Norway’s prime minister has called on crown princess Mette-Marit to comment on the “truth” of her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after criticising her “poor judgement”.
The princess is mentioned hundreds of times in the latest, 3.5 million-page tranche of the Epstein files released by the US justice department last week.
Dozens of emails were traded between the crown princess and the convicted sex offender, appearing to show that they were in contact between 2011 and 2014.
This contradicted previous claims by the Norwegian royal family that contact had been broken off in 2013, according to Norwegian outlet VG.
In a June 2014 email, Epstein asks Mette-Marit: “do i get to see you in ny [New York]”, to which the crown princess responds that she thinks “Tuesday will work”.
"I showed poor judgement and regret having any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing,” Mette-Marit said of her email exchange with Epstein, before she went on to express her "deep sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the abuses committed by Jeffrey Epstein".
Prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said on Sunday that Mette-Marit showed “poor judgement” in their relationship with the late sex offender.
Speaking on Monday morning, he told VG that she should “comment on the truth about what happened”.
“Here you can tell the extent of the contacts that have taken place. They should clarify the matter. I expect them to do so,” he said, adding that “those mentioned here should come up with good answers”.
In her statement, Mette-Marit added: “Jeffrey Epstein is personally responsible for his actions. I must take responsibility for not checking Epstein's background more closely and for not understanding quickly enough what kind of person he was. I deeply regret that, and this is a responsibility I must take.”
The cache of files also revealed that Mette-Marit spent four days in Epstein’s house in Palm Beach, Miami in January 2013. Another email from the crown princess’ email account showed Epstein being asked if a mother should suggest for her son’s wallpaper naked women carrying a surfboard.
Another message reportedly implies that she was aware of his initial jail term in 2008 despite later contacts.
The palace has noted that it previously provided an incorrect timeline of Mette-Marit’s relationship with Epstein. A communications manager told VG: “Unfortunately, we remembered the exact time of this a little incorrectly in the previous round.”
The latest scandal for Norway’s royal family comes the day before Ms Mette-Marit’s son, Marius Borg Høiby, goes on a seven-week trial on 38 charges including rape and assault.
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