Princess Martha Louise of Norway’s daughter Maud, 20, debuts a colorful new buzzcut ahead of her first art exhibition – as her mum praises her for ‘daring to be you’
Princess Martha Louise of Norway has praised her eldest daughter ahead of a new art exhibition, calling her ‘the most fearless person I know’.
Maud, 20, fifth in line to the Norwegian throne and granddaughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, debuted a colorful buzzcut this weekend ahead of her first public art project, which will take place in Oslo.
On Instagram, Princess Martha Louise also celebrated the birthday of her future husband ‘Shaman’ Durek Verrett by sharing a photo of artist Maud with the businessman. In the snap, the royal daughter wears a checked brown shirt and multi-colored eye shadow and hugs her stepfather.
In another photo highlighting Maud’s upcoming exhibition, her mother praised her “ruthless” approach to her work, saying: “You are one of the most fearless people I know.”
‘And it shows in your art, and in every part of your being, that you dare to be yourself – and that makes me the proudest of them all.’
A proud Princess Martha Louise of Norway praised her daughter Maud, 20, at her upcoming art exhibition, calling the Norwegian royal, who is currently sporting a colorful buzzcut, ‘one of the most fearless people I know’
Maud has previously worn her hair long and a natural dark brown, but said earlier this year that she likes to “wear dresses and suits, and long and short hair.”
Since then, she has dyed the buzz in a variety of colors, including pink with a purple star, green and rainbow. The 20-year-old first appeared to debut it in public at Oslo’s Pride Parade in June, where she sported rainbow hair and face paint.
Princess Martha Louise, 52, who describes herself as ‘spiritual’ and claims to be clairvoyant, will marry Verrett, who calls herself a ‘shaman’, on August 31, 2024 at the Union Hotel in Geiranger.
Earlier this year, Princess Martha made the decision to step down as a working member of the family – which she revealed was due to ‘unrest’ (in a move dubbed ‘Norway’s Megxit’).
Taking to Instagram this week, Martha Louise marked her fiancé ‘Shaman’ Durek Verrett’s birthday by sharing a photo of artist Maud with the businessman.
Princess Martha Louise with fiancé ‘Durek Verrett; earlier this year she announced she would step down from her royal duties, a move nicknamed “Norway’s Megxit.”
Eyebrows were raised when the princess first started dating Verrett, who holds a number of controversial and pseudoscientific views, including that cancer in children can be caused by ‘unhappiness’.
In an interview with the BBC earlier this year, she praised her parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja, for keeping the dialogue open as she made her decision and they worked out the details of how the arrangements would work.
The princess was previously married to Ari Behn, whom she married in 2002 and had three children together: Maud Angelica, 19, Leah Isadora, 17, and Emma Tallulah, 14. Behn took his own life on Christmas Day 2019.
Ari had fought to marry Princess Martha after the couple came under heavy criticism because Mr Behn, a self-styled Bohemian author and artist, was not a traditional partner for a royal family.
They married in 2002 in a lavish ceremony at Trondheim’s historic Nidaros Cathedral, but chose to elope to London ten years later after lengthy examination of their married life.
They began divorce proceedings in 2016 because, as Princess Martha said, they had “grown apart” and were “not meeting each other like before.”
The flamboyant European royal (left), fifth in line to the Norwegian throne and the granddaughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, said earlier this year that she liked to “wear dresses and suits and long and short hair.”
“We have tried everything for a long period of time, and if we still cannot meet as before, it is impossible for us to continue,” she told Norwegian’s News in English.
In the BBC interview, Martha spoke about her first husband and the “criticism” he faced.
She said: ‘His mental health depended heavily on him being criticized in the media.
‘But I’m not saying it was anyone’s fault. It’s always how you deal with criticism. The press criticized themselves after his death, that maybe they were a little harsh on him, that he only received criticism and was actually a very nice person.’
After the divorce, Mr. Behn wrote a book Inferno, which critics described as “oozing with despair and sadness” and detailing his struggles with mental health, headaches, hallucinations and breathing difficulties.
Maud will be taking part in this year’s Pride Parade in Oslo in July; The royal family’s first solo art exhibition, ‘Experimentelle spirer’, has been launched in the Norwegian capital
New look! A photo shared by her mother of Maud in traditional costume when she was younger. Right: The new buzzcut that the artist royal shows on her Instagram account
Announcing the wedding venue for next year’s ceremony on Instagram, Verrett posted a professional photo of the couple looking in love, with himself dressed in a pink tuxedo with a sparkling button up, while Martha opted for a flowing white Greek-style dress .
The Norwegian royal also discussed how her then-fiancé’s controversial ‘views’ had contributed to the way the public viewed her position in the royal family.
She said: “The Norwegian people, I think… have decided that it is best for me to resign because of their views on certain matters.”
Durek, who describes himself as a “shaman,” was dropped by his publisher shortly after the couple announced their engagement in June 2022 due to pseudoscientific claims he made in his book “Spirit Hacking.”
Princess Martha Louise of Norway will tie the knot with her American businessman partner Durek Verrett (left) in her home country next August.
One of the claims was that children ‘can get cancer if they are unhappy’.
Durek has also claimed that he once rose from the dead, recovering from a months-long coma, by ‘burning’ his soul, and he has also spoken about having to undergo a kidney transplant from his sister as a child.
It’s unclear why he needed the kidney or how he became wheelchair-bound as he has described. The illness that left him in a coma has also not been disclosed.
Elsewhere in the interview, Martha Louise claimed that she first began experiencing psychic premonitions as a child.
She said, “When I was little, I saw things in you. If you were sad or if you were happy… if you had pain in your shoulder, I got pain in my shoulder.
The royal family praised her parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, for always keeping the channels of communication open and encouraging conversations, even in difficult times.
“And I understood that that’s a talent and, you know, I could help other people. And then the whole ball started rolling.”
The princess said she decided she wanted to “earn my own money,” which she could only do by giving up her “state money” and paying taxes for the first time in her life.
After giving up her position in the royal family, the princess revealed she has faced “a lot of scrutiny” – especially when taking on new roles.
“Everything you do is a first and comes out of the box you’re in,” she said, adding that the press investigation was “continuing.” She added that spiritual beliefs such as those she holds are “taboo” in Norway.