As he prepares for his wedding to Princess Martha Louise, daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja, the charismatic Californian spiritual healer reflected on his Christmases spent with his fiancée and her family.
“I love Christmas and received beautiful pocket squares and cardigans from them,” Durek said. “But Martha surprised me by organizing a treasure hunt where each gift was a piece of ski equipment, as she thought I needed to learn skiing, which is a Norwegian tradition.”
He added with a laugh, “I had never been skiing and wasn’t particularly keen on it, so it felt like the ski Grinch had stolen Christmas.”
Martha, who enjoys adventurous activities like skiing and hiking steep mountains with her mother Sonja, noted, “But he learned to ski and ended up loving it! My family and I enjoy pushing boundaries. We took him on a rib boat, skimming at 55 knots. He was hesitant at first, but after the experience, he asked, ‘When can we do that again? It was amazing.'”
Durek described their dynamic, saying, “I’m like the shy kid at school afraid to climb trees, but Martha encourages me, and then I end up loving it. That’s a perfect summary of our personalities.”
From the start, Martha’s parents made Durek feel warmly welcomed and accepted him as a cherished member of the family. After three years together, Durek proposed to Martha in June 2022, having first sought the blessing of her parents. “I hold traditional views on courtship, and asking for Martha’s hand in marriage was a matter of respect,” Durek explained.
He recalled, “The King and Queen asked me about myself and our future, and there was a moment of silence. I was nervous, but then they told me they would be delighted to have me in the family.”
Martha added with a smile, “At my age, I could choose for myself! But my parents, who waited nine years before they could marry, always told me they wanted me to marry whoever I loved.”
The couple is set to celebrate their wedding with a spectacular three-day event, culminating in the ceremony on Saturday.
