On Tuesday, Norway’s Princess Martha formally stepped down or stepped away from her royal life. She will no longer do royal duties, nor will she have royal patronages. This has been more of a gradual thing, especially when it comes to Martha’s commercial interests. The family has tried to limit her use of her royal styling and title on her side-businesses and side-projects, most of which involve holistic medicine, angels, shamans. The catch is that Martha was only made to step down from her royal role until after she got engaged to Shaman Durek Verrett, a Black American man. Verrett has been very direct about how he has felt unwelcome in Norway and unwelcome in the Norwegian royal world. I was unsure about how all of this would play out, but I had to give the House of Glücksburg some credit – they made a big show of making it seem like everyone was on the same page. I thought Martha and Shaman Durek would be the ones to spill the tea, but no – Queen Sonja is the one saying some shady sh-t.
Queen Sonja of Norway is speaking out on a big change for her daughter. The 85-year-old Queen and her husband, King Harald, addressed the press after their daughter Princess Märtha Louise announced this week that she would be exiting her royal role. In a press conference on Tuesday, Queen Sonja said that Americans fail to grasp the gravity of monarchy’s significance ahead of her 51-year-old daughter marrying her American fiancé, Shaman Durek — before adding that he is a “great guy.”
“Americans have no idea what a kingdom is. So it’s no wonder he doesn’t realize,” Sonja said, according to Hello! Magazine. “Americans don’t understand the bearing of this here. They don’t. He thought he could do whatever he wanted without compromising us at all,” she continued, before adding that Princess Märtha Louise’s step back from royal life fits everyone’s best interests.
“Even if we disagree on things, we are happy with each other,” Queen Sonja said. “I have the feeling that the family is now very close to each other in a new, nice way,” she continued, adding that Durek, a Los Angeles-based spiritual guide and healer, is a “great guy” and “very fun to be with.”
In similar sentiments, King Harald, 85, said he was “sorry that the princess will no longer represent the royal house” and that “we agree to disagree,” the Associated Press reported.
“We have looked at this process from all sides,” Queen Sonja stressed. “This has been a unanimous decision.”
On one hand, this is much more conciliatory from “the horse’s mouth” than the Windsors would ever allow. Like, King Charles isn’t going on the record in a press conference about “we agree to disagree with the Sussexes, but we still love them and they’re still family.” Charles would be wise to do something like that, btw.
As for what Queen Sonja says about how “Americans have no idea what a kingdom is” – I mean… we have some notion, I think the average American has a Disney-level understanding of monarchy. Once we learn about what is actually happening within monarchies, we don’t really get it. I write about royalty all the time and there are moments when my American-ness jumps out and I really don’t get it either – why would anyone choose to live in these f–ked up families? Why are these royals refusing to modernize? Why are they so incapable of breaking these endless cycles of dysfunction and family trauma? Why not give back all of your stolen loot? Do you know how dumb it is to throw out your most charismatic royal stars just because you’re jealous??
Photos courtesy of Martha’s IG and Marius Gulliksrud / Stella Pictures / Avalon.
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- OSLO Norway 2019-12-10 The Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo city hall. Laureate 2019 is Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali. King Harald , Queen Sonja ,Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette Marit attend the prize ceremony. Photo: Marius Gulliksrud COPYRIGHT STELLA PICTURES,Image: 541143795, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: UK, USA and AUS ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Marius Gulliksrud / Stella Pictures / Avalon
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- OSLO Norway 2019-12-10 The Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo city hall. Laureate 2019 is Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali. King Harald , Queen Sonja ,Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette Marit attend the prize ceremony. Photo: Marius Gulliksrud COPYRIGHT STELLA PICTURES,Image: 541143849, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: UK, USA and AUS ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Marius Gulliksrud / Stella Pictures / Avalon
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- OSLO Norway 2019-12-10 The Nobel Peace Prize Banquet in Grand Hotel.. Laureate this year is Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali. King Harald , Queen Sonja ,Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette Marit all attended the banquet. Photo: Marius Gulliksrud COPYRIGHT STELLA PICTURES,Image: 541146554, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: UK, USA and AUS ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Marius Gulliksrud / Stella Pictures / Avalon
I mean does she know what Congress really is? Why would a lot of us know what a kingdom is beyond the bare bones of it? It’s fine if she wants to say what he would do wouldn’t fit in but her language is way outdated and an example of the problem of monarchy in the modern era.
Many many people working in the holistic spiritual energetically healing supplement area are complete con people.
