Durek Verrett has spoken about his acceptance into the Norwegian royal family – and about how his future in-laws are very thoughtful when it comes to gifts.
Ahead of his wedding to Martha Louise, daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja, which is exclusively featured in HELLO! and HOLA!, Durek – the charismatic spiritual healer from California – reflected on his Christmas celebrations with his fiancée and her loved ones.
“I love Christmas and get beautiful pocket squares and cardigans from the family,” he said HELLO!. “But then Martha organized a surprise treasure hunt for me with gifts from everyone.
“She decided I needed to learn to ski, which is a Norwegian thing, and every present I opened was a piece of ski equipment.”
“I had never skied before and I didn’t want to. It was like the Ski Grinch had stolen Christmas from me,” he laughed.
Martha, who loves adventure sports in addition to skiing and spends hours climbing steep mountains with her mother Sonja, told us: “But he learned to ski and he really enjoyed it!”
“My family and I like to push the limits. We took him on a dinghy and glided over the water at 55 knots. He didn’t want to do it, but it was an incredible experience with waterfalls cascading down the mountainside. Afterwards he asked, ‘When can we do this again, it was incredible.'”
Durek added, “I’m like the shy kid in school who’s afraid to climb trees! She talks me into it and then I do it and love it. That’s our personalities in a nutshell.”
Martha’s parents were warm and welcoming from the beginning to Durek, and he was treated like a beloved member of the family.
They had been together for three years when he proposed to her in June 2022 – but not without first getting her parents’ blessing. “I have old-fashioned views on courtship, and asking Martha’s hand in marriage was a matter of respect,” Durek explained.
“The king and queen asked me questions about myself and the future and then remained silent for a while. I sweated as I waited for their answer – and then they turned to me and said they would gladly accept me as part of their family.”
Smiling, Martha said, “At my age, I could decide for myself! But my parents had to wait nine years before they could get married and always told me to marry whoever I wanted.”
The couple will tie the knot in a spectacular three-day celebration, culminating in the wedding ceremony, which will take place on Saturday.
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In a world first, HELLO! And Hello! will be on hand to cover this unique occasion when members of the Norwegian Royal Family and their 350 guests gather in Geiranger on the west coast of Norway to witness this special union.
The Norwegian Royal Wedding will be covered exclusively in HELLO! magazine. Visit the website and get the latest HELLO! issues with the latest news and photos.
To read the full exclusive interview with Martha Louise and Durek, pick up the latest issue of HELLO!, on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered to your home for free every week, or buy the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
