Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said he agrees with Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s admission that she showed “poor judgement” in maintaining contact with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after newly released U.S. Justice Department files revealed extensive correspondence between them.
The documents show that the crown princess appeared hundreds of times in Epstein-related records between 2011 and 2014, including email exchanges that began years after Epstein had served jail time and was a registered sex offender.
In a statement issued Saturday, Mette-Marit said she regretted the contact and described it as “simply embarrassing,” while expressing sympathy for Epstein’s victims.
Støre also said former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland exercised poor judgement after it emerged he had once planned, but later cancelled, a family trip to Epstein’s private island.
The revelations come at a sensitive moment for Norway’s royal family, days before the start of a seven-week trial involving Mette-Marit’s son, Marius Borg Høiby, who faces multiple charges including rape and assault. He denies the most serious allegations.
No members of the royal family are expected to attend the trial, which begins Tuesday in Oslo
