AdvertisementNorway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit watches a parade on the occasion of Norway's Constitution Day, at Skaugum, their official residence, near Oslo on May 17, 2023. (File photo: AP/Lise Aserud)20 Mar 2026 07:37PM (Updated: 20 Mar 2026 07:44PM) Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInAdd CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.Read a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST OSLO: Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit said she was "manipulated" by convicted United States sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in an interview broadcast on Friday (Mar 20) in which she sought to explain their close relationship.A commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, Mette-Marit's name appears multiple times in Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice earlier this year.The files revealed an unexpectedly close friendship between the pair and raised questions in Norway about whether Mette-Marit can become queen, with recent polls showing that a majority of Norwegians oppose the idea."Of course I wish I had never met him," she told public broadcaster NRK during the roughly 20-minute interview.Show MoreShow Less"It is extremely important for me to acknowledge that I did not look into his past more carefully, and also to acknowledge that I was manipulated and deceived to such an extent," she said.She also sought to squash speculation about the nature of her relationship to Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking."It was a friendly relationship: above all, he was a friend to me. But if your question is whether the relationship had another nature, the answer is no," she said.Mette-Marit has previously said in written statements that she deeply regretted her relationship with the disgraced financier.France opens Epstein probes into human trafficking and tax fraudBill Gates says he regrets 'every minute' with Jeffrey EpsteinSMILEY AND TEARSAccording to email exchanges published in the Norwegian media, Mette-Marit wrote to Epstein in 2011 that she had "googled" him, adding "it didn't look too good" and ending the sentence with a smiley emoji.Epstein had been convicted three years earlier and served just over a year in prison.Speaking to NRK, with tears occasionally welling up in her eyes and her husband Crown Prince Haakon seated next to her, Mette-Marit said she did not remember that specific email.In 2012, when Epstein told Mette-Marit he was in Paris "on (a) wife hunt", she replied that the French capital is "good for adultery" and "Scandis (are) better wife material".And in 2013, she and a friend stayed at Epstein's house in Palm Beach, Florida, for four days.Asked about the seemingly intimate tone of her emails with the financier, Mette-Marit said it was about "friendship" and she found her now published correspondence "embarrassing".She said she ended their friendship after several incidents, the details of which she did not disclose.She felt "a little unsafe" after one of the incidents, Prince Haakon said."I'm not the one to feel sorry for," the princess said. "It's all the victims who've been subjected to these serious abuses who deserve justice."Son of Norway's crown princess cries in court, denies videos on his phone show rapeUS government accused of major 'cover-up' over Trump sex abuse claimsQUESTIONS LEFT UNANSWEREDThis was Mette-Marit's first interview since the magnitude of her contacts with Epstein emerged in January.The 52-year-old princess is already dealing with the legal woes of her son, Marius Borg Hoiby, whose trial ended on Thursday.Born from a relationship prior to her marriage to Haakon in 2001, the 29-year-old is accused of four rapes and assaults against ex-girlfriends, allegations he denies, as well as a slew of other minor offences.Prosecutors have called for a seven-year, seven-month prison sentence, with the verdict due in June.The crown princess also suffers from an incurable lung disease that makes it difficult for her to breathe at times, and she will likely need a risky lung transplant in the future.She delayed speaking out about the nature of her relationship with Epstein because of these reasons, she said."She doesn't concretely answer some of the most difficult questions, the heart of the questions," Harald Stanghelle, a royal commentator for the newspaper of reference Aftenposten, told NRK.Asked about her future role, she replied that she had faith in the monarchy's role and in her husband Haakon, and wanted to "stand by his side"."If my health permits," she quickly added."Mette is caring, wise and really strong," the crown prince said. "That's why I would always want her by my side if something difficult were ever to happen."Source: AFP/dcSign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...