Norway\u2019s royal family mostly clammed up last week when a highly controversial Netflix documentary involving them was released internationally. Now Crown Prince Haakon has opened up a bit, and tried to smile through the storm.<\/strong><\/p>\n The crown prince took a few minutes this week<\/strong> to talk to reporters while he and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, were on an official tour of Hemsedal and Hallingdal in the mountains of Southern Norway. While he would have preferred to talk about the visit, the local culture and the people he was meeting, the topic quickly turned to the latest trouble stirred up by his older sister, Princess Martha Louise<\/a>, and her new American husband Durek Verrett.<\/p>\n The Netflix documentary, which refers to the couple as \u201crebel royals,\u201d has sparked outrage among many Norwegians<\/a> who feel it unfairly portrays Martha Louise\u2019s parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja, and Crown Prince Haakon as being unaware of racism and failing to help Verrett, a self-proclaimed shaman, adjust to life in Norway. Verrett exclaims excitedly during the documentary that \u201cI\u2019m gonna be a royal,\u201d but clearly had no clue about the importance of the monarchy in Norway, the role of the royal family or how to conduct himself at the palace.<\/p>\n Verrett went so far as to claim that King Harald and Crown Prince Haakon \u201cdon\u2019t know what racism is,\u201d even though both are highly educated and have long stressed the value of diversity<\/a> and the need to acknowledge and accept Norway\u2019s own modern multi-ethnic society. Many felt that especially King Harald, age 88, was unjustly criticized and didn\u2019t deserve Verrett\u2019s remarks, while the king\u2019s daughter sat next to him nodding and seeming to condone his outbursts.<\/p>\n The harshest criticism, though, involved how the princess and Verret continue to exploit her royal title commercially<\/a>. That\u2019s in violation of an agreement she had made with the royal family back in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want clearer lines between the royal family and<\/strong> Princess Martha Louise\u2019s and Derek Verrett\u2019s (business) operations,\u201d Crown Prince Haakon told reporters on Tuesday. \u201cWe want to be clear and responsibile, and will both listen and say what we think.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked how the royals can better enforce their agreement with Martha Louise and Verrett, given a string of their earlier violations, the crown prince said he just hopes they\u2019ll do better. He noted that the couple themselves have expressed some regrets about the Netflix program and that they want to maintain \u201cthe integrity of the agreement we have from 2022,\u201d when it was reinforced.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re pointing to the challenge (they face with the agreement),\u201d Crown Prince Haakon told NRK, \u201cbut we don\u2019t have a good alternative to it. \u201cWe have to figure this out. We have already begun to talk about it in this round, and we will continue the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n He declined to express his own opinion<\/strong> about the documentary, saying \u201cI think I\u2019ll avoid judging it, but I think it unfortunately doesn\u2019t distinguish well enough between the royal family\u2019s operations and the commercial side of Princess Martha Louise\u2019s and Durek Verrett\u2019s operations.\u201d<\/p>\n Crown Prince Haakon expressed gratitude for the outpouring of public support for his elderly parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja, after the documentary came out. \u201cI\u2019ve noticed that there are many who have said many nice things about the royal couple afterwards, so I think it\u2019s nice that they\u2019re getting support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Several editorial writers, authors and commentators in Norway have called on King Harald to take away his daughter\u2019s \u201cprincess\u201d title, something only he can do. The monarch still seems reluctant to do that, no matter how many times his daughter has hurt or embarrassed the royal family over the years. King Harald has so far said only that since she remains his daughter, she remains a princess, even though she\u2019s not supposed to exploit that for more publicity or personal gain.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsinenglish.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/53231668538_55e0105b72_c-e1758743997876.jpg\")
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