Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway has publicly apologized for her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The Crown Princess acknowledged her association with Epstein after Norway’s newspaper DN published that Mette-Marit and other Norwegian officials had connections with the convicted pedophile.
“I would never have had anything to do with Epstein if I had been aware of the seriousness of his criminal acts,” Crown Princess Mette-Marit said in a statement to the DN.
“I should have examined Epstein’s past more closely, and I regret that I did not.”
Princess Mette-Marit met with Epstein several times between 2011 and 2013 — after the sex offender served months in jail.
The Crown Princess was introduced to Epstein by a mutual acquaintance.
“She was not aware of the scope, nor the character of the crimes he had been convicted of, and subsequently served time in jail,” Guri Varpe, the Palace’s head of communications, told DN.
“One of the meetings took place at Mr. Epstein’s home. The Crown Princess also had a brief meeting with Mr. Epstein while he was in Oslo.”
She added other attendees were at the meetings.
The Royal Palace declined to comment on which home of Epstein’s she visited.
The palace spokesperson also confirmed the Crown Princess and her husband, Crown Prince Haakon, “ran into Mr. Epstein on the street,” while on vacation in St. Barts in 2012.
“Crown Prince Haakon then met Epstein for the first and only time,” she said.
According to Varpe, the couple cut ties with Epstein in 2013 because they “felt that Mr. Epstein attempted to trade on the relationship he had to the Crown Princess, and use it for his own gain in other relations.”
Princess Mette-Marit’s apology comes weeks after Prince Andrew admitted he had no regrets about his friendship with the deviant during an interview with the BBC.
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