I know because my extended family is a part of a cult centered around this. The amount of pure BS and negligence I have seen praying on the hopeful or the willfully ignorant or simply the ignorant is reprehensible and disgusting.
I don’t know anything about this gentleman but the Princess’s devotion to these beliefs is enough to raise eyebrows. Her being engaged to a self proclaimed shaman is bound to raise some eyebrows and does threaten the legitimacy of the royals.
They need to be the only high profile grifters around.
When did the queen of Norway ever say anything about the Congress? Yeah, that`s my point.
Maybe it’s that we just don’t care about what a kingdom is. We fought to not be one, after all.
In some ways, we know what a kingdom is better than the folks living in it. For example, I understand how they ought to be working to get rid of it and they don’t seem to get this at all. Queen Sonja sounds like a royal ass.
Well, we’ve looked over the pond and seen what’s going on with Trump, Maga, abortion rights, health care, the messy elections, the shitshow of picking SC, school shootings etc. We don’t want that! In the US on of the biggest lobbying org is NRA, in Scandinavia it’s the Cancer asossiations.
Might I also add that 1) this is taken out of context and 2) if you read closely she said “americans don’t understand the bearing of this HERE”. There’s a big difference of knowing what a kingdom is, and knowing how his shadyness and BS are met in a country he didn’t grow up in.
SC = SCOTUS ???????
Yes@Baytampa
You’re right, Couch Potato! We have all those problems. One problem we don’t have is a monarchy full of lazy, entitled folks we must support. We dodged a bullet there.
If she thinks her American son in law is shady, she should have just said that, instead of implying all Americans are deficient in understanding the wonders of monarchy.
The implied connection that not having a kingdom is somehow related to Trump having power is amusing to me.
It’s bewildering to me why some Brits seem to think that if they abolished the monarchy they would somehow be magically forced to adopt the American system of government and American political culture. “But we don’t want Trump and school shootings!” No kidding, most Americans don’t want it either. If the monarchy were abolished, the UK would keep their exact same parliamentary structure but with the PM as head of state. Why is this so hard for many Brits to imagine? Nobody’s going to invade you and install Ted Cruz as your president.
Och, let ’em keep their royal leeches. Since they want ’em so much, let ’em keep them I say.
@Brassy Rebel: I agree with you about that Sonya dame, she does sound like an @ss.
Couch Potato, you’re implying a causal relation between MAGA, school shootings, etc. and the US being a republic/not a kingdom.
That relation does not exist. You’ve committed a fallacy.
I think most monarchies these days are just very, very, expensive mascots. Like the Philly Phanatic, or the Toronto Raptor, they dress up and make public appearances to get “their people” to root and cheer for “their team.” It’s why the clothes, and jewels, and ribbons, are sooooo important to royals. They need to dress the part. It’s a purely visual image, connecting with some part of our brains that needs recognition as belonging to a community. Sure, it’s all empty show, but on an emotional level I get it. I just do not get it — at all — on a logical level.
@Lindsay: “If the monarchy were abolished, the UK would keep their exact same parliamentary structure but with the PM as head of state.”
No, more likely we would have an elected head of state separate from the PM. Works well enough in Ireland.
@couchpotato, you do realize that there are tons of republics/countries in the world without a ruling or symbolic monarch that did NOT elect crazy leaders or have issues with gun control, right? Like, so many progressive Asian and European countries that decided a revolution was the solution a long time ago and have zero regrets. I think from a cultural and historical standpoint, a monarchy is fascinating, but from an socio-economic/fiscal perspective, it’s an antediluvian practice that has no place in modern society. Why should we believe what these institutions say about women’s rights, homelessness, and equality when they still uphold ideas of bloodlines, birthrights and primogeniture? They can’t do anything without reeking of hypocrisy; who needs figureheads who did not earn their place?
First, I’m not british, had I been, I’d probably marching the streets to dump the monarchy and aristocracy because the cluster f$%% the family and their sycophants are.
What I was trying to say is that for many people in Scandinavia, the monarch is an extra security against tyranny. Everything that’s happened in the world during resent years, has scared a lot of scandies. In a resent survey among youths, 79 % of them prefered a monarchy because of the things I listed abow. As long as the scandinavian monarchs, heirs and spouses behaves like normal people (not like the british RF), their positions are safe for now at least. Had Martha been the heir, Norway might have becom a republic really fast.
As mention further down, a president of a small country doesn’t have the same “umph” as a royal on the international stage. Even though they themselves don’t make trade deals etc on state visits, theres a lot going on behind the sceen.
