Princess Märtha Louise says the press turned on her for calling out its racist treatment of her boyfriend, and it's similar to the backlash Meghan Markle faced
- Princess Märtha Louise told Insider that people asked her boyfriend why he was dating a "white devil" and sent him death threats because of their relationship.
- Märtha Louise, who is fourth in line to the Norwegian throne, first spoke about the racism her partner Shaman Durek Verrett had faced in an Instagram post back in June.
- Märtha Louise told Insider that the press turned against her after she wrote that it "presents him as a liar, being violent, and a threat to my family and myself."
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.
Five months later, Märtha Louise spoke to Insider about the response she received to the now-famous Instagram post.
Märtha Louise says people have asked her boyfriend why he is with 'the white devil'
"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. "I also see through his eyes that racism isn't just the obvious headlines, it's the subtle energies. It's how people look at him ... even in elevators or on the street, they clasp their handbags closer."
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."
In the post, the princess said "people at high places" had refused to shake Verrett's hand because he is Black.
"The press presents him as a liar, being violent and a threat to my family and myself, sharing scrupulously his X's story without checking facts, because it supports the belief system already in place about him. THAT IS RACISM!" she wrote.
Märtha Louise told Insider that the Norwegian press turned against her after she published the Instagram post.
"There were some that were triggered by it, who felt it was unfair. The press, for example, went very much against it," she said. "In Norway, it's very in your face, it's on the TV and the radio, and the papers. It's a challenge, but I'm used to it by now. You have to continue even though there are lots of people who seem to be against you in the press, because behind that there are people who support you and get what you're saying through all that noise."
Racism is a subject that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have spoken about even before the Duchess of Sussex joined the royal family in 2018.
In a statement released via Kensington Palace in 2016, Harry said Markle had been "subject to a wave of abuse and harassment."
"Some of this has been very public - the smear on the front of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments," he said in the statement.
Similar coverage continued throughout the years that followed - from accusing her of "manipulating" Harry into leaving the UK - and accusations that she had taken him away from his family - to "fueling human rights abuses, drought, and murder" for eating avocados.
Märtha Louise said she can understand why Markle and Harry are some of the only royals to join her in speaking about their experiences with racism.
"The reason we are speaking up about it is because we are in that kind of relationship. People who aren't in interracial relationships won't have that experience. So it's natural that it's these two couples who speak up about it," she said.
There could be a royal wedding on the horizon
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.
The name of the tour caused controversy, as some people believed Märtha Louise shouldn't have used her princess title to promote it. The criticism led the princess to announce she would only use the title for royal, and not commercial, purposes.
The princess told Insider she became "the happiest person to pay taxes in Norway" after denouncing her HRH title in 2002. The change allowed the royal to work as a private citizen, a move that has allowed her to pursue major business, personal, and press opportunities over the years.
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.
"He has talked about that for a long time, so I of course knew that. But he doesn't know if I'll say yes," the princess laughed.
Märtha Louise said she's been able to maintain her sense of humor through the years thanks to all the practice she got attending royal engagements and events.
"If we don't have our humor where are we? I wouldn't survive. If you're at something serious, if you're out officially or you're at church, the funniest thing is when something goes wrong, don't you think? Because you're not allowed to laugh or have a reaction, it's the most fun ever," she said. "You know, I don't know any royal who doesn't have a good sense of humor."
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Princess Keisha of Nigeria says she didn't know her now-husband was a prince until 2 years into their relationship, when his mom called her 'my princess'