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Mette-Marit says she wishes she had never met Jeffrey Epstein and admits she didn't properly check his background...
Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit told Norwegian public television that she wished she had never met Jeffrey Epstein, breaking a seven-week silence after her contacts with the now-deceased American sex trafficker were revealed.
"I feel very manipulated, and when someone is manipulated, you don't realize it at first," Mette-Marit said in a 20-minute interview, during which she often appeared emotionally moved.
Seven weeks ago, public opinion in Norway learned that the crown princess had exchanged hundreds of emails with Epstein between 2011 and 2014 and had stayed at his home in Florida at a time when he himself was not there.
"What is extremely important to me is to take responsibility for not checking his past more carefully," she said, adding, "I take responsibility for being manipulated and deceived in that way."
Mette-Marit had previously apologized and admitted she had shown "poor judgment" after the close nature of her relationship with Epstein came to light following the release of millions of documents by the US Department of Justice in late January.
"Of course I wish I had never met him," the princess said, stressing that Epstein's victims deserve justice for the severe abuse they suffered. She added that she felt anger that they have not yet received full justice.
Her decision to speak publicly came after strong public and political pressure to provide explanations, including from Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, the BBC reports.
However, during the interview, the princess gave few details and some of her answers were perceived as defensive. In 2011, three years after Epstein was jailed for soliciting sex from minors, she wrote: “I Googled you after your last email. I agree, it didn’t look good.”
Seated alongside her husband, Crown Prince Haakon, Mette-Marit insisted she "did not know he was a sex offender or predator," even though the journalist noted that a Wikipedia article at the time clearly described Epstein as a convicted abuser.
"I don't remember this; it was 15 years ago, to be honest," she said.
The princess admitted that she had trusted Epstein too much. Asked why neither the royal palace nor the foreign office knew about her connections with him, she said that it was a "private contact" and that she did not tell everyone about her private contacts.
When asked why she had spent several days at Epstein's Palm Beach home in 2013, she explained that it was related to a mutual acquaintance, whom she did not identify. "Epstein was a close friend of a good friend of mine," she said.
She mentioned a "situation" that had made her feel uncomfortable on the last day of her stay in that house, but refused to give more details, other than the fact that she had called her husband about the event.
Crown Prince Haakon said he remembered the phone call well and how it made Mette-Marit feel insecure. Despite the episode, the princess continued to maintain contact with Epstein for a period afterward.
“I'm very trusting, I tend to think the best of people,” she said. “But I also decided to end all direct contact with him. And that happened precisely because of episodes like this.”
The interview was recorded on Thursday, the final day of the rape trial of her son, Marius Borg Høiby. The trial began in early February, just days after the release of the Epstein documents, which also named Mette-Marit. The verdict is expected in June, but it is clear that she waited until the trial was over before speaking publicly.
She was also asked if she still had the motivation to continue her royal role. Her health is fragile and the recent revelations about Epstein have raised doubts among many Norwegians about whether she will have the capacity to become queen when Prince Haakon ascends to the throne.
The 52-year-old princess, who suffers from pulmonary fibrosis, clearly said that everything depends on her health condition.
"I live with a serious illness," she said, adding, "this is precisely what determines, quite clearly, whether I can in any way continue to exercise the role that I have, or not."
"I would very much like to stand by his side on that truly important and challenging project, if I have the opportunity, given my health."
Her husband said that, after more than 25 years of marriage, they continue to stay together. "After all, this is our project, which we are doing together." /Adapted from Pamphlet/
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