Mette-Marit's contact with Epstein

Gahr Støre: Mette-Marit has shown poor judgment

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit and former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland have shown poor judgment. This is what Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre says after the latest release of Epstein documents, reports Norwegian media.

The documents have shown that both Mette-Marit and Jagland have had frequent contact with the now deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In both cases, the contact with Epstein has also been closer and more intimate than previously known, writes NRK.

- The Crown Princess has herself stated that she has shown poor judgment, something I agree with. I think Thorbjørn Jagland has also done that, says Støre.

"Worst imaginable time" for the princess' Epstein affair

That Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit had closer contact than previously known with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is a scandal that comes at the "worst imaginable time" for the Norwegian court. This is what journalist Eva Grinde tells NRK.

The court is already grappling with a crisis. On Tuesday, the trial of Mette-Marit's son, the bonus prince Marius Borg Høiby, who is charged with over 30 crimes, four of which are rapes, begins.

Eva Grinde describes it as Mette-Marit helping to build Epstein's tarnished reputation after his sex crime conviction in 2008. She sees it as unlikely that the Crown Princess was unaware of the crimes. Trust is damaged, says Grinde.

Mette-Marit herself describes the whole thing as embarrassing, but both historian Trond Norén Isaksen and royal expert Ole-Jørgen Schulsrud think it is worse than that.

- This is not just bad judgment, but a lack of judgment, says Trond Norén Isaksen.