Princess Martha Louise of Norway and Shaman Durek reveal the date they will tie the knot – after she stepped down as a working royal due to her partner’s controversial views including that childhood cancer is caused by unhappiness

Princess Martha Louise of Norway will tie the knot with her American business partner in her home country next August, it has been announced.

The royal, 51, who describes herself as “spiritual” and claims to be clairvoyant, will marry Durek Verrett, who calls herself a “shaman”, on August 31 at the Union Hotel in Geiranger, the couple announced on Instagram.

The couple posted an identical professional photo of themselves to their social media accounts and said they were ‘extremely happy’ to have found their wedding venue – with Verrett calling the princess his ‘goddess’.

The announcement comes after several years of difficulties for the Norwegian royal family, culminating in Princess Martha’s decision to step down as a working member of the family – which she said was accompanied by “unrest”.

Eyebrows were raised when the princess first started dating Verrett, who holds a number of controversial and pseudoscientific views, including that cancer in children can be caused by ‘unhappiness’.

Announcing the wedding venue for next year’s ceremony on Instagram, Verrett posted a professional photo of the couple looking in love, with himself dressed in a pink tuxedo with a sparkling button up, while Martha opted for a flowing white Greek-style dress .

He wrote: “My beloved Princess Märtha Louise and I are pleased to announce our upcoming wedding on August 31, 2024 at the Union Hotel in Geiranger, Norway.”

Verrett further explained that the hotel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and “represents the rich culture and striking nature of Norway.”

He continued: “Märtha and I are extremely happy to celebrate our love in the beautiful surroundings of Geiranger.

‘It means a lot to us to gather family and friends in a place so rich in Norwegian history and with such spectacular nature surrounding our big moment. Geiranger is the perfect place to embrace our love.”

Princess Martha posted an almost identical announcement on her Instagram profile, with the same photo.

As the couple plans their big day, the dust appears to have settled among the Norwegian royal family following Princess Martha’s decision to step down (titled ‘Norwegian Megxit’).

In an interview with the BBC Earlier this year, she praised her parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja, for keeping the dialogue open as she made her decision and they worked out the details of how the arrangements would work.

When asked about her decision compared to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who also stepped down as senior royals, she talked about her “amazing” family, including King Harald and Queen Sonja, and how the dialogue between them has always remained open.

“What I’ve loved throughout this entire cycle is the conversations we’ve had throughout this entire cycle,” she said.

‘From a young age I remember my father and mother saying (the saying of the king and queen) that we should always stick together. We should always discuss things, even if it is difficult. We have to put all the cards on the table because we are family and we have to work through it.”

The Norwegian royal also discussed how her fiancé’s controversial ‘views’ had contributed to the way the public viewed her position in the royal family.

She said: “The Norwegian people, I think… have decided that it is best for me to resign because of their views on certain matters.”

Durek, who describes himself as a “shaman,” was dropped by his publisher shortly after the couple announced their engagement in June 2022 due to pseudoscientific claims he made in his book “Spirit Hacking.”

One of the claims was that children ‘can get cancer if they are unhappy’.

Durek has also claimed that he once rose from the dead, recovering from a months-long coma, by ‘burning’ his soul, and he has also spoken about having to undergo a kidney transplant from his sister as a child.

It’s unclear why he needed the kidney or how he became wheelchair-bound as he has described. The illness that left him in a coma has also not been disclosed.

Elsewhere in the interview, Martha Louise claimed that she first began experiencing psychic premonitions as a child.

She said, “When I was little, I saw things in you. If you were sad or if you were happy… if you had pain in your shoulder, I got pain in my shoulder.

“And I understood that that’s a talent and, you know, I could help other people. And then the whole ball started rolling.”

The princess said she decided she wanted to “earn my own money,” which she could only do by giving up her “state money” and paying taxes for the first time in her life.

After giving up her position in the royal family, the princess revealed she faced “a lot of criticism,” especially when taking on new roles.

“Everything you do is a first and comes out of the box you’re in,” she said, adding that the press investigation was “continuing.”

She added that spiritual beliefs such as those she holds are “taboo” in Norway.

Her comments echoed an interview she gave on Swedish television in March, in which she claimed she had “received the most criticism of anyone in Norway” because of her beliefs.

As she sat down with Anna Hedenmo at Min Sanning – which translates to My Truth – the royal said she felt she had to step back because of her public image.

She said: ‘I think in Norway I am probably the one who has received the most criticism.’

Elsewhere in the television special, the mother opened up about how her ex-husband Ari Behn – who committed suicide in December 2019 – dealt with being in the spotlight.

After their wedding in 2002, the royal family said the father of her three children – who made a name for himself as an author – said he was not getting good reviews for his work.

She added: ‘His mental health depended heavily on him being criticized in the media.

‘But I’m not saying it was anyone’s fault. It’s always how you deal with criticism. The press criticized themselves after his death, that maybe they were a bit harsh on him, that he only received criticism and was actually a very nice person.’

In June 2022, the newly engaged couple appeared together in a video on Durek’s Instagram account, in which the American spiritual guide – whose celebrity clients have included Gwyneth Paltrow, Nina Dobrev and James Van Der Beek – hit back at online trolls they faced had.

He said: ‘Firstly, they don’t want to see a black man in the royal family because there has never been a black man in the history of the European royal family.

“Second, she’s a woman. It’s different when a royal prince chooses a woman of color because it’s like, ‘oh, he’s a man, he can choose whoever he wants.’

‘But for a princess to choose a man of color has never happened before in history. So it is really a challenge for many people to deal with that.’