Only two media outlets will be allowed to take pictures when Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett marry in Geiranger on August 31.
One of them is the British weekly magazine Hello! Magazine, the couple confirmed on Wednesday.
The rest of the royal family members will not adhere to that agreement, the Palace confirmed to NRK on Wednesday.
They do not want Hello! to take pictures of them when the rest of the press does not have access.
– It is tidy that the Palace reserves itself in a way that prohibits other media, which are part of a commercial agreement, from photographing them.
This is the view of Ole-Jørgen Schulsrud-Hansen, a royal expert at TV 2.
– King Harald has always been tidy
He describes the royal household as individuals who attract extra attention, thus having intrinsic value in being filmed and photographed.
Royal expert at TV 2, Ole-Jørgen Schulsrud-Hansen, believes it is wise of the palace not to follow the exclusive photo agreement made by the bridal couple.
Foto: Javier Ernesto Auris Chavez / NRK
The royal expert believes it is precisely this commercial element that leads the royal family to reserve itself in this way.
– I would assume so. Because King Harald has always been so tidy with these connections, says Schulsrud-Hansen.
He thinks this is a sensible choice from the royal family’s side.
– I think it’s nice when there has been so much fuss around the use of the princess title, for example.
Reactions between the lines
– Is this the start of more conflicts between the royal family and Märtha Louise?
– No, I do not believe so. But this is perhaps a form of consequence or statement that at least I have desired the Palace should make. That it comes a bit between the lines, more than directly, as a reaction to the breaches of the agreement, such as the princess title has been, he replies.
Schulsrud-Hansen nonetheless sees a small silver lining in how the bridal couple and Hello! Magazine have handled the situation so far.
The British weekly magazine Hello! Magazine has purchased the exclusive rights to photos during the wedding.
Foto: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB
In the press release about the photo agreement, the magazine does not use the title of the princess; they refer to her simply as the daughter of the King and Queen of Norway.
– Then it may seem that they remember in between that her title should not be used commercially.
Believes the royal family will stick to the same practice
The royal expert is supported by Reidun Kjelling Nybø, general secretary of the Norwegian Editors’ Association.
She also believes it is wise of the royal family to distance themselves from the agreement made by the bridal couple.
– In this way, they avoid becoming a part of the sale of rights.
Reidun Kjelling Nybø in the Norwegian Editors’ Association is critical of the bridal couple not allowing the press to cover the wedding as a regular event.
Foto: Lise Åserud / NTB
– As I interpret it, the royal family is signaling now that they do not wish to become part of the exclusivity agreement made by the bridal couple. Instead, they want to maintain the practice that has been established previously, in relation to Norwegian media, Nybø continues.
Do not want to share details with the public
The bridal couple does not want to share the guest list, program, or other details about the wedding with the public.
Many expect the wedding of Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett to be a grand event, but the bridal couple themselves do not want the public to know much about it in advance.
Foto: Geir Olsen / NTB
They justify this by stating that the wedding is a private event.
In a press release on Wednesday, they wrote that it is pleasing that many wish to take part in the celebration.
– However, this great interest places very high demands on capacity, security, and logistics. We have therefore chosen to enter into an exclusive agreement for the coverage of the ceremony and the party with Hello! Magazine, they wrote, among other things.
Published
21.08.2024, at 21.16
Updated
21.08.2024, at 22.50