As for Sonja, you can call her a lot of things, but lazy she’s not. The king and queen will never say anything negative about her son in law, because they love their daughter. They clearly know he’s a con man, and that makes it hard to answer questions from the press without hurting Martha. The “americans don’t understand monarchys” were said as a joke by the king, and she followed his lead.
@Couch potato: “Had Martha been the heir, Norway might have become a republic really fast.”
Maybe if Martha Louise had been the heir and groomed from birth (or at least infancy) to succeed her father, she would now be as highly respected as Crown Princess Victoria and her younger brother would have become an embarrassment like Prince Joachim or Andrew. The truth is we don’t know.
As you said, we became our own country because we didn’t want a kingdom! Tax dollars going to prop up the luxurious lives of self important idiots? No thank you! People inheriting power because of birth? No thank you, get enough of that from capitalism. I don’t understand how anyone can live under a monarchy in this day and age. Its wasted money.
@BrassyRebel- this Sonja woman ABSOLUTELY sounds like a royal ass! She also sounds disdainful and xenophobic. “He thought he could do whatever he wanted without compromising us at all!” Who does THAT sound like????
A 5 year old can understand the concept of a monarchy.
Exactly. We know exactly what a kingdom is and decided a few hundred years ago that we wanted no part of it!
I mean, she’s right! Our system is fundamentally incompatible with monarchy and it goes against our whole ethos as a country.
Aside from the obvious racism, I do think Meghan’s Americanness also played a huge role in the conflict with the BRF. She was just not built for participating in the system and much more willing to say “fuck this” and leave.
Both of the Sussexes have said that Meghan was fine trying to work with the system and that Harry is the one who pushed for them to leave.
The “Americanness” is nothing more than BM talking point. It may have played a role in how *they* saw her but it’s a fallacy that she was unwilling to work with them. I feel the need to point this out because this is the foundational argument people use to call it “Megxit” is all.
Yes to be clear I am not blaming Meghan here and I know she was trying to make it work. I never said she was “unwilling”. This is not a criticism of Meghan.
However, I think we can agree that her work ethic and her actually accomplishing things was actually a *problem* for the BRF.
The royal family wants to be seen being keen but not actually doing anything, and her actually doing something was outshining them. I think she fundamentally did not understand that dynamic (I as an American would also not understand that) I think that work ethic and wanting to actually accomplish something is in part due to her Americanness, and that was in conflict with the royal system.
I understand, but I have always really disagreed with that. In the interview she talked about how she did her best to try to dim her light and that she did stay home in order to try to do what they wanted, to “not be everywhere”.
Them not liking how she outshone them with her work isn’t even American. It was exactly what happened with Diana and she wasn’t American and had grown up with aristos. So I am and always have been of the belief that that is just a meaningless PR point. The truth is that Meghan may have come from a background of hard work where that hard work is rewarded instead of your rank, but that doesn’t mean she was unaware of what they were really asking. It’s that because of racism and pettiness they kept moving the goalposts. So that is why Harry said they should leave.
Agreed C. Also in relation to Meghan’s work ethic don’t they always compliment Anne on being such a hard grafter & topping no. of engagement lists so why would it be a problem if Meghan wanted to work. It’s just an example of how the palace & press othered Meghan & how a seemingly good trait of Meghan’s was flipped into being a bad thing
Princess Anne works, but her work mostly doesn’t get press attention.
If Meghan had worked 100 hrs a week, and the press never reported on it, the palace would have been fine with it.
The problem was she was getting more attention and visibly achieving more than the heir and his consort.
What you guys are saying about Meghan’s work in England is true but I recall reading that she wasn’t even documenting the hours she spent preparing for her projects on the calendar like some others, she wasn’t counting phone calls and meetings behind the scenes, and she attended events with Harry (like going to that radio station before they married) and familiarizing herself with the women of Hubb Kitchen and going there before her wedding. So, she was doing the work and the events even before she married Harry and afterward, she did a lot without trying to get public acknowledgment by way of royal calendars. So, like Anne, Meghan worked a lot, but the media only has itself to blame for the outsized attention they gave Meghan.
Can we please not compare Meghan to the shady shaman. If he’d behaved like Meghan he’d be a rock star in Norway.
@Couch Potato +1
Americans have no idea what a kingdom is”- yes ma’am, that’s the point.
Right? It’s just like and???
Monarchies have no self awareness because they live in such extreme bubbles of privilege. They don’t even realize how useless and irrelevant they’ve become because they don’t understand how much the outside world has changed in the last century. Not in any real sense.
