The 51-year-old princess’s relationship with Durek Verret made waves in Norway.
Oslo:
Norway’s Princess Martha Louise on Tuesday relinquished her royal duties to focus on the alternative medicine business with her fiancé, a self-proclaimed magician.
The 51-year-old princess’s relationship with Durek Verret, a popular Hollywood spiritual guru, made waves in Norway when the African-American “sixth generation magician” suggested in her book “Spirit Hacking” that cancer was an option.
He also sells a $222 medallion called “Spirit Optimizer” on his website, which he claims helped stave off COVID-19.
A survey in September found that 17 percent of Norwegians now have a generally low opinion of the popular royal family, with almost all citing the princess and wizard as the reason.
In a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday, the princess said she was stepping down “to bring peace to the Royal House”.
The palace said the princess was “relinquishing the role as royal patron … and would not represent the royal house at the present time”.
However, “according to the will of the king, the princess shall bear her title”.
King Harald later spoke to the press with Queen Sonja saying he was “sorry” that the princess would no longer represent the royal family.
“She’s very good at it,” he said.
‘Agree to disagree’
Martha Lewis, who claims to be able to talk with angels, lost her honorable “Her Royal Highness” title in 2002 when she chose to work as a clairvoyant.
In 2019, the divorced mother of three agreed not to use her title as Princess in her business endeavors.
But since getting engaged with Verret in June, the couple’s belief in alternative treatments, which are often featured on their social media channels, has raised eyebrows in no-nonsense Norway.
Her fiancé’s penchant for alternative medicine had already left the princess as a mentor by several groups of health professionals.
Columnist and humorist Dagfin Nordbo has said, “He is a rookie, a charlatan and a quack.”
According to the agreement announced on Tuesday, the couple will abstain from any association with the royal family on their social media channels, media productions and commercial activities.
“It aims to draw a dividing line that more clearly separates commercial activity from the Royal House of Norway”, said the palace.
Speaking about Verret, King told reporters that after discussions between all sides, “we and he both have a greater understanding of what this is all about, and we have agreed to disagree”.
“We can live with our differences”, he said.
‘spirituality important’
The royal family said it had “great confidence in the Norwegian health service and the Norwegian health authorities”, stressing the importance of “established medical knowledge and scientific research”.
Martha Lewis said she was “aware of the importance of research-based knowledge”.
“However, I also recognize that there are some components of a good life and healthy physical and mental health that may not be so easy to sum up in one research report.”
She said “spirituality, intimacy with other people and animals, yoga and meditation” can be important supplements, as can “a warm hand, an acupuncture needle, a crystal”.
It was important, she said, to “distinguish between myself as a private person on the one hand and as a member of the royal family on the other”.
He expected that his personal views would be treated as his own views “without having to answer for them”.
The king said that he thought Veret – whom he described as “a great man and very funny” – still had a better understanding of the role of the monarchy in Norway.
“Americans don’t understand the meaning. They don’t,” he said with a laugh.
The palace said that once the princess and the Veret were married, her new husband would become a member of the royal family, but would not hold any titles or represent the monarchy.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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