{"id":582166,"date":"2026-08-27T17:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/582166\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T17:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:50:15","slug":"controversial-royal-undergoes-major-surgery-as-statement-issued-royal-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/582166\/","title":{"rendered":"Controversial royal undergoes major surgery as statement issued | Royal | News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>According to <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hellomagazine.com\/royalty\/920141\/durek-verrett-undergoes-kidney-transplant-king-harald-health-worsens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Hello!<\/a> Magazine, it\u2019s been a tough period for Martha Louise, having both her husband and father in the same hospital. The couple said in a statement: \u201cFirst and foremost, we feel an enormous sense of gratitude toward the person who was willing to become a donor. It is difficult to put into words what such a gift means. The new kidney has given Durek a second chance, and that is something we will never take for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Durek said about his hospital stay: \u201cI have received treatment in many places around the world, but I have never experienced the warmth, compassion and humanity that I have encountered among healthcare professionals in Norway in general, and at Drammen Hospital in particular.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way the doctors and nurses have cared for me, both as a patient and as a person, has deeply touched me. They have been my &#8216;little angels&#8217; through a very challenging time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Durek has been a controversial figure after his various pseudoscientific New Age claims on alternative therapy practices.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, he sparked controversy after he reportedly claimed that cancer is a choice and that a medallion helped him recover from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/latest\/coronavirus\" data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|AutoLink\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">COVID<\/a>-19.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters, Crown Prince Haakon said that he found the topic &#8220;difficult&#8221; but confirmed that discussions were ongoing.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u201cThis is a topic that I find difficult.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the one hand, my sister got engaged, and I got to know Durek Verrett and think it is nice to be with him. I have been with him on many occasions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like him to feel welcome in our family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the same time, I feel very responsible for the institution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have of course noticed that some of what has been said and done has caused quite a bit of discussion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of it has also been controversial.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"According to Hello! Magazine, it\u2019s been a tough period for Martha Louise, having both her husband and father&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1741,286756,156,88289,111,139,5895,5894,69,286755],"class_list":["post-582166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-controversy","tag-durek-verrett","tag-entertainment","tag-kidney-transplant","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-norway","tag-norwegian-royal-family","tag-nz","tag-princess-martha-louise"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}