Can Crown Princess Mette-Marit recover from Epstein emails?
Norway's future queen called the convicted paedophile "very charming" and "such a sweetheart"
Norway’s royal family appears to be in crisis mode and we’re just a few weeks into 2026.
Yesterday, Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son Marius Borg Høiby arrived at court in Oslo for the start of his rape trial. The 29-year-old member of the Norwegian royal family is facing 38 charges, including four counts of rape and the domestic abuse of a former partner. Marius has denied the most serious charges against him, including sexual abuse, but he has pleaded guilty to transporting marijuana, violating a restraining order, and violating the Road Traffic Act. He could face up to ten years in prison if found guilty.
Just two days before the start of his trial, which is set to last six weeks, Marius was also arrested on new charges, accused of assault, threats with a knife, and violating a restraining order.
At the same time that Mette-Marit’s son was violating the law, the Crown Princess herself was making headlines of her own. Among the three million documents published by the US Department of Justice on Friday was correspondence between the future queen consort and convicted late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The evidence is damning. In one particular message from 2012, Mette-Marit wrote to Epstein: "You always make me smile because you tickle my brain." In another, she called Epstein "very charming" and "such a sweetheart".
In 2011, she emailed Epstein, who registered as a sex offender after a 2008 case, telling him: "Googled u after last email. Agree didn't look too good : )." She also asked him in 2012 if it was "inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for" her then-15-year-old son's wallpaper.
Mette-Marit also met Epstein both at his home and in Oslo, several years after he admitted to sexual abuse.
Shedding more light on their friendship, in one email from 2012, Mette-Marit criticised the wedding of Grand Duke Guillame and Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg. When Epstein asked her how the wedding was, she replied: "Boring wedding. Was like some kind of old movie. Where you know the characters are not hanging around for much long[er]."
Fit for a queen?
Following the scandals rocking the Norwegian royal family, HELLO!'s US Royal News Correspondent Alex Hurtado spoke to Niklas Kokkinn-Thoresen, editor in chief of Se og Hør Norway, who highlighted the “ongoing debate” about whether Mette-Marit can become queen after this.
"The revelations of the past few days place the Crown Princess in a very bad light and, not least, cast doubt on her honesty toward the Norwegian people. The Epstein case will definitely affect the monarchy – and especially her – in a negative way," Niklas says.
“There is already an ongoing debate about whether Mette-Marit can become queen after this, and she has also lost her patronage of one association, while several others are considering whether she can retain her patronage of their organizations.”
Niklas believes it's "crucial" that the Crown Princess come forward and fully disclose her interactions with Epstein.
"The contact she has had with him appears both intimate and shocking. Therefore, it is important that she herself explains how this could have happened."
A royal apology
Mette-Marit, who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018 and is set to undergo a lung transplant, issued a statement following the surfaced emails.
"Jeffrey Epstein is solely responsible for his actions," she said. "I must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly, and for not realising sooner what kind of person he was.
"I deeply regret this, and it is a responsibility I must bear. I showed poor judgment and regret having had any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing. I wish to express my deep sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the abuse committed by Jeffrey Epstein."
In 2019, Mette-Marit also told DN: "I would never have had anything to do with Epstein if I had been aware of the seriousness of his criminal acts. I should have investigated Epstein's past more closely, and I regret that I did not."
Norway’s future queen consort has apologised in public, but can she ever really recover from these emails? Coupled with her son’s ongoing rape trial, the stability of the Norwegian royal family seems fragile at best.
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I honestly don't know what to think about the Crown Princess. The whole situation is awful, bizarre and probably very hard to recover from. She clearly should have known and done better. I am astonished regarding her comments on the (now) Grand Duchal couple. How cruel and unbecoming of her and her role. Genuinely shocking.
At a loss for words here. I agree 100 percent with what Wishingstar343 said. I think the Crown Princess will spend the rest of her life repenting for her poor judgment. Now my question here is HOW will she redeem herself? I really feel bad for the King and the Queen, her husband, her daughter Ingrid Alexandra and her son Sverre Magnus. Still in shock from these revelations.