Re the Shaman. I’m disturbed by all the people equating him to Meghan. They’re not the same. This dude is shady af. I mean, the things he does for a living are incredibly shady and I happen to agree that they would be compromising to any family.
Sue, ITA, let’s not compare Meghan, who has by all non biased accounts always been professional in her conduct, to the shaman. They’re not the same.
I think the Queen here really wants to say “My future son in law is an imbecile”, but can’t, and so she’s going ” he’s a lot of fun, haha, but ignorant like all Americans” – which is not true, but it’s a widely held prejudice.
+1
Royalty is incomprehensible to me and I’m not an American. Living in a gilded cage seems unbearable and the people who support royality are delusional and insane.
+1
As a Brit. Good for them. They have the right idea, monarchies shouldn’t exist.
I copied the questions raised in your article and tried to answer them in My own word. Bear with me. No native English speaker
why would anyone choose to live in these f–ked up families?
Because being a part of these families means wealth and status. For you and your children. For generations.
Why are these royals refusing to modernize?
See above. They are built on the principle on being chosen by some higher power to be elevated from others and thus reign and hold money and power. It is not a modern concept.
Why are they so incapable of breaking these endless cycles of dysfunction and family trauma?
Because that would mean to stop pretending that there is no reason why they are treated better than all others.
Why not give back all of your stolen loot?
Because they‘d rather keep it and flaunt the diamonds in public since they were chosen by a higher authority to do so.
I agree with everything Karla says.
Well said Karla!
The british RF refuse to modernise, while Willnot for instans talks about modernising, without doing anything. The norwegian RF is a relatively new one, with the kings grandfather being the first norwegian king for centuries after the norwegians elected to have him as a king. Sonja has been a vital part of modernising the court ftom the Victorian ways they used to do things. There’s no aristcracy in Norway, which means they’re not surrounded by the same kind of psycopants the british RF is. They have a much better understanding of what the people think and expects than the british, that’s one of the reasons they’ve chosen this.
As a young monarchy, they don’t have much stolen goods to return. They might have a few pices of jewlery throug queen Maud of shady origin because she got it through the british family, but most of their belongings are not.
yes, we don’t get it. because it’s outdated and should be abolished. we don’t still use leeches in medicine, we don’t think the earth is flat (some of us) and have been to space, and we don’t burn witches at the stake. Governments evolve with the people, and it’s time this part of history is over.
Minor point: the majority of witches were hanged not burned.
I hate to be that guy, but leeches do still get used, especially in people with hemochromatosis, where their blood stores too much iron. My buddy’s grandfather had to go get leeched every month or the iron build up in his blood would make him sick. I thought my buddy was making fun of me the first time he mentioned it, but it’s actually legit.
Now why are we in it?
I think she means that when you’re so used to saying and doing anything you want, coming into an institution like the monarchy is a lot and it’s difficult to understand why you have to change or no longer be able to freely do what you did before.
Or maybe I’m just being a little too sympathetic towards the Norwegian royals because both Martha Louise and the Shaman beliefs range from kooky to downright despicable so I am willing to give them more grace.
More kooky than believing God ordained your rule and feudalism?
Very fair point, Haylie.
Well I find believing children ask for cancer to be worse than that so yes. Maybe google the guy before thinking this is some kind of “gotcha!”
my unpopular opinion is id take a kingdom with health care over whatever the f co pay hells cape im in now
Despite all, I still prefer a constitutional monarchy.
There is still a layer at the top that makes it harder for a personality cult to grow of a crazy, rightist and/or religious megalomaniac. As long as the monarchs are bound with many restrictions, so they can’t go the absolutist route, it just gives that extra check to power. It’s harder to act like a total leader that people should worship, when they still need to show deference to someone, even if just a figurehead.
Your assumption is not supported by history. You can have both the honorific royalty AND the fascist cult of personality, like in the case of Italy and Mussolini.
It’s the strength of civic life in your country and the respect for the rule of law that prevents the emergence of charismatic fascists. Not the monarchy. At the end of the day, monarchs are just dignified parasites.
Sorry, Meg, but I said harder, not impossible.
Also, Victor Emmanual III still had powers that would be seen as undemocratic today, and wasn’t as bound by restrictions as mentioned above, like many monarchs are now.
Double. Apologies
Yeah, and as@Flowerlake points out it’s an extra layer of security. I’ve mentioned a surway from last winter before on CB where 79% of young norwegians prefer monarchy because of what @Flowerlake is saying. They’ve seen what’s going on in the US, Russia and North Korea and said no thanks!
