The Crown Princess of Norway issued an apology on Monday for meeting with deceased paedophile Jeffrey Epstein following a previous incarceration in the US.
After pressure from the Swedish Dagens Næringsliv (DN) newspaper, Guri Varpe, a spokeswoman for the Norwegian royal, said that that crown princess was unaware of the full extent of Epstein’s crimes.
The statement read:
"I never would have associated with Mr. Epstein if I had been aware of the seriousness of the crimes he committed. I should have investigated his past more thoroughly, and I am sorry that I didn’t".
Varpe, who serves as communications chief for the Norwegian Royal Palace, claimed that there were others present at all meetings between the two.
She told DN that, "One of the meetings was at Epstein’s home. In addition, the crown princess had a brief meeting with Epstein once when he was in Oslo".
"The crown princess did not, of course, know about the offences that were later revealed, either".
According to the statement, she willingly chose to end her contact with Epstein in 2013 "because she had the impression among other things that Epstein tried to use the connection he’d had with the crown princess in regards to other people".
She also reportedly hit out against another European royal - Prince Andrew - surrounding reports that he was involved with similar sexual encounters along with Epstein.
Princess Mette-Marit had several meetings with the deceased sexual predator between 2011-2013, after being introduced by 'mutual friends', according to reports.
The meetings took place in social settings and almost entirely in the US, as well as one occurrence in Norway, occurring after Epstein was convicted of sexual offences, including soliciting a child for prostitution in 2008, according to DN.
Epstein was reportedly alone, awaiting trial by US federal authorities, in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 before being found hanged, despite having been under constant monitoring.