Norway's Princess Martha Louise and her fiance Durek Verrett arrive at the government's party event in connection with Princess Ingrid Alexandra's 18th birthday. King Harald V said Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, that his family is “delighted to welcome” Verrett. (Photo: Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB via AP)
Five years after renouncing the commercial use of her royal title, Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise is in hot water with local authorities after her name appeared on a commemorative wedding gin, The Guardian reported on Friday.
Louise, the eldest daughter of King Harald V, is slated to marry American businessman and self-described shaman Durek Verrett at a four-day wedding ceremony in Geirganger, Norway at the end of next month. Though the Norwegian royal family is expected to attend, Louise's position within the monarchy is a continued source of debate — one that has now involved health authorities in assessing the legality of the proceedings.
A self-described clairvoyant, Louise founded an "angel school" in 2017 that promised students a chance to communicate with the dead. The use of Louise's royal title in connection to spiritual ventures inspired debate across the country, culminating in 2019 when she announced a lecture tour dubbed "The Princess and The Shaman" alongside her fiancé Verrett. Later that year, the royal court forbade her from using the phrase "princess" in a commercial context; in 2022, Louise gave up all royal duties.
The couple is now reportedly under investigation after their royal name and monogram appeared on a gin produced for the wedding. Distilled by Oslo Håndverksdestilleri, the spirit was described as a "tailor-made wedding drink" when it was first reported on by Se og Hør last month.
An image of the label reads:
"Since we created this gin for the wedding of Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett in Geiranger in August 2024, we were lucky enough to forage some raspberries from western Norway as well as some blueberries and blackcurrants from Norwegian fields."
The Norwegian Directorate of Health is investigating whether the verbiage violates royal law. In a letter shared with Aftenposten, the distiller claimed it was the Princess' idea to create a gin not only for the wedding itself, but as a commercially available product to be released in liquor stores across the country.
Øyvind Giæver of the Norwegian Directorate of Health told The Guardian:
“It is not our place to confirm claims made by Aftenposten, but I can confirm that the letter they quote is among the documents we have received as part of the process. Until we reach a conclusion in August/September, we cannot comment further.”
