Norwegian Princess Abdicates Royal Title for American TikTok-Singing Shaman
Shaman Durek Verrett has won the heart of Princess Martha Louise, who believes she also speaks to angels.
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Abdicating from the throne in the name of love is a tantalizing tale, but not too uncommon. King Edward did it in 1936; Prince Harry followed his heart to Montecito, California; and now Princess Martha Louise of Norway is tossing her crown aside to say “I do” to her fiancé, American celebrity shaman Durek Verrett.
The New York Times reports that the princess, beloved by American royalty like Gwyneth Paltrow, is being criticized by Norwegian media for running off with a 47-year-old Sacramento native who runs an online shaman school and sells on his website a $222 magical amulet he calls the Spirit Optimizer, which he claims can heal Covid-19. What could there possibly be to criticize? I do not see the problem.
Verrett has been rightfully called out for claiming in his book that children get cancer because they are unhappy—but to be fair, this sort of company is not unusual for Princess Martha Louise to keep, and the country of Norway is well aware of that, too. In 2012, a national survey showed that 15% of Norwegians believed the princess spoke with angels and dead people.
You should really see all this drama unfolding yourself. Here is the video Martha Louise released explaining her decision to leave her royal duties:
I would be remiss to not mention how satisfying it is to hear someone with a thick Norwegian accent say the name “Durek Verrett” over and over again—real rural-juror type stuff. After being bewitched by Martha Louise saying she still loves her mom and pops, and after Verrett burrowed deep into my soul to put some sort of curse on me while promising he is “for” the “school” of “medicine,” I had to see more.
I don’t know if there is a “right” or “good” place to start with this man, but let’s take a look at this song he put out on TikTok in September called “My House.”
@shamandurek My new track My House available on beatport. You betta dance.
“There’s no chairs in my house/ no tables in my house/ no bed in my house / you dance in my house,” he sings as he dances not far away from a dining room table and a set of chairs we see earlier in the TikTok. Bored teenagers tend to corner the market of this type of online absurdity, but there’s obviously nothing in the rulebook saying a nearly 50-year-old man can’t enjoy being ridiculous, too.
The engaged couple also enjoys creating “comedy” skits for TikTok and Instagram. Each one I watched, like the one below, ends abruptly without anything very funny happening, beyond joking that Martha Louise is a princess. Again, nothing wrong with that—but something to maybe reconsider, now that these skits are partially the reason Martha Louise is no longer a princess.
Ultimately, what is there to say other than that love makes you do crazy things. I wish these eccentric lovebirds a lifetime of love and freedom from royal chains.