As viewers the world over tune in to the new Netflix documentary, Royal Rebels: An Unlikely Love Story, which charts the controversial relationship of Norwegian Princess, Märtha Louise, and her shaman husband, Durek Verrett, curiosity about the family as a whole has certainly piqued.
Much like the British royal family, the Norwegian crown has been dogged by serious scandals over the years—with some baring a striking similarity to those that the Windsors have faced (see: a royal stepping down from their duties after marrying an American and a worrying link to convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein).
While King Harald and his wife Queen Sonja have emerged relatively unscathed, it seems their children, Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon, have had their fair share of run-ins with the press. More recently, there have been serious sexual assault allegations made against a royal step-son, too.
Here are the 7 biggest scandals to hit the Norwegian royal family’s in recent years.
2000: Prince Haakon’s engagement to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby
When King Harald and Queen Sonja’s son, Prince Haakon, announced his engagement to renowned former party girl and single mother, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, the monarchy’s approval rating in Norway slumped to 58% (when it typically would be at least 75%).
The public were later won over when Mette-Marit held a tearful press conference, just days before her wedding in 2001, and came clean about her “youthful rebellion.”
“We stepped over limits, and I’m very sorry about that,” she told gathered press. “It was important for me to live in defiance of what was accepted […] I would like to take this opportunity to condemn drugs. I hope that I can now avoid talking more about my past and that the press will respect this wish.”
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Norwegian King Harald, Crown Prince Haakon and his bride, Mette-Marit, and her son, Marius, stand on the balcony of the Oslo Cathedral after their wedding (Aug. 25, 2001)
2005: Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby’s father makes headlines
After navigating her media storm, Mette-Marit’s father, Sven O. Høiby, caused his own uproar after not only giving paid interviews and photos to the press of/about his daughter and grandson, Marius, but when he married a former stripper, Renate Barsgård, in 2005. The relationship broke down three months later.
2007: Princess Märtha Louise sets up her “angel school”
A story that saw the royals met with nationwide ridicule, Princess Märtha Louise announced she would be launching her alternative education centre, Astarte Education, and claimed she could speak not only to angels but to animals too.
The centre was speedily nicknamed “angel school” by Norway’s press and some called for King Harald and Queen Sonja’s eldest child and only daughter to renounce her title (something she actually did do many years down the line). She ran the school from 2007 to 2018.
2019: Crown Princess Mette-Marit apologizes for ties to Jeffrey Epstein
Prince Andrew isn’t the only royal to be embroiled in a scandal relating to convicted sex offender and disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein. Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit was also forced to apologized for meeting with him on multiple occasions between 2011 and 2013—several years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute.
In a written statement, the Princess said, “I would never have had anything to do with Epstein if I had been aware of the seriousness of his criminal acts. I should have examined Epstein’s past more closely, and I regret that I did not.”
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Princess Mette-Marit of Norway pictured at a Swedish royal wedding in 2013
2019: Princess Märtha Louise’s relationship with Durek Verrett
Prior to announcing her relationship with Durek in 2019, Märtha Louise was already far from your standard Princess, with her love of clairvoyance already well known. Her relationship with so-called shaman Durek, documented in the new Netflix programmed, Royal Rebels, however, provoked quite the response—not least because of his prior prison stint (a result of an arson charge in 1991) and love of promoting conspiracy theories along with disinformation.
During the pandemic, Durek reportedly sold necklaces to “ward off the virus” and in his 2019 book, Spirit Hacking, which was later banned, he falsely claims that cancer is a “choice” and stems from emotional unhappiness.
A poll later found 17% of Norwegians had a lower opinion of the royals overall following Märtha Louise’s relationship with Durek Verrett.
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The Princess and Durek Verrett on their wedding day in August 2024
This same year, Märtha Louise came under fire for using her Princess title to promote a spiritual lecture tour, The Princess and the Shaman, and was forced to apologize: “It was a mistake and I understand that it provoked (people) when the princess-title was used in that manner,” she said.
2022: Princess Märtha Louise quits her royal duties
Princess Märtha Louise explained her decision to renounce her title was borne of a desire to focus on alternative medicine and spirituality work with her fiancé, but others saw her choice to give up her patronages as the royal family’s attempt to claw back some popularity points.
2024-2025: Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son, Marius Borg Høiby, accused of rape and assault
After initial allegations of a domestic abuse and violence were made in 2024 by his ex-partner, which he admitted to, it was reported in August of 2025 that Marius Borg Høiby—the eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, from a relationship prior to marrying royalty—has also been charged with raping four women and photographing their genitals without consent.
The alleged assaults are said to have taken place in 2018, 2023, and 2024 (after police had launched their initial investigation following Marius’ ex alleging he assaulted her while drunk and on cocaine). If found guilty, Marius could reportedly face up to a decade in prison.
“This is the biggest crisis [the monarchy has experienced] since 1905 and the country’s independence,” Caroline Vagle, reporter for the magazine Se og Hør, commented after news broke.