Norway's crown princess Mette-Marit has apologized to everyone she has "disappointed" over her ties to the late billionaire and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement published by the Royal Family on Friday, the crown princess said she was sorry "for the situation I have put the Royal Family in, especially the King and Queen."

"It is important for me to apologize to all of you whom I have disappointed," she said. "Some of the content of the messages between Epstein and me does not represent the person I want to be."

What do the Epstein files say about the Norwegian crown princess?

The latest tranche of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — known as the "Epstein files" — was released last week by the US Justice Department.

Mette-Marit was mentioned hundreds of times in the documents, which include e-mail exchanges with Epstein that reveal an unexpectedly close friendship between them that continued for years, even after Epstein had been convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution.

A person's name being mentioned in the Epstein files does not necessarily imply any wrongdoing.

Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. Authorities ruled his death to be a suicide.

Mette-Marit admitted that year to having had contacts with Epstein, telling Norwegian media that she had shown "poor judgment" and regretted having "any contact" with the late financier. "It is simply embarrassing," she said.

Scandal-hit Mette-Marit in the spotlight

While Norway's royals are generally popular in the Nordic country, Mette-Marit's previous relationships with convicted drug offenders caused a stir when she married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001.

The fresh revelations stemming from last week's release of documents have raised more questions in Norway about whether Mette-Marit, who was born into a working-class family, is fit to be queen.

The revelations in the Epstein files come with Mette-Marit and the royal family already under intense media scrutiny.

Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, her son from a relationship before she married the Crown Prince, is currently on trial for 38 charges, including domestic violence and rape.

Hoiby is accused of raping four women and assaulting ex-partners, as well as drug possession.

What has Norway's Crown Prince said?

Speaking on the sidelines of an official royal visit on Friday, Haakon said the royals "support Marius."

He also acknowledged that many people want to hear from Mette-Marit, who suffers from a chronic lung condition that will require a lung transplant.

"She thinks that is ​completely natural. She would like to speak, but right now she can't. And I also tell her that she is ⁠not allowed to," Haakon said.

"She ​needs time to gather herself, and then she would like to say ‌more about the ‌matter, and we hope people understand that she needs a bit of time," the crown prince added.

Epstein scandal spreads across Europe

The Epstein scandal has also ensnared other high-profile Norwegians, including former prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland and former foreign minister Borge Brende, the current CEO of the World Economic Forum.

Brende and Jagland have both said they are cooperating with investigators.

The latest revelations from the Epstein files have also sent shockwaves through other European nations, including the United Kingdom, where police on Friday raided properties linked to Peter Mandelson as part of a probe into misconduct in public office.

The Epstein files released last week show that Mandelson had extensive ties to Epstein. They also suggested that Mandelson had leaked UK government documents to the disgraced financier, and that Epstein had made payments to Mandelson and his ⁠husband.

Mandelson, a former Labour Party politician, was appointed US ambassador by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in 2024.

With his future looking increasingly uncertain, Starmer apologized on Thursday for that appointment and for "believing Mandelson's lies" to him about the scope of his relationship with Epstein. 

The Epstein scandal has already seen King Charles' brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, be forced to relinquish his royal titles and residence, while calls are also growing for him to testify in the United States.

The scandal has also spread to France, where ex-culture minister Jack Lang is being urged to resign as the head of the Arab World Institute.

Lang, 86, has been summoned by the French foreign minister to a meeting this weekend to explain his ties to Epstein. Lang is the highest-profile French figure to be implicated in the Epstein files.

The scandal has also led to Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico's former national security adviser resigning after emails showed he had discussed young women with the late sex offender.

Edited by: Zac Crellin