Crown Princess of Norway claims manipulation by Epstein

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway has claimed that the late financier Jeffrey Epstein "manipulated" her and expressed regret over her friendship with him. She stated this in an interview with the Norwegian newspaper NRK on March 20.

"I was manipulated and [I was] deceived <...>. Of course, I wish I'd never met him," Mette-Marit said of Epstein.

The Crown Princess stressed that she takes responsibility for the fact that she "did not check [Epstein's] biography more thoroughly."

"It's important for me to keep my integrity in this matter. Therefore, I will not divulge other names and will not try to shift the blame to anyone else. I am responsible for not conducting a thorough enough investigation <...>. But it is important for me to clarify that I am not to blame for anything in this situation," said Mette-Marit.

She said she should have told more people that Epstein was a "bad person."

"I still didn't know anything about all this bullying. But I understood enough to consider him a bad person, with whom people should not communicate. And I saw with my own eyes how he blackmailed others. Therefore, I regret that I did not tell more people, because I had to," the Crown Princess of Norway summed up.

According to a Norstat survey for NRK and Dagbladet, 76% of respondents said their trust in the Crown Princess had weakened after information about her contacts with Epstein emerged, while another 23% indicated that their opinion had not changed.

The sharpest drop in trust was recorded among citizens aged 18 to 39 years — 81% of respondents reported a decrease in trust in these groups. 44% of the survey participants believe that Mette-Marit is not suitable for the role of the future queen, 22% hold the opposite opinion, and 35% found it difficult to answer.

The royal family of Norway is going through a series of scandals. What you need to know

On February 6, Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway officially apologized to the king and Queen of the country for her ties with Jeffrey Epstein, the infamous financier. In a message released by the Royal Palace, she expressed regret for the situation she had put the royal family in, especially the king and Queen.

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