In addition, the Scandinavian countries are small on the internation stage. A state visit by a president of a small country doesn’t have the same “umph” as a king/queen. The royals aren’t doing trade deals, but they have a delegation with them who’s working behind the scene when state visits are made. They’re door-openers on a different scale than a minor president would be.
Agreed completely, Couch Potato. Interesting that so many young people feel that way.
Monarchs are also a step away from politics, so it’s easier to open doors without the political implications because they’re at least officially neutral.
Example: people often weren’t keen on being seen with Trump because he didn’t just represent his country, but also a crazy, hateful ideology and party. Meeting him and being seen to be friendly could damage the standing of politicians in another country, because many of their voters will hold up their nose.
I remember a lot of us going ‘ugh’ when our prime minister was meeting and acting friendly with Bush in the 2000s.
That issue doesn’t exist with an monarch that is (at least supposed to be) neutral.
If you look at the world, constitutional monarchies tend to do rather well in many regards (level of democracy, freedom of press etc).
Capitalism is why Americans don’t have universal healthcare. A monarchy has nothing to do with it at all. In canada we got it because of Tommy Douglas who was a socialist and eventually the policy he implemented in Saskatchewan crossed the country. Queen Elizabeth did sweet fuck all to help out Canadians.
And the Canadian system compared to the one in the UK is more egalitarian because in the UK the royals use their own private doctors and not the NHS, which is a good system, but the elite rich can bypass a lot of the issues. Now of course conservative premiers here in canada are trying to create a two tier system, but again that is because of capitalism and the greedy donors trying to exert their power.
And France is a republic with a decent health care system. Monarchies do nothing but lookout for themselves.
It’s sad how the sane majority can be kept from power, like in the US because of the way people vote per state instead of per popular vote.
A very simple example.
Let’s say a hypothetical country where there are 10 states with each 100 inhabitants.
At the elections:
6 states:
49 people vote non-crazy, 51 vote crazy.
4 states where:
100 people vote non-crazy.
That would be 306 votes for crazy and 694 votes for non-crazy. Yet, Crazy now wins the presidency/congress/whatever. Throw in gerrymandering and things are even worse.
From my perspective, the normal majority in the USA is being held hostage by the Crazy.
@Flowerlake
No lies detected
Anyone else get the sense that these royals are starting to become aware of their precarious position in today’s world. You see how they bristle when “outsiders” breach their little worlds because those outsiders expose them.
Yes. People are beginning to see that these total families are just like us – faults and all. Which then begs the question, what makes them so much better than us to enjoy this status. They offer no protection from foreign invaders like they did back in the day.
She seems to forget the chapter of history when we left and fought for our independence from a kingdom. We understand the concept of a kingdom quite well and think it’s archaic, oppressive, and stupid.
This. I understand quite well what a kingdom is. I just happen to think it is BS. I do not believe royalty is an essence. I believe it is a system. There is nothing inherently superior about Sonja as compared to any other woman. She was just raised to believe she is. Monarchy is merely a collective agreement that allows her to maintain her delusion. Her kingdom can be taken away, whether by war (one has only to look at thousands of years of history) or by a simple vote. It’s fragile, Queen Sonja, and don’t you know it.
Sonja wasn’t raised to believe that she was superior. She was a commoner before she got married. In fact, she and King Harald had to wait 9 years and they were only allowed to marry because Harald told his dad that he wouldn’t marry anyone if he couldn’t marry Sonja.
Haha you didn`t fight for jacksÕÕÕ
If she means Americans don’t understand bowing down to and worshipping someone for being born into an unearned position, she gets it. I think most Americans do realize that actions by individuals can do damage to a brand or celebrity status and that basically would cover the monarchy. What “nobody understands me” arrogance.
No, she means you can’t say and do whatever you like when you’re part of the RF, because you represent the people. Speaking of toxic vaginas and all the other BS Durek has spouted wouldn’t look good for any business company either. If Martha had spoken up and said she doesn’t agree with the BS, people would have been more lenient towards her, but she’s been silent on that matter.
I have no doubt that he’s experienced racism and that is disgusting and inexcusable.
But I ALSO think he’s really shady. His business as a shaman rings my televangelist bells – bilking people out of money in exchange for a false sense of health/safety. Especially since the pandemic began, I think we’ve realized that anyone doling out medical advice without proper credentials is dangerous. And for some people seeing an HRH on that marketing gives credence to his ideas that childhood cancer is caused by unhappiness, that cancer is a choice, that if you wear one of his medallions it will cure you of Covid, etc.
