Norway's Crown Prince Haakon weighs in on sister Princess Märtha Louise and shaman Durek Verrett's controversial documentary

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway has broken his silence over his sister's controversial Netflix documentary.

While with his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, in Hallingdal on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), the 52-year-old was asked by the press what he thought about Princess Märtha Louise and her shaman husband Durek Verrett's Rebel Royals.

Haakon revealed he has watched the doco but thinks he "should refrain from judging it".

"I don't think it distinguishes well enough, unfortunately, between the royal house's activities and the project and the commercial side of Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett's activities," he told public broadcaster NRK.

His comments echoed the palace's official statement on the couple's TV special, hitting out them for "breaching" an agreement made in 2022, when the princess stepped away from her official royal role.

Haakon added that they now have "something to build on" as they discuss the couple's "projects and commercial activities" going forward.

When asked by local media if the self-styled rebels had no intention of honouring their side of the agreement, rendering it useless, the crown prince had his older sister's back.

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"There you point out a bit of a challenge but there is no good alternative to that, we have to try to figure it out," he told the outlet.

He said the couple had stated they "intend to respect the agreement".

Crown Prince Haakon also addressed claims in the documentary of unconscious bias and racism towards his new brother-in-law from members of the royal household.

"I think that in Norway we also have challenges with racism, unfortunately there are many who experience racism in Norway," he said, according to Se og Hør.

"For my own part, I cannot fully understand how it is experienced, because I am not part of an ethnic minority myself, but I can talk to those who have experienced it, I can use my empathy, and I can follow the news.

"That way we can all try to overcome the problem in a constructive way."

While members of Norway's royal family opted out of being a part of the documentary, Crown Prince Haakon almost featured in it, with the first cut featuring a scene inside a private event before Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett's wedding in Ålesund.

The palace confirmed it asked Netflix to remove it before Rebel Royals went to air.

"When we were made aware that a clip of the Crown Prince from the wedding celebration had been used, we contacted the director and requested that the clip be removed," the palace said in a statement.

"As is known, the Royal House has reserved its right not to be filmed for this production in situations where other press did not have access. The clip has now been removed."

Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett wed in August last year. The event forms a big part of the documentary, centred on the love story between the Norwegian royal and the American self-styled shaman.

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