Norway’s Crown Princess Apologises for Past Contact With Jeffrey Epstein
Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has apologised for her past contact with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying it was “simply embarrassing” after newly released case documents revealed extensive references to her name.
More than three million documents linked to Epstein were made public on Friday, with Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s name appearing hundreds of times, including in email correspondence with Epstein.
In a statement to Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Saturday night, the crown princess said she deeply regretted the contact and accepted responsibility for her actions.
“I deeply regret that, and this is a responsibility I must take. I showed poor judgment and regret having any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing,” she said.
She added that while Epstein was solely responsible for his crimes, she failed to sufficiently investigate his background or understand the kind of person he was.
The Norwegian royal palace confirmed that the crown princess stayed for four days at Epstein’s residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on one occasion, visiting through a mutual friend. During the visit, she met Epstein at his home.
Another meeting reportedly took place on the Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, where Crown Prince Haakon greeted Epstein for the first and only time. The palace stressed that Crown Princess Mette-Marit never visited Epstein’s private island, where many of the alleged abuses later occurred.
The crown princess had previously acknowledged in 2019 that she regretted her contact with Epstein, saying she would not have engaged with him had she known the seriousness of his criminal conduct.
Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. In 2008, he pleaded guilty in Florida to procuring a minor for prostitution, a conviction critics have long described as a “sweetheart deal.”
Victims have accused Epstein of running a vast sex trafficking network involving powerful and wealthy individuals. The case remains politically sensitive in the United States, with lawmakers and victims’ advocates continuing to call for full transparency over his associates and any facilitators of his crimes.
Other European royals mentioned
The newly released files also reference Sweden’s Princess Sofia. Swedish daily Expressen reported that she was invited as Epstein’s guest to a private Broadway screening in New York in 2012, before her marriage to Prince Carl Philip in 2015.
The invitation reportedly detailed seating arrangements and specified that the event would take place without media presence. The documents also include a 2010 photograph of Sofia sent to Epstein by businesswoman Barbro Ehnbom, who ran a network for “young and ambitious women.”
The Swedish Royal Court has previously said Princess Sofia met Epstein on a few occasions around 2005 and has had no contact with him for the past 20 years.
Denmark’s King Frederik, who was crown prince at the time, is also mentioned in the files. According to Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, his name appeared in emails exchanged between Epstein and businessman Ian Osborne in March 2012, and again in July 2012 in connection with a private dinner attended by 22 people. It remains unclear whether King Frederik attended any of the events.