If they were going on QVC and selling HRH Princess Martha-Louise branded jewelry I wouldn’t care. As long as they were honest that it wasn’t real diamonds, etc.
So shady!!! I confess I was taken aback after a bit of googling. But she looks happy.
I don’t know if anyone has spent any significant amount of time on Durek Verrett’s Instagram but if you did, you’d see why the Norwegian royal family is very perplexed and apprehensive about what he does for a living. I spent quite some time last night going through and to be fair he seems to be very in love with Martha Louise and every time he posts a pic of her he calls her my beloved and gets very flowery in his writing about her and how he admires her so much in her role as a mother etc.
I took a peek at his Instalives where he talks to some followers and he “changes” their frequency and I don’t mean to be ignorant about shamans but the guy seems to be a quack. I could not stop laughing at the way he would close his eyes and then look away making weird faces and then tell the follower whose “frequency” he was changing to tell him when they felt a shift. If it makes his followers feel better I guess there’s no harm in it but if you charge people for this kind of service Idk it’s just strange to me.
There is also a video from this past summer where Martha Louise and he did a video (I think a few weeks after announcing their engagement) about their relationship, I only watched maybe less than 10 minutes, it’s over an hour long. I get why these two are together, but when Durek said in all seriousness “in my past life as a pharaoh” with zero trace of irony I could not stop laughing. It’s the hokey shaman stuff Norwegians have an issue with. If he were white, I think they’d be just as baffled. There’s definitely an element of racism too, but when you go around talking about your past life as a pharaoh, it makes sense the Queen said the stuff she did. Durek is also very combative in his comments and most of the criticism is about the crazy things he says as a shaman. I wish him and Martha Louise all the happiness, she’s very into all that stuff and she even said in her relationship video with Durek she was happy to find someone who accepted her spiritual side and her interest in alternative medicine. Sounds like it wasn’t something her deceased ex was thrilled about.
This statement almost sounds normal to me, lol. Like, replace “monarchy” with “family business”, and it sounds entirely understandable and relatable. Like, this dude our daughter married fundamentally doesn’t get or have an interest in working for the family business that we all typically grow up preparing to work for, so he and our daughter are just gonna peace out and do their own thing, but they’re still family and no harm no foul.
Wrt the specific quote about Americans fundamentally not understanding monarchy, well yeah. One thing that has always stuck with me that encapsulates that statement is during the Oprah interview, when Meghan was telling that story about meeting the queen for the first time while she was dating Harry, and it was just this private, casual visit to Royal Lodge, and Fergie comes running out in a state to ask her if she knows how to curtsey, and how taken aback Meghan was at the notion that she’d have to curtsey when meeting her boyfriend’s granny. And I remember people who are British or otherwise royalist scoffed at the anecdote in disbelief like “how could anyone possibly not know they’re supposed to ***curtsey*** when meeting the ***queen?***” and I thought it was actually super realistic that a normal American who didn’t really care about or think about the BRF growing up would be taken aback by that like Meghan was. Because all the pomp and pageantry, the bowing and curtseying- it would be natural for an American to assume it’s just stuff they put on for work, and not something that is so ingrained that it happens even behind the scenes in private moments. Especially to an American with a background working in show business.
Yeah people were dragging Meghan for that story and I always thought it made sense. Like she said she knew had to curtsey to the queen in public at an event or whatever, but when the Queen pops over for lunch with her favorite son and some of her grandchildren? You have to curtsey then in a completely private and family setting?
Like I would personally assume that I always had to curtsey, but I can completely believe that someone else (another American) would view it differently, especially if Harry had been making a big deal to her about the difference between the Firm and the family.
As a scandi I was surprised to hear that. The norwegian RF don’t bow or curtsey the king and queen in private. They’ve told friends not to do it as well.
“The gravity of Monarchys’ significance. ” I need help trying to figure out what this means. She’s right, as an American I have no idea what this means.
There are so many untruths here! First, NRF are a democratic chosen royal house. Queen Sonja did not say that, it was the king in a playful kind of way, and reading all the comments I totally agree with him. Märtha Louise never lived in the US, she has school aged children so she lives in Norway. The level of approvement of the king in Norway is almost 90 %. He is a very liked man who is very inclusive, just like his son Crown Prince Haakon. You can’t compare the NRF with the BRF. Ok, rant over…
I’m here to tell this lady Right now we don’t care! I will give them credit for saying it out of their own mouths instead of through sources.
Shaman Durek is a scammer if people are stupid enough to fall for his scams that’s completely on them. Him and Meghan aren’t the same at all. The only thing they got in common is that they are both American.
