On October 29, a new scandal struck Durek Verrett, husband of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway. The Norwegian tabloid “Se og Hør” reveals accusations of sexual assault against it, made by Joakim Boström, a 49-year-old Swede, who speaks openly.
In 2015, he met the charismatic shaman in New York. Their friendship begins quickly, but soon takes an uncomfortable turn: Durek Verrett becomes insistent, monitoring his new friend’s company. Intrigued by the American’s spirituality, Joakim Boström accepts a shamanic healing session, but it takes a disturbing turn. According to his testimony, he encouraged her to remove her clothes under the pretext of spotting a “cyst near the penis”. Shocked, the alleged victim, although confident at the time, did not realize the seriousness of the situation until a second “treatment” which would have ended in a sexual assault.
“He started touching my penis. I reacted violently. I shouted, “What are you doing? Do you want me to have an erection?” I asked him to stop, but he didn’t let up. He seemed determined to have sex,” he recalls. “He kept making sexual advances towards me. I wish I was quicker to gather evidence against him. But the only thing on my mind was getting him out of my life.” Joakim Boström explains that he saw his trauma rekindled by the spotlight on Durek Verrett at the time of his marriage to Princess Märtha Louise, in August 2024.
Beyond this incident, Durek Verrett is a controversial figure. Before his marriage last August, he had already sparked controversy with conspiratorial statements, proclaiming himself half-reptilian, and trying to sell anti-Covid pendants at a high price. This less than stellar past also includes criminal convictions: arson in 1991 and domestic violence in 2015, with prison sentences for each.
The Swedish father, although prevented from filing a complaint because of the statute of limitations, hopes that his testimony will encourage other victims to speak out, considering Durek Verrett to be “dangerous”.
The American shaman, through his spokesperson Jenni Weinman, firmly denies the accusations. She emphasizes that no complaint has been filed and accuses the Norwegian press of attacking her client, now a member of the royal family, but still perceived as an intruder. To protect against “malicious people”, Durek Verrett now has a legal document signed before each treatment. His spokesperson assures that his methods, involving pressure in the groin and armpits, are common practices in energy work.
As for the Norwegian royal family, they remain silent for the moment. If Märtha Louise renounced her titles to marry her lover, King Harald V and the rest of the family maintain a cautious distance from Durek Verret, whose escapades continue to divide opinion.
