Norway crown princess 'deeply regrets' Epstein friendship
A commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, Mette-Marit's name appears in new Epstein documents released a week ago by the US Justice Department. The documents revealed an unexpectedly close friendship between the two and raised questions in Norway about whether Mette-Marit can become queen.
"I deeply regret my friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. It is important for me to apologise to all of those whom I have disappointed ... I also regret the situation I have put the royal family in, especially the king and queen," she said in a statement from the palace.
It added that the crown princess, 52, wished to tell more and explain herself in detail.
"She can't do that now," it said, noting that she was in a "very demanding situation".
The mention of someone's name in the US files does not necessarily imply wrongdoing.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
In 2011, Mette-Marit wrote to Epstein that she had "googled" him, adding "it didn't look too good" and ending the sentence with a smiling emoji.
In 2012, when Epstein told Mette-Marit he was in Paris "on (a) wife hunt", she replied that the French capital is "good for adultery" and "Scandis (are) better wife material".
A poll this week showed almost half of Norwegians said she should not become queen, and less than a third backed her.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has urged the princess to explain the many emails she exchanged with the US business tycoon between 2011 and 2014 -- more than a decade after her marriage to Haakon.
The revelations have damaged her reputation, at a time when she is dealing with a trial against her 29-year-old son from a relationship before she married the crown prince.
Marius Borg Hoiby faces 38 charges, including raping four women and assaulting ex-girlfriends, and faces up to 16 years in prison.
The crown princess also suffers from an incurable lung disease and will likely need a lung transplant in the future.
Other high-profile Norwegians have been caught up in the Epstein scandal, including the CEO of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende, and former prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland, who is being investigated for "aggravated corruption".