Royal Rebels: An Unlikely Love Story premiered on Netflix this week. This is the documentary about Norway’s Princess Martha and her husband Durek Verrett, who is a Black American shaman. Martha and Durek married in Norway last year, and throughout the relationship and marriage, Martha has pretty much exited “royal life” in Norway. But she still visits Norway, and she wants Durek to be accepted within Norway and within the royal family. To promote this documentary, Martha and Durek gave a lengthy interview to People Mag. My feeling is that they’re actually introducing themselves to the American audience rather than pushing back on whatever is being said about them in Norway.
Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Durek Verrett are still riding a high from their royal wedding as they share their love story with their largest audience yet on Netflix. Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story premiered on Netflix on Tuesday, Sept. 16, and the film, helmed by Emmy-nominated director Rebecca Chaiklin of Tiger King fame, followed the couple behind the scenes in the run-up to their royal wedding in Norway in August 2024.
Exclusively speaking to PEOPLE before the premiere, Princess Märtha Louise, 53, and Durek, 50, a Hollywood shaman to the stars, open up about why now was the right time to share their royal romance with the world through the documentary.
“I think for me and Märtha, it’s really important because our lives hold so many different aspects of what people are dealing with when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community. When it comes to interracial relationships, when it comes to being a man who’s marrying into her life, into her family,” Durek tells PEOPLE. “I think it’s important for us to share a story of resilience, and a story that makes people walk away with the feeling of inspiration to live their truth as they are, unapologetically. And I think that’s a very important aspect that we wanted to share with the world, especially in today’s world. With everything that’s happening, it really gives people a feeling of hope and a feeling of, ‘Wow, I can live free and live to be my truth and know that I can be exactly as I am.’ ”
Durek says in the documentary that he is bisexual and became the first Black man to marry into the European royal family when he wed Märtha. Princess Märtha Louise is the daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja and is fourth in line to the Norwegian throne, though she relinquished her royal role in 2022 in order to more freely pursue her business interests.
Princess Märtha Louise tells PEOPLE that the couple filmed with Chaiklin for over three and a half years and that the director wanted to show “our love story authentically” in Rebel Royals, allowing her and Durek to “be ourselves.”
“I felt that Rebecca and Netflix would be a great opportunity. Netflix is such a really big powerhouse when it comes to creating really beautiful documentaries and films and TV shows that really span across so many countries. And I thought what a wonderful platform to be a part of, and a family to be a part of, when it comes to sharing our story of love and triumph and being able to stand in that space of adversity,” Durek tells PEOPLE about the partner.
Imagine a British princess marrying a Black bisexual American shaman. Imagine what the British media would do to that guy. While I know that Martha and Durek have dealt with a lot of bullsh-t within their relationship, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. Anyway, within the Netflix show, Durek and Martha talk about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s impact:
In Rebel Royals, Durek cites Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey as a turning point at which King Harold acknowledged the racism he faced in the press and online after coupling up with Märtha Louise.
Reflecting on that time, Durek says, “One of the challenging things that happens is when you go into any situation where people are used to a certain way of seeing things. It really upsets people. And there is racism, but I don’t live in the mentality of being a victim to that racism because I know that it exists. And for me, it was about bringing that attention to the family. And not everyone is going to get it right away because of the conditioning that they have and what they are exposed to. And so for me, it was about really being able to support that information and really stand up and say, ‘Hey, there is a problem here. We need to deal with it, and let’s bring it into a place of love and connection and family.’ And I think that’s really important when it comes to having that support and having that type of connection.”
Apparently, it was the Sussexes’ Oprah interview which finally got the Norwegian royal family to course-correct and begin to push back on some of the racism of the press. Which is interesting, to see other European royal families learn from the Windsors’ mistakes. In my opinion, that’s happened a lot in the past decade, not just on matters of race, but how other royal families handle issues around their “spares.”
Hmmmmm😏 pic.twitter.com/wIrKiiIy1Z
— Jozaphen_ Sussex (@jozzzaphen) September 16, 2025
Photos courtesy of Netflix.
I can’t stand this man.
He and his princess are a complete mess but it’s nice that a European royal family learned from the Windsors mistakes. Too bad the Windsors don’t learn.
Huh. I didn’t know he was openly bisexual. It is fascinating to think that the WIndsors are role models…of what not to do.
Seeing as how they have the worst instincts and do everything wrong that actually makes sense.
He’s a grifter. Who else wanders around calling themselves a shaman? Girl, give me a break. He peddles pseudoscience like Goop.