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Festivities have begun for the wedding of Norwegian Princess M\u00e4rtha Louise and her American partner, self-styled shaman Durek Verrett.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of guests arrived in the town of Alesund, in western Norway, on Thursday for a \u201cmeet and greet\u201d in a historic hotel.<\/p>\n
On Friday, they were travelling by sea to the scenic town of Geiranger, on the shores of a fjord designated a Unesco World Heritage Site. The wedding programme says guests will enjoy a “light lunch on the boat while witnessing the majestic mountains and waterfalls”. <\/p>\n
The couple will then tie the knot at a private event on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Members of the Swedish royal family are said to be attending alongside various social media influencers and TV personalities, including US reality star and model Cynthia Bailey.<\/p>\n
According to Norwegian media, guests have been asked not to use mobile phones or cameras during the celebrations and not to post anything on social media.<\/p>\n
Princess M\u00e4rtha Louise, 52, and Mr Verrett, 49, announced their engagement in 2022.<\/p>\n
The princess \u2013 a former equestrian and the eldest of Norwegian King Harald\u2019s two children \u2013 was previously married to the late writer and artist Ari Behn, with whom she had three daughters – Maud, Leah and Emma. The two divorced in 2017. Mr Behn, who had discussed suffering from depression, died on Christmas Day 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n M\u00e4rtha Louise has long attracted controversy in Norway for decades for her involvement in alternative treatments. She lost her honorific \u201cHer Royal Highness\u201d title in 2002 so as to be allowed to start her own business. In 2007, she announced she was clairvoyant and, until 2018, ran a school which she said taught students to \u201ccreate miracles\u201d and talk to angels.<\/p>\n Last year, M\u00e4rtha Louise told the BBC\u2019s Katty Kay<\/a> that there had been so much \u201cturmoil\u201d concerning her decision to take a different path than that of a \u201ctraditional royal\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s been a lot of criticism over the years, especially with me being spiritual \u2013 and in Norway, that\u2019s taboo,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Mr Verrett says on his site that he is a sixth generation shaman, \u201cservant of god and energy activator\u201d who \u201cdemystifies spirituality\u201d through his \u201cno-nonsense teachings\u201d.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Princess M\u00e4rtha Louise announced her relationship with Mr Verrett with an Instagram post in 2019. Perhaps hoping to pre-empt potential criticism, she wrote: “To those of you who feel the need to criticise: Hold your horses. It is not up to you to choose for me or to judge me. Shaman Durek is merely a man I love spending my time with and who fulfils me.”<\/p>\n However, many Norwegians have not yet fully accepted Mr Verrett. \u201cThey think he has said very strange things and there are many cultural differences,\u201d said royal correspondent for Norway’s NRK TV Kristi Marie Skrede. \u201dMany people here are very critical of what Mr Verrett says and does in his role as a shaman.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the couple’s spiritual beliefs, this weekend’s wedding ceremony will follow a more traditional canon, with Parish Priest Margit Lovise Holte officiating according to the Norwegian Church’s wedding liturgy.<\/p>\n When the engagement was first announced, Norway’s state broadcaster NRK reported Mr Verrett would move to Norway and join the royal family without holding a title. He and M\u00e4rtha Louise have now reportedly bought a house in Norway. <\/p>\n