Norwegian princess says she was ‘targeted’ by Epstein in new interview – National
The Princess of Norway, Mette-Marit, said on Friday that she regrets her friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after the publication of many letters between the two in recent weeks.
The US Department of Justice’s recent release of millions of documents related to Epstein revealed the scandalous financier’s ties to many powerful and influential people, including the crown princess, among other high-ranking politicians, business executives and diplomats.
In an interview Friday with Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, the crown princess said she was “tricked and deceived” by Epstein.
“Yes, I wish I had never met him,” he added.
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The files revealed consistent connections between the royal family and Epstein, including after he was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2008. Previous documents had shown a connection between the two, but files released earlier this year revealed more of the relationship than previously known.
The 52-year-old crown princess has never been accused of any criminal activity related to Epstein.
On Friday, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said it was important for Mette-Marit to answer questions about her relationship with Epstein.
“He regretted his contact with her and he really did. He took responsibility for not investigating his background,” he said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The princess, married to Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne, maintained contact with Epstein from 2011 to 2014, and stayed at his Palm Beach home for four days on a private trip in 2013, Justice Department files show.
“He used the fact that we had a mutual friend, and that I am delusional. I like to believe good things about people. But I also chose to stop communicating with him,” said Mette-Marit.
“I have never seen anything illegal,” he told NRK.
In another email from October 2011, Mette-Marit wrote to Epstein that she had sent him to google following his conviction, where she admitted it “doesn’t look very good,” and signed off with a smiley face.
When asked about the email by NRK, Mette-Marit said she did not remember why she wrote it.
“But if I had received information that made me realize that he is a persecutor and that he was sexually harassing, I would not have written a smiling face after that,” he said during an interview on Friday.
The palace princess has been ill recently and is suffering from an incurable lung disease that will eventually require a lung transplant.
He is also hosting the end of the trial of his eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby, from a previous relationship, who is accused of rape and sexual abuse.
– With files from Reuters
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