Inside Mette-Marit of Norway's cosy friendship with Epstein
The Norwegian royal family is enduring one of the toughest weeks in its history, after newly released emails exposed the bond between its future Queen and Jeffrey Epstein - with one suggesting she was still in contact with the late paedophile financier just months before his suicide.While it was known that Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 52, had corresponded with Epstein, the intimacy of the new emails blows apart any suggestion that the pair were mere associates - with the late paedophile referring to her as 'twisted' and 'not your typical royal'.Meanwhile, the mother-of-three, who married Norway's future King, Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, referred to the disgraced financier as 'sweetheart'.In one eyebrow-raising exchange, mutual friend Boris Nikolić, a former adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, asked Epstein is the pair were going to have a baby together.Nikolić, who references the Norwegian royal in several emails and appears to speculate about her mental and physical health, wrote in April 2012: 'What happened with Mette now? She wants to carry your kid?'Epstein's reply was: 'Mette Marit is a mess'.The latest revelations, which the Crown Princess said in a statement this week were 'embarrassing' and 'showed poor judgement', has put immense strain on the Norwegian monarchy, coming in the same week that Mette-Marit's son goes on trial for the rape of four women.The emails, sent between 2011 and 2014, show Mette-Marit continued to write to the late paedophile financier despite knowing he had been jailed for procuring an underage girl for prostitution. Regret: Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway apologised for her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after emails released on Friday illuminated the pair's close relationship. (Pictured with her son, Marius Borg Hoiby, who is on trial this week charged with the rape of four women) Correspondence between Jeffrey Epstein (pictured) and Boris Nikolić, a former adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, suggest a meeting between the two men and Crown Princess Mette-Marit was set to happen in 2019 Just eight months before Epstein's suicide in August 2019, an email from Boris Nikolić appears to suggest Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Epstein are still in contact One of Mette-Marit's emails that featured in the Epstein files; the pair appear to have shared a much closer relationship that was previously acknowledged by the Royal Palace in Norway Another email released sent by Boris Nikolić in November 2011 to Epstein joked that Mette-Marit 'wants to carry your kid?' A further correspondence between the two men describes the Crown Princess as 'twisted'They also spent time together in New York when she was on official royal duties in the absence of her husband, although there is no suggestion that she stayed at any of Epstein's properties.In one email released, dated Christmas Day 2018, just eight months before Epstein's suicide, Nikolić suggests he may have been planning to meet the Crown Princess and Epstein in Palm Beach in 2019.Referring to apparent eye procedures he was undergoing at the time, Nikolić wrote in the early evening email: 'Eyes started on January 7 or so (I was planning to fly from SF to West Palm Beach to meet Mette and you!)'The 52-year-old royal's name appeared at least 1,000 times in the millions of new Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice on Friday. Today, Mette-Marit's son, Marius Borg Hoiby, is in court charged with raping four women and 34 other offences. He denies the most serious charges. On Sunday, the 29-year-old stepson of the future King was arrested on suspicion of assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order, Norwegian Police confirmed. Another message from Nikolic, dated March 2011, appears to speculate about the health of Norway's future QueenThe latest Epstein files have proved deeply uncomfortable for the Crown Princess; in the missives she tells Epstein he's ‘soft-hearted’ and says 'you tickle my brain’ and the pair frequently discuss meeting up in person. Some correspondence was signed off by Mette-Marit using informal, shortened versions of her name, including 'Mm' and 'Mette m'. In another email, Norway's future Queen refers to her disgraced billionaire friend as ‘such a sweetheart’. In another email, which was sent from the account H.K.H. Kronprinsessen - Norwegian for Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess, Mette-Marit asked Epstein if it was 'inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15 yr old son's wallpaper'. She also joked about Epstein's love life, suggesting to the convicted paedophile that Paris was 'good for adultery' but that ‘Scandis [are] better wife material'.One Norwegian newspaper editor this week speculated whether the Crown Princess's links to Epstein could derail her hopes of becoming the country's Queen. Trouble in Oslo: Mette-Marit, pictured on her wedding day holding Marius in 2001, will see her 29-year-old son go on trial for rape today Crown Princess Mette-Marit is seen in 2024 with her husband Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, who she married in 2001. She released a statement this week saying she had showed 'poor judgment' in her dealings with Epstein Emails revealed the Norwegian royal and Epstein frequently discussed meeting in person; Mette-Marit is said to have stayed in his Palm Beach mansion, pictured, for four days in 2013When the allegations against her son Marius Borg Hoiby first emerged in 2024, only 27 per cent of Norwegians said they