- Nigeria’s Princess Keisha went to the wedding of Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett in Norway.
- The celebrations had exacting dress codes, including “sexy cool” for one event.
- Netflix filmed proceedings for an as-yet-unreleased documentary. Personal cameras were mostly banned.
This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Princess Keisha Omilana, an American model, entrepreneur, and wife to Prince Kunle Adebayo Omilana, a Nigerian royal.
The couple attended the wedding of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Durek Verrett on August 31. This is Princess Keisha’s account of the celebrations. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I was introduced to Princess Märtha Louise by her fiancé, Durek Verrett.
I was a New York fashion model, and he also modeled a bit in New York, so our circles were very similar.
He reached out to me during the pandemic, just to check in and to say hello, as it was a strenuous time. Then he asked if I had heard of Clubhouse, a social app where you could be in “rooms” together.
Princess Märtha was one of the first royals to join the app. We hadn’t previously had the opportunity to connect and get to know each other, but the app allowed us to do that.
We shared a virtual stage, and our friendship blossomed. We couldn’t wait to see each other in person. So when the opportunity came to attend their wedding in late summer, we ran with it.
The ‘sexy cool’ dress code
The three-day celebrations kicked off on Thursday, August 29, with a meet-and-greet party. The dress code was “sexy cool.”
We were asked to wear something that expressed our version of sexy and cool — this could be anything from pants and jumpsuits to short or long summer dresses.
Nobody wore anything that was overtly too much or raunchy — we all had a level of respect for who were were celebrating and the fact that it was a royal wedding.
Netflix documented the wedding weekend, so no other cameras were allowed. We could take photos of ourselves, but once the cameras were rolling for Netflix, everyone else’s were gone. We were just in the moment.
We met so many amazing people. On that first night, we spoke with Princess Märtha’s brother, Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne. But we didn’t know it was him at first. We were in line to get food, and Prince Kunle commented on his outfit and asked where he was from.
Prince Haakon said, “Oh, I’m from here. I’m the brother of the bride.”
They were just two royals chatting it up at the barbecue line — it was so funny.
Royal titles were abandoned
The following evening, the dress code was “Havana Nights,” so guests could wear anything with floral prints, Hawaiian shirts, and bright colors.
I was dressed by Isabelle Serrano, a fashion designer based in Valencia, Spain. She designed a beautiful orange dress with beads on the back.
We had a lovely dinner, and Princess Märtha and Durek performed a salsa dance.
In Norwegian culture, you aren’t usually seated next to your spouse at dinner parties or weddings. I was seated next to Prince Daniel, who is the husband of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
The seating charts had our titles. For me, it said, “HRH Princess Keisha Omilana.” For him, it said, “HRH Prince Daniel.” But we introduced ourselves as “Keisha” and “Daniel.”
It’s much more special and more telling when you get to connect with someone on a human level and not through titles. It was lovely to see that this isn’t just the case for African royalty; it’s the same in Europe.
For the ceremony on Saturday, there were colors we were asked not to wear — no white, no pink, and no black.
I wore a custom burgundy dress designed by Serrano. She did an amazing job — it’s now one of my favorites.
The ceremony was beautiful. If you are in the presence of the couple, the love is screaming. We are still talking about the wedding and how much love was felt throughout the weekend.
In the evening, we danced. At one point, we had a nice little royal circle — there was the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden, the Prince and Princess of the Netherlands, and myself and Prince Kule.
By that point there were no more cameras — no one could capture this moment. But it’s something we will always share deep in our hearts because everyone was able to let their hair down.
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