On Saturday, Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett will marry in an outdoor wedding in Geiranger. Princess Märtha Louise is fourth in the line of succession to the Norwegian throne, but what role will the couple actually have going forward? Here you can get answers to: Will Durek Verrett now be a prince? No. He will not become part of the royal house and, in line with what has been tradition, will not receive a royal title either, the royal house has stated. This was also the case when King Harald’s sisters Princess Astrid and Princess Ragnhild married Johan Martin Ferner and Erling Lorentzen respectively, and this was also the case when Princess Märtha Louise married Ari Behn. Nor did they get princely titles. There were many who wanted to secure a photo when Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett left Ålesund on Friday. Photo: Mia Ytreberg / news What role will the couple have in the royal house? The short answer is no one, as neither Princess Märtha Louise nor Durek Verrett are part of the royal house. The Royal Household has also previously stated that they will be present “at family-related occasions, such as birthday celebrations, or certain large sporting events where there is a tradition for the royal family to participate together”. Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett entered together to celebrate Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s 18th birthday at the Castle in 2022. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB Can we watch the wedding live? No, it will not be possible for people to follow the wedding live. The bride and groom have sold the rights to the wedding to the British celebrity magazine Hello Magazine and to Netflix. The British celebrity magazine Hello! has bought exclusive rights to the wedding and has met the couple for an interview beforehand. Photo: Facsimile / NTB On the wedding day, the press and the public get to see the bride and groom when they come out to greet the local population sometime after the wedding. You can follow news’s broadcast of the wedding on Saturday directly here. In addition, one or more photos of the bride and groom with their family will be sent out afterwards. Pictures from the wedding itself are to be shown by the British weekly magazine. The members of the royal family have reserved themselves and said that they will not allow themselves to be photographed by the media that have been given exclusive access to the wedding, Hello and Netflix, when the rest of the press does not have access. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mettee-Marit arrived at Hotel 1904 in Ålesund on Thursday afternoon. Photo: Frederik Ringnes / NTB Where will the couple get married? Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett will marry outdoors at Vinjevollen in Geiranger. There they will be married by parish priest Margit Lovise Holte, who is a friend of the bride. She has said that the wedding will follow the liturgy in the Church of Norway. Holte has said that she does not think it is problematic that she should marry someone who says he is a shaman. – I note that there are many opinions about it. But we priests consecrate people with whom we both agree and disagree and of different religious affiliations, Holte told news. After the wedding, the wedding party will be held at Hotel Union in Geiranger. The couple have already celebrated for two days. The wedding celebration began on Thursday evening with a get-to-know-you party in Ålesund, before the bridal party went by sea to Geiranger on Friday, where there is a party with a Latin American salsa theme on Friday evening, according to Hello Magazine. The couple will be married outdoors at Vinjevollen in Geiranger, before there will be a wedding party just next door at Hotel Union. Photo: Astri Husø / news Will there be many royal guests at the wedding? The press officer for the wedding, Simon Eriksen Valvik, has made it clear that they will not share the guest list will not be shared with the public or the press, because the wedding party is private. But we still know a little bit about which royal guests we can expect – and which we can’t. The bride’s family are self-described guests. In a press release from the royal house, they have stated that both the royal couple, the crown prince couple, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus and Princess Astrid, King Harald’s sister, will be present during the wedding celebration. Some of them will be there for parts of it, but not all days. In addition, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is coming with her husband Prince Daniel, in addition to Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, the Swedish royal house confirms to news. Denmark’s royal family will not be represented at Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett’s wedding, the communications department at the Danish royal house has informed Billed-Bladet. There are friendships and close ties between the Swedish and Norwegian royal families. Here is Crown Prince Haakon together with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden during the Norwegian crown prince couple’s official visit to Sweden in 2022. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB Why has there been so much noise in the run-up to the wedding? It has caused strong reactions that the bride and groom have chosen to sell the exclusive rights to the wedding to the weekly magazine Hello! and to Netflix, and that the rest of the press will not be able to document when number four in the line of succession to the Norwegian throne marries. This breaks with what the royal family has done in the past. That the image rights are given exclusively to a commercial actor is completely new in Norwegian royal history and has caused the press organizations to react. Admittedly, the royal family has not agreed to it and will not be photographed by Hello! and Netflix when the press otherwise does not have access. Why should the public pay for security (the police) when it is a private wedding? If people come who are entitled to protection, it is the role of the police to secure and protect the event, the police have stressed. Police present at Hotel Union in Geiranger. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news Just that the Norwegian royal family is present triggers a significant need for security. This is how it is everywhere the king travels. The police have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the king – who is Norway’s head of state – and the royal family. The police also have a responsibility where a lot of people are gathered, to ensure that both the public, permanent residents and wedding guests are safe and able to get around. Why does Princess Märtha Louise still have the title of princess? When Princess Märtha Louise became self-employed over 20 years ago, she lost the form of address “Her Royal Highness”. Several have advocated that she should also be stripped of or relinquish the title of princess in order to create a greater distance from the royal house. In autumn 2022, it was decided that Princess Märtha Louise would no longer represent the royal house. But the king decided that she should still keep the title of princess. – She is our daughter, and she will continue to be. So she is Princess Märtha Louise, said King Harald then. However, guidelines were laid down for the use of the princess title, both for her and Durek Verrett. According to the agreement, none of them shall use the title in commercial activities. “This means that they must not make their connection to the royal house visible in their own social media channels, in media productions or in connection with other commercial activities. In practice, this means that the princess and Durek Verrett must refrain from mentioning this connection through, for example, tagging, using the title of princess or using pictures or mentioning other members of the royal house in channels where commercial activity also takes place,” the royal house stated. The king has decided that his daughter Princess Märtha Louise will have the title of princess. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB scanpix Princess Märtha Louise is fourth in line to the Norwegian throne. Can the king remove her from the line of succession? While the king has the authority to decide on the title, he cannot control the line of succession. It is enshrined in the Constitution, so it is the Storting that must amend the Constitution if the line of succession is to be changed. Published 31.08.2024, at 07.46
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Ready for a princess wedding – this is what you need to know – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
