Princess Märtha Louise of Norway Slams 'Lies' in Norwegian Press Ahead of Her Wedding to Shaman Durek

"It is so sad that it needs to be this way as a wedding should be a joyous occasion for everyone involved. Also for us…" the princess wrote on Instagram

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway is firing back at reports circulated by a Nordic magazine as the countdown continues to her wedding to Shaman Durek Verrett.

On April 16, King Harald V and Queen Sonja’s daughter blasted Se og Hør for "spreading lies" about her fiancé, who she got engaged to in June 2022. Märtha Louise, 52, and the Los Angeles-based spiritual guide and healer are set to wed in August, and she called out his mother for allegedly spreading false information about his childhood.

"Se og Hør continues spreading lies about my fiancé @shamandurek. Like I said on the podcast @heartsmart_convos, Se og Hør just repeats the lies until everybody believes them," Princess Märtha Louise began her statement on Instagram. The comments captioned a photo of her and Durek standing arm in arm on an outdoor terrace before showing photos of what she identified as his childhood home.

"This time, they are repeating the lie that Durek was not from a wealthy family as a child (because his mom says so, who got money from spreading whatever lies she could), when the truth is that he grew up in a good neighborhood, his mom left him at an early age and it was in reality his mom not having money, not him," the royal continued. "She wasn’t even around. Durek’s father’s bankruptcy came after Durek moved out, so he was not affected by his father’s bankruptcy."

Princess Märtha Louise further cited the other pictures she shared as "the house Durek grew up [in] Foster City, California," which she said is worth about $2.7 million today, along with a statement from one of her fiancé’s childhood friends "about how he was one of the richest kids in school. "

"It is not important to me [whether] he was from a family with money or not as a child, but the fact is that he was, and I am sick and tired of Se og Hør’s lies about us. And about Durek," she wrote. The princess continued to call out Durek’s mother and "unethical" journalism.

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"Please don’t believe what Se og Hør says about Durek or me leading up to the wedding. From experience, I know it will get worse as we move closer to the wedding," Princess Märtha Louise concluded her statement. "It is so sad that it needs to be this way as a wedding should be a joyous occasion for everyone involved. Also for us…"

Märtha Louise may have been referencing an interview that Durek’s mother Veruschka Urquhart gave to the Norwegian edition of Se og Hør in May 2023, in which she claimed that her future daughter-in-law "brainwashed" her son, per an English translation.

On April 8, Se og Hør published a story claiming to reveal details about Märtha Louise and Durek’s summer wedding. The couple announced in September 2023 that they would wed at Hotell Union in Geiranger, Norway, on August 31, 2024.

The outlet alleged that the celebration would be a three-day affair starting in Ålesund and packed with glam pre-parties before the big day, which Princess Märtha Louise debunked with her strong statement.

Princess Märtha Louise and Durek have been together for nearly five years. She made their relationship Instagram official in May 2019, describing the shaman with a loyal celebrity fan base as her "twin flame."

Märtha Louise is mom to daughters Maud Angelica, 20, Leah Isadora, 19, and Emma Tallulah, 15, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Ari Behn. The couple split in 2016 after 14 years of marriage, with a divorce finalized the following year.

Behn died by suicide at age 47 in 2019, and the mother of three was open about dealing with depression following her ex-husband's death.

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While the bride-to-be was born a princess, the Royal House of Norway announced in November 2022 that she was officially stepping away from her royal role. The palace said the decision was made so Princess Märtha Louise could more freely pursue other interests without the restrictions of being affiliated with the crown.

She retains her princess title and remains welcome at family events, the statement said.

Princess Märtha Louise's royal exit did not affect the Norwegian line of succession. Though she is two years older than her brother, Crown Prince Haakon, he was always destined to inherit the throne. Absolute primogeniture — the right to rule regardless of gender — was not constitutionally adopted in Norway until 1990, the Royal House states.

Crown Prince Haakon’s first child and only daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, follows him in the line of succession and is set to be queen one day.

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