Norway’s prime minister condemns Crown Princess Mette-Marit 

Norway’s prime minister has delivered an unusually blunt public rebuke to the country’s future queen after newly released US justice department files revealed the scale and tone of Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s contact with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Jonas Gahr Støre said he agreed with the crown princess’s own admission that she had exercised “poor judgment” in maintaining a relationship with Epstein, a remark that has been widely interpreted in Oslo as an implicit criticism of the royal household. Senior politicians in Norway rarely comment directly on the conduct of working royals.

The latest tranche of Epstein material, unsealed on Friday, reportedly contains hundreds of references to Mette-Marit between 2011 and 2014, including a series of warm and informal email exchanges. Norwegian media say the correspondence continued years after Epstein had pleaded guilty in Florida to offences involving a minor and served a brief jail sentence.

In a statement issued by the royal palace on Saturday, the crown princess said she regretted “having any contact with Epstein at all”, describing it as “simply embarrassing”. She added that she wished to express her “deep sympathy and solidarity” with his victims.

The disclosures have landed at a moment of acute sensitivity for the monarchy. On Tuesday, a seven-week criminal trial is due to begin in Oslo involving Mette-Marit’s eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby, who faces 38 charges including rape, sexual assault and drug offences. Høiby, who was born before his mother married Crown Prince Haakon and holds no royal title, denies the most serious allegations. If convicted, he could face a lengthy prison sentence.

According to the files, Mette-Marit spent four days at Epstein’s Palm Beach property in January 2013, although he was not present at the time. The emails themselves, which Norwegian commentators have described as startlingly familiar, include flirtatious language, discussions about meeting up and a message asking Epstein whether it would be inappropriate for a mother to suggest “two naked women carrying a surfboard” as wallpaper for her teenage son.

One exchange suggests the princess was aware of Epstein’s 2008 conviction, while another indicates she had searched for information about him online and found it troubling. The palace has said she cut off written contact in 2014 after becoming concerned that Epstein was attempting to exploit his association with her.

Støre also criticised a former prime minister, Thorbjørn Jagland, after it emerged that he had once planned – but later cancelled – a family holiday on Epstein’s private island. The intervention underlined the depth of political unease prompted by the revelations.

The royal family has endured a series of controversies in recent years, from the commercial ventures of Princess Märtha Louise to now, as Norwegians prepare for Høiby’s trial, renewed scrutiny of Mette-Marit’s judgment and the advice she received from aides.

Adding to the strain, the crown princess is suffering from pulmonary fibrosis and has been placed on a list in preparation for a possible lung transplant.

No member of the royal family is expected to attend the trial. Speaking emotionally last week, Crown Prince Haakon said the family’s “thoughts are with everyone who is affected by this case”, adding that while his stepson was not a member of the royal household, “we care about him, and he is an important member of our family”.

For a monarchy built on approachability and public trust, the convergence of a major criminal trial and damaging revelations about past associations has placed the institution under its harshest spotlight in decades.