Princess Matha Louise of Norway announced her fabulous
engagement to Shaman Durek Verrett on Tuesday, but on Thursday, the
duo discussed the struggles they have in their relationship as an
interracial couple.
Taking to Instagram with a live video, the newly engaged
pair got incredibly candid, and the Princess addressed her naivety about
racism. Also in the clip, the pair explained the reality of receiving death
threats because of their union.
The mother-of-three said: “I had a big learning curve
coming from white privilege. I was so naive I didn’t see the nuances, and I
think a lot of white people are.
“The small nuances are the worst when people pull
away from you [Durek], or they don’t want to sit next to you on the bus or
cross the street to not walk towards you and of course all the remarks that are
all the time.”
Princess Martha and husband-to-be Shaman Durek addressed
their fans on Instagram
“I’ve seen people talking to me really nicely then
turning around to Durek and being really horrible, like not touching his hand
or not saying hello or saying horrible things to him from being totally nice
with me.”
This made Martha Louise realise, “wow this is so
much worse than I thought it was.”
In the video, husband-to-be Durek also addressed the death
threats the couple receive.
He said: “I think a lot of our relationship and why
people have such an issue with it, and why people write all this hate and send
death threats to us… is because one, they don’t want to see a black man
in the royal family because there’s never been one in the history of histories
in the European royal family so that’s a huge thing.
“Second, Martha is a female. It’s different
when a man chooses a woman of colour because he’s a man… but for a princess to
choose a man of colour, it has never been done in history so it’s really tough
for people to handle that.
He added: “They don’t want the Bridgertons, they want
to watch it on TV but they don’t want the real Bridgertons, which is us, so
they get really upset and angry and say really mean things, but they don’t
understand our world can’t stay the same, we have to evolve.”
Despite the negative comments, the happy couple appeared
united and more in love than ever in the video, and fans even got a glimpse
of the princess’ stunning emerald engagement ring which pays tribute
to her family.
The vintage ring was designed by Joy Sangalang Smith of
COMMUNION and is estimated to be worth an impressive six figures, according to
Mike Fried of The Diamond Pro.
According to People, it is made up of a 3.5 carat
ethically sourced emerald from Brazil surrounded by a halo of 19 diamonds.
The four trillion-cut diamonds surrounding the face
represent the four elements – earth, air, water and fire – while the 12 other
diamonds are reportedly meant to protect the couple against negativity.
The striking central emerald was chosen in dedication to
Martha’s mother, Queen Sonja, while the three additional diamonds near the
band represent the princess’ three daughters Maud, 19, Leah, 17, and Emma, 13,
whom she shares with her late ex-husband Ari Behn.