So true! Durek and Meghan is NOT THE SAME AT ALL.
He is just riding her racism experience to defect from his scams.
The Norwegian people was just as sceptical about Martha’s ex husband because he was flamboyant and a party-animal.
They just don’t buy Durek’s whole “I’m a shaman reptile who will sell you covid 19 cures in forms of a rare medallion”.
He’s a conman, simple as that. With a huge ego and Trump tantrums when he isn’t spoken about in a 100% nice way.
This brings back memories of my gran telling us when we were tiny kids that Americans were jealous because they didn’t have a queen or royal family. Hmmm.
Americans have their Kennedys and Trumps and movie stars. That`s enough for them and that`s fine too. I love celebrity gossip so I can`t mind that they exist lol
We knew enough to toss it out.
Norwegian here, so English is not my native language. I feel that the criticism of the king and queen is quite unfair. This has been a long time coming, and you’re reading this without context. The king and queen is known in Norway for their tolerance, inclusiveness, respectfulness and approachability. In reality they haven’t had any other choice, because of Märtha and Durek Veretts shady businesses. He has said a lot of terrible things, amongst others that children who gets cancer wants to be sick because they want to die, that women gets an imprint from each of their sexual partners that needs to be cleansed (of course this doesn’t happen to men) etc. Some of the things he has said has been hurtful, untrue and dangerous. He and Märtha has also used the royal family to bring attention and legitimacy to his/their very shady quack businesses, where he profits on sick and vulnerable people. They refuse any accountability and criticism. Btw she hasn’t been HRH for many years.
Thanks for saying this and I wish some would read this and some of the other comments above such as @AmelieOriginal and @AuntRara’s to see that he is someone with awful beliefs who does not need to be “legitimised” and it’s not a “simple” situation of “hur hur the royals are looking down on the outsider”.
My take on most comments was not that the shaman needed to be “legitimised”. The offensive part is lumping all Americans together and acting as if they aren’t capable of understanding that. Generalization about Americans, many of whom came here to escape countries with kingdoms, not having an idea about kingdoms is ridiculous.
This!
No, bitch, I don’t understand what a kingdom is because I work full-time at a real job that doesn’t involve waving to the crowds, I pay taxes (property, state, federal), I pay for my own health care and have to worry about making an appointment for a doctor months in advance due to a doctor shortage in our area, I purchase and cook my own four course meals (and groceries are high right now!), I have to clean my own castle on my days off, I help my adult children when I can (if they need it, but they don’t rely on the taxpayers – they went to college and have actual jobs!)…..so I guess most of us Americans don’t get the ‘kingdom’ lingo.
Sorry, entitled assholes, we’re hustling over here!
I was going to comment, but yours is the best comment and there is nothing I can say that would make it any better!
PRRREEEEECCCHHH!!!!!
I suppose she’s right? We have whatever understanding people born in raised in a democracy (albeit a flawed one) that fought to be free of a Monarchy can have. We have read about kingdoms, seen films about them, maybe even admired them, but we can’t fully understand them. That doesn’t mean we have “no idea” at all, just that there’s a lot we don’t know.
I converted to Judaism before I got married. I was raised in a mixed-religion area, had a lot of Jewish friends and knew a fair amount about the religion. I’d been to Seders and Bar Mitzvahs and read a lot books that touched on it. But the truth is, I didn’t fully understand what it meant to be Jewish until I’d been married and practicing the religion, raising kids in it, for a long time. It took me a good decade or more to really understand what it meant to live it.
I don’t think she meant it as an insult, really. Though it does sound like it. She’s imperious, for sure. And it does seem like it’s best for Martha to go her own way, just like it’s best for Harry to go his. I’ve just watched the first two episodes of “The Crown” Season 5 and man, I would NOT want to be part of it. The English Aristos live good lives, the Royals not so much. Not really.
Funny how it’s always the black Americans who have no idea what a kingdom is. When white Americans (see the Luxembourg/Lichtenstein extended royal family) marry in, they oddly seem to have all the ideas! Anyway, until the monarchy fully and properly explains their future queen’s dealings with Jeffery Epstein, (without her boo hoo note of apology) they can kick rocks. Racists and pedophile enablers, great combo!
@rawiya: The only American I know of who’s married into the Liechtenstein royal family – Princess Angela – is black.
