Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit addresses Epstein ties in first interview

Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has broken her silence on her past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, stating in a 20-minute interview with public broadcaster NRK that she “wishes she had never met him” while acknowledging she failed to scrutinise his background.

The interview, conducted at the royal residence Skaugum and published on Thursday, marks the princess’s first detailed response since court documents linking her to Epstein were released seven weeks ago. She cited family obligations and her ongoing health struggles—requiring extensive rest—as reasons for the delay.

“I was manipulated and deceived,” Mette-Marit said, emphasising that her primary concern lies with Epstein’s victims. “What enrages me is that they still haven’t received justice.” She added that any role she may have played in lending Epstein legitimacy “weighs heavily” on her.

When questioned about a 2011 email in which she wrote to Epstein, “Googled you after your last email,” followed by “Didn’t look good,” the princess admitted she could not recall specifics. “I don’t remember what I saw—it was 15 years ago,” she said, though she insisted she would have severed contact had she known about his crimes. Pressed on whether she had seen his criminal record, which was publicly available at the time, she replied: “I didn’t know he was a sex offender.”

Mette-Marit described her connection to Epstein as stemming from mutual acquaintances in global health and philanthropy—“people I trusted.” She declined to name the friend who introduced them, stating, “I won’t blame others. The responsibility for not investigating further is mine alone.”

Characterising their exchanges as “friendly but not intimate,” she dismissed suggestions that their email tone was inappropriate. “I experienced it as camaraderie, nothing more,” she said.

The princess also addressed her 2013 stay at Epstein’s Palm Beach estate, which occurred after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor. She explained that she visited at the invitation of a shared friend but expressed deep regret: “Since 2019, when the full extent of his abuses became known, I’ve grappled with immense guilt for the victims.”

Norway’s royal household has faced mounting pressure to clarify the nature of Mette-Marit’s ties to Epstein, whose name appeared alongside hers in recently unsealed US court documents. The princess, who has battled chronic illness for years, reiterated that her health remains fragile, requiring “a lot of rest.”