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Princess Martha Louise and Durek Verrett on their wedding day© Alamy

Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett's wedding featured nods to their past life in Egypt

The Norwegian princess and shaman included lots of personal touches on their big day

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
September 5, 2024
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Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Durek Verrett exchanged vows in a ceremony brimming with emotion, in front of 350 guests in Geiranger, Norway on 31 August.

Their nuptials, exclusively covered by HELLO!, featured many personal touches, including nods to their past life together in Egypt.

After meeting through a mutual friend in 2018, Durek has previously spoken about his memories with his now-wife in Egypt, where she was his queen and he was a pharaoh.

Ahead of their nuptials, Märtha Louise unveiled the couple's unofficial monogram on her Instagram account, with a combination of their initials, which was created by ANTI Hamar.

She wrote: "Honoring our past life together in Egypt, the monogram embraces the hieroglyphs and the Egyptian symbols as follows:

"M for Märtha: The hieroglyph meaning: The wise owl, a guardian of souls navigating between worlds. The owl represents the protector, guiding humans through the passage from the earthly existence to the spirit world.

"D for Durek where the hieroglyph manifests as the hand - a symbol of actions performed with grace, opening doors and dancing through life."

Princess Martha Louise of Norway and Durek Verrett show their rings© Getty
The couple's monogram was embroidered in gold on Durek's tuxedo

The monogram featured on their wedding day, embroidered in gold threads on the sleeve of the groom's black tuxedo, complete with a paisley-print jacket that featured pink roses in his buttonhole, a gold cummerbund and tie-knot.

The emblem was also embroidered on the bride's cathedral-length veil.

Newlyweds Märtha Louise and Durek surrounded by family, friends and their wedding party© Maja Moan
Newlyweds Märtha Louise and Durek surrounded by family, friends and their wedding party

And as Märtha Louise made her way down the aisle, with her eldest daughter, Maud, 21, accompanying her in the procession to give her away, the rousing voices of gospel choir HIM singing When You Believe, the theme song from the movie The Prince of Egypt, heralded the bride's arrival.

Walking in ahead of Märtha were her daughters Leah, 19, and Emma, 16, in shimmering gold dresses, followed by her seven bridesmaids in pink dresses alongside Durek's seven groomsmen, and flower girls Astral, Ava and Cornelia, scattering rose petals down the aisle.

To read the full exclusive interview with Märtha Louise and Durek and to see the full wedding album, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.

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