Well, the part about americans not understanding was actually sort of a joke at a press conference, which I understand did not come across well. And I also kind of clenched when I heard it, anticipating the backlash. The king and queen often use humour when talking to the press, in an international context norwegian humour may not be the most sophisticated. My guess is it was a comment on the cultural differences they are trying to communicate through and figure out within the royal family, it is for example difficult to accept that the shaman has controversial views on cancer that is in conflict with modern medicine. Märtha cannot represent certain organisations (patients’ rights etc) while she is connected with those kind of sentiments.
I actually feel this is unfair in Americans. This guy is shady and opportunistic it’s nothing to do with him being American. He’’s just shady. There’s definitely racism in Norway but his situation isn’t comparable to MM. His opinions are awful wether it’s coming from a white or black shaman. There are POC doctors in Norway that been speaking out against his harmful ideas.
That said I was hoping he and Martha would bring down the monarchy with their controversies.
I read a report of the press regarding Princess Martha “stepping away” from royal duties and I can see why Shaman’s activities would not be something the royal family could support. The king was asked why Martha would retain her title as Princess, and his reply was simply that she was still his daughter. Charles announced that Harry and Meghan would continue to build their lives in America. I thought it strange that he talked about them like two individuals not connected to him. He could not bring himself to say his younger son Harry and his wife Meghan- not acknowledging blood and marriage. With the Queen’s death, the sense of a Royal Family is gone. Charles does not have a family- he only acknowledge himself and his crutch Camilla. King Harold’s comment really makes clear the attitude of King Charles.
Between this and the Denmark drama, feels like the Scandi royals want a bit of that gossip and attention usually reserved for the British royals. Whatever.
QEZ tried to stress that the Sussexes were “much loved “ members of the family. Sadly, KC doesn’t have her media savvy.
As an American, I think monarchies are pointless.
We KNOW what a Kingdom is…racist, inhumane, murderers and thieves. Nuff said.
In the words of Queen Sonja “He thought he could do whatever he wanted without compromising us at all”. Compromising? Sheesh, lady. Ok. I liken this to royal family members being similar to Zoo animals. These folks, like Princess Märtha Louise, are born into captivity. Sure, it’s seemingly glamorous with a curated place to live, food, and access to everything to make life safe, simple, and free from “work/survival” stress. Like a zoo, you just can’t expect their handlers to think it’s a good idea to mix with others in the wild.
Anyone who claimed children with cancer want to die would be completely unwelcome in my family as well. I’ve known children who died of cancer, seen what their families go through and that comment disgusts me. Sorry but I’m with the royals on this one.
She should take a look at the Texas Constitution.
I mean… she’s correct. That’s kind of the point.
What’s worse than throwing out your most charismatic members out of jealousy is killing them (no specifics, just a general statement that cannot be denied by anyone).
We understand what a kingdom is. We just don’t like it. It’s fun in fairy tales, but in real life it’s monstrous. Most of us are able to separate fantasy from reality.
I just want to now why Americans are always catching strays every time some anachronistic royal family has to deal with the reality of an interracial marriage in their ranks. They never act like this when it’s a German, Dane, Australian, French, etc marrying into their family. Qwhite telling.
It is quite funny that a lot of republicanists approach the idea of monarchy in very similar ways. I’m a British Citizen (just for context) and I can happily say that the Monarchy today is meant to embody our tradition as well as the people (during the coronation it is traditional for the Archbishop of Cantabury to ask the people to recognise the sovereign before the Oath can even start). The monarch reigns but doesn’t rule, day to day running of the country is in the government and all is subject to the British Parliament. That is the monarch, the people, and those with hereditary or life peerages. Also, we British had a taste of being a Republic for a brief time in the 1600’s until the Restoration of the monarchy because of the lack of tradition and ceremony. Anyway, democracies can co-exist with monarchy, we’re a brilliant example of that. There was a French philosopher who came up with the idea that a government should be split into three powers which America readily used. We can see, especially these last few years, just how successful is that idea. But he also believed there was three good forms of government, and three bad forms. The three good were Monarchy, Oligarchy, and Democracy. All three are embodied in our Parliament. But democracy, interestingly enough, was the weakest form. This is because it is the easiest to turn into the bad forms of government. Some of the biggest threats of the modern world have come from Democratic Republics. A healthy balance between all forms is the least worst and least ineffective in my opinion.
Since Queen Sonja feels Americans are too stupid to understand, maybe we should avoid spending our tourism dollars in Norway. In fact, we should also consider boycotting travel to the UK, considering how boldly the British media hates on Meghan’s “Americanness”. But seriously, screw the Norwegian royals. This American will take her hard-earned travel dollar elsewhere.