Norway's crown princess apologizes for contact with Jeffrey Epstein

By Melike Pala

BRUSSELS (AA) - Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has expressed regret over her contact with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, describing it as "simply embarrassing," following the public release of new documents in the Epstein case.

On Friday, over three million documents related to Epstein were made public. Crown Princess Mette-Marit's name appears several hundred times in the released material, which includes email correspondence between her and Epstein.

In a statement to broadcaster NRK on Saturday night, the crown princess said: "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."

"Jeffrey Epstein is responsible for his actions. I must take responsibility for not checking Epstein's background better and for not understanding quickly enough what kind of person he was," she added.

The palace confirmed that Crown Princess Mette-Marit stayed at Epstein's Palm Beach, Florida, residence for four days on one occasion, visiting through a mutual friend.

During this visit, she met Epstein at his home. Another meeting reportedly occurred on the Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, where Crown Prince Haakon greeted Epstein for the first and only time.

The palace emphasized that the crown princess never visited Epstein's private island, where many of the abuses he was later charged with allegedly took place.

The crown princess had previously acknowledged in 2019 that she regretted having had contact with Epstein, stating she would not have engaged with him had she been aware of the seriousness of his criminal actions.

Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He pleaded guilty in a court in the state of Florida and was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, but critics call the conviction a "sweetheart deal."

His victims have alleged that he operated a sprawling sex trafficking network that was used by members of the wealthy and political elite.

Epstein's case has remained a politically charged issue in the US, with lawmakers and victims’ advocates from across the spectrum demanding greater transparency about his network of associates and any individuals who may have facilitated his crimes.

- Swedish princess, Danish king also mentioned in Epstein files

The newly released files also reference Sweden's Princess Sofia. According to Swedish daily Expressen, Sofia was invited to a private Broadway screening in New York in 2012 as Epstein's guest, before marrying Prince Carl Philip in 2015 and becoming a princess of Sweden.

The invitation specified seating and that the event would occur without media presence.

The documents further 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 stated that Sofia met Epstein on a few occasions around 2005 and had not had contact with him in the past 20 years.

Denmark's King Frederik, who was crown prince at the time, is also mentioned in the files.

According to the Danish daily Ekstra Bladet, he appeared in emails between Epstein and businessman Ian Osborne in March 2012.

He is mentioned again in July 2012 in connection with a private dinner attended by 22 people. It is unclear whether King Frederik attended any of these events.