Mette-Marit’s relationship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein comes as her son faces trial for rape and assault. The Epstein scandal is also affecting high-profile politicians in other European countries.
In a statement published by the Royal Family on Friday, the crown princess said she was sorry “for the situation I have put the Royal Family in, especially the King and Queen.”
“It is important for me to apologize to all of you whom I have disappointed,” she said. “Some of the content of the messages between Epstein and me does not represent the person I want to be.”
What do the Epstein files say about the Norwegian crown princess?
The latest tranche of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — known as the “Epstein files” — was released last week by the US Justice Department.
Mette-Marit was mentioned hundreds of times in the documents, which include e-mail exchanges with Epstein that reveal an unexpectedly close friendship between them that continued for years, even after Epstein had been convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
A person’s name being mentioned in the Epstein files does not necessarily imply any wrongdoing.
Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. Authorities ruled his death to be a suicide.
Mette-Marit admitted that year to having had contacts with Epstein, telling Norwegian media that she had shown “poor judgment” and regretted having “any contact” with the late financier. “It is simply embarrassing,” she said.
Scandal-hit Mette-Marit in the spotlight
While Norway’s royals are generally popular in the Nordic country, Mette-Marit’s previous relationships with convicted drug offenders caused a stir when she married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001.
The fresh revelations stemming from last week’s release of documents have raised more questions in Norway about whether Mette-Marit, who was born into a working-class family, is fit to be queen.
The revelations in the Epstein files come with Mette-Marit and the royal family already under intense media scrutiny.
Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, her son from a relationship before she married the Crown Prince, is currently on trial for 38 charges, including domestic violence and rape.
Hoiby is accused of raping four women and assaulting ex-partners, as well as drug possession.
What has Norway’s Crown Prince said?
Speaking on the sidelines of an official royal visit on Friday, Haakon said the royals “support Marius.”
He also acknowledged that many people want to hear from Mette-Marit, who suffers from a chronic lung condition that will require a lung transplant.
“She thinks that is completely natural. She would like to speak, but right now she can’t. And I also tell her that she is not allowed to,” Haakon said.
“She needs time to gather herself, and then she would like to say more about the matter, and we hope people understand that she needs a bit of time,” the crown prince added.
Epstein scandal spreads across Europe
The Epstein scandal has also ensnared other high-profile Norwegians, including former prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland and former foreign minister Borge Brende, the current CEO of the World Economic Forum.
Brende and Jagland have both said they are cooperating with investigators.
The latest revelations from the Epstein files have also sent shockwaves through other European nations, including the United Kingdom, where police on Friday raided properties linked to Peter Mandelson as part of a probe into misconduct in public office.
The Epstein files released last week show that Mandelson had extensive ties to Epstein. They also suggested that Mandelson had leaked UK government documents to the disgraced financier, and that Epstein had made payments to Mandelson and his husband.
Mandelson, a former Labour Party politician, was appointed US ambassador by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in 2024.
With his future looking increasingly uncertain, Starmer apologized on Thursday for that appointment and for “believing Mandelson’s lies” to him about the scope of his relationship with Epstein.
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/epstein-files-norway-crown-princess-mette-marit-apologizes/a-75848513
