Norway’s future King defends wife Mette-Marit, amid Epstein backlash

The future king of Norway has spoken out in defence of his wife after she drew criticism for her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and the rape trial of her son.

Crown Prince Haakon, 52, said his family had ‘been through a lot’ after he was asked about Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s association with the paedophile financier.

Speaking during an official visit to several fishing companies in Møre og Romsdal, he also admitted his wife’s illness ‘is a part of our daily life’, after the future Queen consort was diagnosed with a chronic lung disease in 2018. 

‘I don’t read all my wife’s emails,’ Haakon tersely replied to questions about the scandal. 

‘We’ve already spoken about it,’ the heir to the Norwegian throne said, referring to the royal couple’s interview with NRK, the country’s national broadcaster last month after his stepson Marius Borg Høiby’s rape trial was submitted for judgment at Oslo District Court on March 20. 

‘I’m not going to dwell on that subject much now, so we’ll continue talking about the main topic,’ he said, according to a report by Hello! magazine. 

The Crown Prince also gave an update on Mette-Marit’s health, after she was pictured with a breathing tube last week.

Haakon said it is ‘tough to leave’ her for long periods of time, but that she ‘manages well for a day or a day and a half’.

‘She is ill, and that is already something that is a part of our daily life,’ he added. 

Mette-Marit, 52, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis eight years ago and will eventually require a lung transplant. 

Earlier this year, emails released by the US Department of Justice exposed the crown princess’s friendship with the paedophile, with one suggesting they remained in contact until just months before Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. 

Mette-Marit who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, exchanged dozens of emails with Epstein despite knowing he had been jailed for soliciting sex from an underage girl.

Her name appeared at least 1,000 times in the millions of Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice, as her effusive email exchanges with the paedophile financier between 2011 and 2014 were made public. 

She was also previously known to have met Epstein on at least three occasions in Oslo, New York and the Caribbean between 2011 and 2013.

In one email, Mette-Marit asked Epstein if it was ‘inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15-year-old son’s wallpaper’.

When he told her he was in Paris ‘on [a] wife hunt’ in 2012, she replied saying the French capital is ‘good for adultery’ and ‘Scandis [are] better wife material’.

Epstein had at that point already pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

The files also show she stayed at his house in Florida for four days in 2013. The crown princess has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. 

Mette-Marit has since apologised for her ’embarrassing’ friendship with the disgraced financier in a statement on February 6. 

In their 20-minute interview with NRK, Haakon reiterated his support for his wife as he said marriage is ‘for better or for worse’ while holding her hand. 

Mette-Marit tearfully admitted she was ‘manipulated and deceived’ during the interview that was aired on March 20.  

 ‘Of course, I wish I had never met him,’ Mette-Marit said of Epstein.

The controversy, along with her son’s rape trial, has seen Mette-Marit’s popularity plummet, but Haakon reaffirmed ‘I always want her on my team’ despite speculation about her future role in the monarchy. 

He said: ‘On the good days, everything feels easy. But it’s during the difficult times when you have to weather the storm that a strong foundation matters most.  

‘This is our project; we’re in it together. And Mette is caring, wise, and very strong. That’s why I always want her on my team when challenges arise.’

In addition to the release of the Epstein Files, the family is bracing for a verdict after Hoiby, Mette-Marit’s son from an earlier relationship, appeared in court over charges of rape and other crimes earlier this year. 

Hoiby has declared himself not guilty of rape and domestic abuse while admitting in court to some lesser charges.

It comes after Mette-Marit was photographed with an assistive breathing tube at an official event at the Royal Palace of Oslo last week.

She appeared alongside Haakon and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, during a reception for athletes who represented the country at the Winter Paralympics earlier this year. 

The photos showed the Crown Princess wearing a nasal cannula, a device that helps support breathing, as an aide was seen carrying what appeared to be an oxygen machine. 

Last December, the Norwegian palace announced recent testing had shown a ‘clear worsening of the Crown Princess’s health’ and that Mette-Marit was being assessed for a lung transplant. 

After NRK reported her health had ‘deteriorated’ in March, the Crown Princess has undertaken a handful of royal engagements in the new year.