There's a reason Queen Sonja of Norway hadn't yet seen her daughter Princess Märtha Louise and Shaman Durek Verrett's Netflix documentary when reporters asked her about Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story. "I don't know much about that, because I haven't seen that documentary directly. Because I was in the mountains, and there was absolutely no 'connection'. So I can't say anything about that," NRK reported Her Majesty as saying on Sept. 27 (translated to English).
© Nigel Waldron/ Getty ImagesMeanwhile, the Princess' father revealed last week that he had watched the documentary. "I have seen the film, but others think I should judge its content," King Harald V said, via NRK (translated to English).
His Majesty also reportedly acknowledged that his daughter and son-in-law had broken their agreement with the royal house. "We have to live on, so we're going to try to do something about this through conversations. We're continuing the conversations with them. I think they're more in line with us than it seems," the King said.
Märtha's brother Crown Prince Haakon has also watch Rebel Royals. While visiting Hallingdal on Sept. 23, the future King said (via Se og Hør), "I think I should refrain from judging it, but I don't think it distinguishes well enough, unfortunately, between the royal house's activities and the project and the commercial side of Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett's activities."
Princess Märtha Louise and her husband's documentary, Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story, premiered on Netflix on Sept. 16. That same day, NRK reported that the palace said (translated to English): "All people should have the right to tell their story. This also applies to Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett. At the same time, the Royal House wants a clearer distinction between the activities of Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett and the Royal House. This will be the topic of the conversations we will have in the future. "
The Norwegian Royal House announced in 2022 that the Princess and Durek, who were engaged at the time, were seeking to distinguish more clearly between their activities and their association with the Royal House. "In 2019, the Princess decided in consultation with her family not to use the title of Princess in connection with her business activity. This principle will now apply to her fiancé Durek Verrett as well," the royal house stated. "Accordingly, they will not indicate an association with the Royal House of Norway in their social media channels (with the exception of @PrincessMarthaLouise on Instagram), in media productions or in connection with other commercial activities. In practice this means that the Princess and Durek Verrett will avoid mention of this association in activities such as social media tagging, the use of the Princess title or the use of pictures of, or references to, other members of the Royal House in channels where commercial activity also takes place. This includes interviews primarily intended to draw attention to commercial activity.
The royal house added, "This is intended to draw a dividing line that more clearly separates commercial activity from the Royal House of Norway. The objective is both to prevent misunderstandings regarding the Royal House and to allow the Princess and Durek Verrett greater freedom in their business activities and other parts of their lives."
