Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit said Friday, February 6, she "deeply regretted" her friendship with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the embarrassment it has caused the royal family.
"I deeply regret my friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. It is important for me to apologize 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."