wanted the Crown Princess to become Queen, a figure that is unlikely to improve given the release of the latest batch of Epstein files. It's thought Mette-Marit was a guest at Epstein's Palm Beach estate in Florida in 2013, although the late criminal was not said to be at the property during the Norwegian royal's stay. Elsewhere, further emails that appear to be about Crown Princess Mette-Marit between Epstein and Nikolić discuss the health of Norway's future Queen. In one exchange, Nikolić tells Epstein: 'Presumably she is not well at all', adding: 'I would hate that life - it is much worse than what we thought'.Mette-Marit announced in October 2018 that she has the chronic lung disease, pulmonary fibrosis, and is likely to undergo a lung transplant if the condition deteriorates further. However, some have speculated that the emails between Nikolić and Epstein suggest a reference to mental health as well as physical.On Saturday, Mette-Marit addressed her 'embarrassing' friendship with the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes against minors. 'I showed poor judgment and I deeply regret having had any contact with Epstein. It is simply embarrassing,' she said in a statement sent by the royal palace. The 52-year-old said she was responsible 'for not having checked Epstein's background more closely and not understanding quickly enough what kind of person he was'.Yet in 2011, Mette-Marit wrote to Epstein that she had 'googled' him, adding 'it didn't look too good' and ending the sentence with a smiling emoji.She did not specify exactly what she was referring to. Mette-Marit of Norway said in statement via the palace that she was not aware of the seriousness of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes (seen in 2013) but newly released emails suggest the pair were still in contact even in 2018, a year before Epstein's death Epstein was facing spending the rest of his life in prison when he died in jail in what was ruled suicide in August 2019 The scandals to hit the royal family left one Norwegian political editor this week speculating whether the Crown Princess' links to Epstein could derail her hopes of becoming the country's Queen (Marius Borg Hoiby sitting next to his mother in 2022)According to the palace, Mette-Marit had ceased contact with Epstein in 2014 because she felt he was 'trying to use his relationship with the crown princess as leverage with other people'.'It almost gives the impression that they were close friends,' historian and royal expert Ole-Jorgen Schulsrud-Hansen said.He noted however the broader context of the messages was unknown.'A Crown Princess is never a private person,' he said.'This shows in any case a lack of judgment and that all the 'safety catches' around her also failed.'On Sunday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said he 'agreed' that Mette-Marit had made an error in judgment.Norwegian political editor Kjetil B. Alstadheim, who works for one of the country's most influential newspapers, Aftenposten, suggested in a column this weekend that the royal family may not recover from the revelations, writing: 'Can Mette-Marit become queen after this?'The timing of the public release of the emails she sent in the Epstein files could not be worse for Mette-Marit.On Tuesday, her 29-year-old son Marius Borg Hoiby, born from a relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, goes on trial at Oslo's district court.He is accused of allegedly committing 38 crimes, including the rape of four women as well as assault and drug offences.He could face up to 16 years in jail if found guilty. Hoiby denies the most serious charges.The royal couple will not attend the seven-week trial, and Crown Prince Haakon told reporters that Mette-Marit would be away on a private trip during that period.Long considered a 'commoner' by the Norwegian public, Mette-Marit was born to a journalist father called Sven Olaf Bjarte Høiby and Marit Tjessem, a former bank clerk. Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been pictured for the first time since her son was arrested after a serious incident on August 4 After Crown Prince Haakon revealed his relationship with Mette-Marit to the public, he came under intense public scrutiny Pictured: Marius Borg Hoiby of Norway and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway in Oslo in December, 2017She moved in with her mother after her parents divorced when she was young, while her father went on to marry a much younger stripper.It was during her time at the University of Oslo that she experienced a self-professed 'youth rebellion', where she was no stranger to attending parties where guests dabbled in recreational drugs.Years later, during a press conference before she wed Haakon, Mette-Marit admitted to her past 'wild life'.She said: 'My youth rebellion was much stronger than many others. That resulted in me living quite a wild life,' before she went on deplore drug use.During her rebellious phase, Mette-Marit was in a relationship with Morten Borg, who was convicted of violence, drunk driving, and cocaine possession, according to Observer. The pair went on to have Marius together in January 1997.It was after the birth of Marius that Mette-Marit met Haakon, with the pair first crossing paths via mutual friends in 1999.A romance blossomed between the two, but when Haakon introduced Mette-Marit to the public, many Norwegians were horrified about her past, deeming her an unfit partner for the heir apparent.The pair's decision to live with each other before marriage was also subject to controversy, given that once Haakon becomes King, he will be head of the Lutheran church, which is opposed to cohabitation outside matrimony.
