Norway’s royal family were battling scandals on multiple fronts this week, with charities moving to cut or review ties to the Crown Princess for her past contact with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while others question her suitability to the role of future queen.
The first controversy is that of the 29-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Marius Borg Høiby, who earlier this week broke down in tears during his first day of testimony as he denied four counts of rape in an Oslo court.
Høiby sits outside the line of succession as he was born before his mother married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001.
Haakon reaffirmed Høiby’s status as a commoner in a rare statement ahead of the rape trial starting on Tuesday, saying his stepson was “not a member of the Royal House of Norway and is therefore autonomous.”
But his efforts to safeguard the Crown’s reputation were overshadowed when a second controversy erupted, this time implicating his wife and Høiby’s mother, the country’s future queen.
New Epstein files released by the US Justice Department show extensive correspondence between Mette-Marit and the late sex offender – something the princess has since expressed regret over – years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from a minor.
On Friday, Norway’s royal house said Mette-Marit “strongly disavows Epstein’s abuse and criminal acts” and is sorry for “not having understood early enough what kind of person he was.”
Some of the content of the messages between Epstein and me does not represent the person I want to be. I also apologize for the situation that I have put the Royal Family in, especially the King and Queen, Mette-Marit said in a statement.
Challenges on multiple frontsIt has sparked an open public discussion in Norway about whether Mette-Marit should become queen, experts say.
Confidence in the Crown Princess has fallen sharply,” said Tove Taalesen, a royal correspondent for news outlet Nettavisen. “A majority still backs the institution, but that support is weaker, and uncertainty is growing.
The controversy raises uncomfortable questions about Mette-Marit’s position within the clan, particularly given the advanced age of King Harald V, who at 88, is Europe’s oldest monarch. Harald’s physical health has deteriorated in recent years, requiring Haakon to act as regent on occasion.
Mette-Marit is not facing an immediate end to her time as a working royal just yet, Taalesen cautioned, but she said one option would be for her to withdraw from royal duties citing health reasons, and leaving the crown prince to one day rule on his own.
Mette-Marit was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic, progressive lung disease with a poor prognosis, in 2018 and will likely need a lung transplant, according to the royal palace.
Source: CNN