The Norwegian Royal Family, just over a month into 2026, is a long way past writing the year off as a annus horribilis.
Sleepovers at sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s residence is not a unique faux pas among European blue bloods these days. Neither is being forced to distance yourself from a rogue family member blabbing to Netflix about their American lover. But add in your son being rearrested on knife charges the weekend before his rape trial, and the royal subjects might begin to lose their patience.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit was forced to offer a tepid apology for her relationship with Epstein, the deceased financial investor and convicted sex trafficker, following the U.S. Department of Justice’s release of exceptionally unflattering emails between the two.
“Jeffrey Epstein is responsible for his actions. I must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly, and for not realizing sooner what kind of person he was,” she said in a statement from the royal palace on Saturday.
“I showed poor judgment and I deeply regret having had any contact with Epstein,” she wrote. “It is simply embarrassing.”
Mette-Marit’s claim that she should have “investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly” rings all but hollow considering another email she sent Epstein in 2011, approximately three years after he was convicted for procuring a child for prostitution.
“Googled u after last email,” Mette Marit wrote. “Agree didn’t look too good : ).”
Exchanges show that the crown princess borrowed Epstein’s property in Palm Beach, Florida, for multiple days in 2013, which the palace confirmed to Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
Other emails show banter between the two over the course of several years, such as Mette-Marit asking if it is “inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15 yr old son’s wallpaper.”
At another point, she jokes to Epstein — who at the time was on a “wife hunt” in Paris — that the French city is “good for adultery” but that “Scandis [are] better wife material.”
She added: “But then again who am I to talk?”
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere deferred to the crown princess’s own apology when speaking with reporters on Monday, though suggested that further explanation from the palace would be appreciated.
“I am really using her own words,” Stoere said. “She says she has showed bad judgment. I agree and I think it is worth saying that when I am asked my opinion about this.”
He continued: “We have seen that the information that has emerged has shed more light on the matter than what has been said before. It may perhaps be reasonable to say that they should explain the extent of the contacts that have taken place.”
When Crown Prince Haakon announced his intention to marry Mette-Marit in 2000, it was an instantly unpopular decision due to her past, which included multiple romantic relationships with people convicted on drug charges.
Prior to meeting Haakon at a music festival in 1996, she had a son with one of these former lovers — a cocaine trafficker named Morten Borg.
That child, now 29-year-old Marius Borg Høiby, is set to go to trial on Tuesday for 38 criminal charges ranging from multiple rapes to drug possession.
The already shocking situation escalated on Monday, when police announced that Høiby has been detained on new allegations reportedly linked to interactions over the weekend, including assault, threats with a knife, and violating a restraining order.
Høiby, who is not considered a member of the Norwegian Royal Family, will remain in police custody for up to four weeks after an Oslo district court granted the request due to the perceived risk of reoffending.
Crown Prince Haakon released an unexpected statement last week in which he expressed sympathy for those involved while also saying he found it “reassuring to know that we live in a state governed by the rule of law.”
“Our thoughts are with everyone who is affected by this case,” Haakon wrote. “It has an impact on the individuals, their families and all those who care about them. We understand that this is a difficult time for many of you, and we sympathize.”
“We care about him, and he is an important member of our family,” the crown prince said of his step-son. “He is a citizen of Norway and, as such, has the same responsibilities as everyone else — as well as the same rights.”
Høiby’s lawyers have stated that the son of the Crown Princess “denies all charges of sexual abuse, as well as the majority of the charges regarding violence.”
The implosion of the Crown Princess and her son comes just months after Princess Märtha Louise, Haakon’s older sister, appeared in a Netflix documentary called “Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story,” which documents her break from the Royal Family amid her unpopular marriage to American “shaman” Durek Verrett.
Verrett — who describes himself as a “truth teller and energy translator” and whose most popular YouTube video is titled “Sacred Drumming with Horse medicine and Armadilo to clear your path” — married Märtha Louise in 2024 and the documentary about their relationship was released in September 2025.
The royal couple has continued their press appearances discussing the documentary into the new year.
“We have so many things going against us here, with the press and people tearing us down — some people don’t want us together,” Märtha Louise told a local New York television program earlier this month, saying that she wanted to share “hope” by releasing the documentary.
Since their relationship began, they have caused headaches for the Norwegian royal house by continuing to use the princess’s royal titles in private business surrounding their spirituality and lifestyle ventures.
On the same day that “Rebel Royals” was released, Norwegian paper Se og Hør released old audio recordings of Verrett from 2020 recounting how he has “crossed the line” and had sexual contact with students.
Princess Märtha Louise is not a novice in new-age spirituality or questionable business ventures. She has long believed herself to be clairvoyant and started Astarte Education, a program aimed at teaching students how to communicate with “their angels,” in 2007.
She legally remains fourth-in-line to the throne of the nation.