Princess Märtha Louise of Norway Says She Was Called a ‘White Devil’ by Racists Criticizing Her Interracial Relationship

Norway’s Princess Märtha Louise opened up about the death threats she and her boyfriend Durek Verrett faced in a candid Instagram post back in June.

At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, the princess – who is fourth in line to the Norwegian throne – became one of the few European royals to publicly shed light on her own experiences with racism, and what it meant for her to be in an interracial relationship.

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“I never thought of myself as racist before I got together with Durek, and suddenly to expand that vision and acknowledge that I actually have white privilege – it was such an eye-opener for me,” Märtha Louise told Insider. {snip}

She added: “It’s from both sides, you know. He also gets death threats from people saying, ‘Why are you with the white devil?’ and all that.”

Märtha Louise first spoke about the racism they had been subjected to in June, writing on Instagram that they had “been told that we shame our people and families for choosing each other.”

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The princess is determined to keep speaking about the subject – not just for Verrett, but for the Norwegian people, some of which have had to change their names in order to get a job due to racism, according to Märtha Louise.

“We have to start getting out of the 1700s and updating ourselves. We are one human race,” she said.

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Märtha Louise announced she was dating Verrett, an LA-based shaman, in May 2019. The couple bonded over their shared love of spirituality and embarked on a joint tour, titled “The Princess and the Shaman” last year.

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One of these opportunities included a profile feature in Vanity Fair in November. In the feature, which included interviews with both Verrett and the princess, Verrett told the magazine that he plans to propose. He said he has already been given the blessing of Märtha Louise’s parents, the King and Queen of Norway.

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