marks his first year on the throne, cautious but steady