On “Rebel Royals” and Its Controversies

The royal-romance documentary hit the top of the charts – but, is it any good? We investigate.

Sep 19, 2025

A Norwegian Princess and an American Shaman. It’s a love story for the ages, one steeped in controversy and palace intrigue – and one Netflix simply could not pass on. Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story is Rebecca Chaiklin’s documentary on the couple, and it reached the streaming service’s number one spot within days.

For those not familiar with the Shaman Durek Verrett – colloquially known as Durek – and Princess Märtha Louise, they’re not your traditional royal-adjacent couple. Durek is part Reptilian – an ancient alien race – and a psychic who peddles medallions as a cure for COVID1. Märtha is also psychic, and in 2007, she started the Astarte Inspiration Institute, where, for a nominal fee, you could learn to communicate with angels2.

A match made in heaven, and one that is destined to repeat itself: Märtha and Durek had already been married in ancient Egypt. He a Pharaoh, she a Queen3.

If this all sounds peculiar, it’s because it is. And, anyone familiar with Norway can see how Märtha and Durek’s relationship – and subsequent marriage – would cause a culture clash. It would be fitting material for a “stranger in a strange land”-type documentary, but Rebel Royals instead focuses on… I’m not exactly sure what. For the most part, we get ninety minutes of Märtha and Durek – both charismatic speakers – throwing themselves a self-promotion party. Some parts are entertaining – particularly scenes involving Durek and his bonus children – others are, as the kids would say, “cringe.”

But let’s travel six years back in time and have a look at the incidents that set the stage for how this documentary became particularly controversial in Norway.

When is a Royal a Royal in Name Only?

In 2019, Märtha and Durek announced both their relationship and, coincidentally, their “Princess and Shaman” lecture tour. Seats ran for sixty dollars a pop, and you could learn about “spirit hacking,” a concept invented by Durek4.

The Princess using her title to promote this commercial venture flew straight in the face of century-old Royal traditions. After a major outcry in Norwegian media, Märtha was forced to take a step back and fall in line with Royal guidelines.

I will henceforth not use my Princess title in any commercial context. This means I commercially will only go by Märtha Louise.5

It didn’t stick, and for the next few years, the Princess kept using her title in commercial dealings. In 2022, things topped themselves, and the King saw the need to strip her of Royal responsibilities.

The Princess will abstain from her protectorships that, today, frame the Princess’ official engagements for the Royal House, and will at this time not represent the Royal House. [..] Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett will clearly separate their own activities and their connection to the Royal House.6

The Princess acquiesced and agreed again to use only her name – no title – commercially.

Durek Verrett and I will only use Märtha Louise in social media, in media productions, or in conjunction with other commercial ventures.7

Seeing how the documentary is called Rebel Royals, you get the idea of how well that stuck, rebellious as it may be.

The Princess and the Shaman are commercially minded, unapologetically so. Durek has leaned heavily on calling himself a Royal – he brings it up often in the documentary – which, aside from being a breach of the aforementioned agreement, is also inaccurate. Again, from the press release (my emphasis):

In the same manner as Erling Lorentzen, Johan Martin Ferner, and Ari Behn, Durek Verrett will become a part of the Royal Family when he marries, but, in line with tradition, will not have a title or represent the Royal House8.

To be clear: In Norway, you are not considered a Royal without a Royal title.

Durek vs. The Man

Durek has doubled down on being an outsider, making it a significant part of his schtick, which he discusses in the documentary. His worldviews stand in stark contrast with those of the conservative Royal House: You won’t find many Norwegian Royals who claim they are part alien.

One of the Rebal Royals’ capstones is Durek’s story of meeting the King and Queen. As he tells it, the Royals went stone-faced when he showed up wearing a kimono and cowboy boots.

I wasn’t there, but it seems odd that the King and Queen, both of whom have spent their lives traveling the world and witnessed all kinds of culture, would freeze up at the sight of an eclectic attire.

And, this is where I will digress with a personal apropos!

Märtha and Durek’s wedding was inadvertently set during Team Awesomeness’ 2024 trip to Norway. And, one day we ran into the King and Queen having lunch near the wedding venue.

When we arrived at Hotel Union Öye – in dirty hiking clothes – we got the tour of the place, and stepped into a closed-off dining room where only one couple was having lunch. As we loudly commented (in English) on paintings of Royal visitors from all over the world (“Why would Kings and Queens travel all the way up here?!”) I noticed who the two lone diners were: The King and Queen. I couldn’t see the Queen’s reaction, but the King was laughing to himself, clearly finding the whole spectacle amusing.

Later that evening, we went to the fjordside sauna, where paparazzi drones buzzed over to us to see if we were tabloid-worthy celebrities. We (rudely enough) didn’t qualify, but the next day, you could see our rental car in the back of a picture in Norway’s largest newspaper, VG.

Jan Thomas self with our rental car in the back — The photo from VG shows celebrity hairstylist Jan Thomas taking selfies with locals. (VG)

Back to Durek and the Royals.

Whichever way it went down, Durek has been around the block, and I doubt he would lack the foresight to check if his first visit with the stodgy Royals would require him to wear a suit.

Besides, I’m sure when he was a Pharaoh, he, too, would expect visitors to dress up for him.

The Royal House did not partake in the documentary, but they made one statement related to their first meeting with Durek:

His Majesty the King does not wish to comment on private conversations within the family. At the same time, anyone can remember certain things somewhat differently.9

In the end, I guess we – or they – can agree to disagree.

And the Beat Goes On

Märtha and Durek likely did not expect a backlash from Norwegians – almost three out of four now want to see the Princess lose her title10 – and Durek tried to clarify some of their statements in an Instagram video.

shamandurek

A post shared by @shamandurek

Director Rebecca Chaiklin has also acknowledged that the Princess and Shaman were less than thrilled with parts of the documentary.11

I don’t think they’re pleased with some of the claims we make in the documentary. It was very difficult for them to process that it would be available to the world on such a large platform.

If nothing else, the duo claims they have learned their lesson. When attending the premiere of the movie, they declined to do interviews with Norwegian media:

Our focus now is to take responsibility and make sure we proceed constructively. Because of this, we cannot answer questions from the press, which in itself can be seen as a breach of the agreement.12

An hour later, People published “Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett on Love, Scandal and Turning Their Royal Wedding Into a Netflix Must-See,” an exclusive interview with the two.

The beat does, indeed, go on.

Antmusic

Say what you want about the documentary, but the Adam and the Ants-forward soundtrack is a banger. Not only do they throw down “Kings of the Wild Frontier” and its b-side, “Press Darlings,” you also get treated to the Ants’ spin-off band, Bow Wow Wow.

“Kings of the Wild Frontier,” what a classic.