Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has issued an apology following revelations about her friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, contained in documents released by the US Department of Justice.
The 52-year-old royal, who wed Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, had seemingly maintained email correspondence with the disgraced financier over a three-year period despite being aware of his criminal past.
According to Norwegian media reports, her name features approximately 1,000 times within the millions of newly unsealed Epstein files.
"I showed poor judgment and I deeply regret having had any contact with Epstein. It is simply embarrassing," the Crown Princess said in a statement through the royal palace on Saturday.
Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has issued an apology following revelations about her friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, contained in documents released by the US Department of Justice.
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The documents reveal that their email exchanges occurred between 2011 and 2014.
By 2011, Epstein had already entered a guilty plea for soliciting a minor for prostitution, a conviction dating back to 2008.
The Crown Princess acknowledged in one email that year that she had searched for information about him online, writing that it "didn't look too good" and accompanying the remark with a smiling emoji.
She described the financier as "very charming" and appeared to have met him on no fewer than three separate occasions across Oslo, New York and the Caribbean between 2011 and 2013.
According to Norwegian media reports, her name features approximately 1,000 times within the millions of newly unsealed Epstein files.
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The released files also indicate that Mette-Marit spent four days as a guest at Epstein's Florida residence in 2013.
The Crown Princess accepted responsibility "for not having checked Epstein's background more closely and not understanding quickly enough what kind of person he was."
Royal expert and historian Ole-Jorgen Schulsrud-Hansen observed that the correspondence "almost gives the impression that they were close friends," though he acknowledged the wider context of the messages remained unclear.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store weighed in on Sunday, stating he "agreed" the Crown Princess had erred in her judgment.
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"A Crown Princess is never a private person," he remarked, adding: "This shows in any case a lack of judgment and that all the 'safety catches' around her also failed."
The palace has explained that Mette-Marit terminated contact with Epstein in 2014 after concluding he was attempting to exploit his connection with her to gain influence with others.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store weighed in on Sunday, stating he "agreed" the Crown Princess had erred in her judgment.
GB News has contacted the Norwegian Palace for comment.
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