Overview
- Crown Princess Mette‑Marit expressed regret and accepted responsibility for not probing Epstein’s past, while saying she neither knew he was a sex offender nor witnessed illegal conduct, and she faces no criminal accusations.
- The DOJ files show contact between 2011 and 2014, a four‑day stay at his Palm Beach home in 2013, and a 2011 email in which she wrote that a Google search of him “didn’t look too good,” apparently clashing with earlier accounts.
- Sitting beside her, Crown Prince Haakon voiced support; she said an encounter in 2013 left her feeling unsafe and that she later ended the relationship.
- The revelations have drawn an unusual rebuke from Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and fueled calls for a fuller account, as polling shows support for the monarchy fell to 60% in February from 70% in January.
- The interview aired as court hearings in the rape case against her son Marius Borg Høiby concluded, with a verdict due in June, and was kept brief due to her chronic lung illness.