When she married her prince, the press across her home country called her ‘Cinderella’. Now, the royal bride who defied critics to build a regal fairy tale has found the magic has run out.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway faces her toughest week yet and the trouble shows no signs of ending or of easing up the pressure on her whole royal family.
In the past 48 hours, the extent of her friendship with convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, has become clear as her name appeared many times in new documents released in the United States.
Meanwhile, her eldest son, Marius Borg Hoiby, born during a relationship that took place before she married Crown Prince Haakon, is about to stand trial on a series of charges including four counts of rape. Just hours before the case was due to begin, he was arrested again by police on suspicion of assault, threats with a knife and violation of a restraining order. He was later remanded in custody.
Norway’s Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, took the unprecedented step of commenting on the behaviour of a senior member of the country’s royal family. He said the Crown Princess had shown ”poor judgement” in her past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.
Then, several organisations associated with the Crown Princess said they were discussing their links with her. The Norwegian Red Cross held a special meeting about how to respond to the revelations about its special patron. Another group, Sex and Society, which promotes good reproductive health, later said it didn’t want her to work with it on a major project.
And as a tumultuous day came to an end, one of Norway’s biggest broadcasters,TV2, ran a poll asking if Mette-Marit should become Queen of Norway. Almost half of all respondents, 48%, said no. Those saying yes totalled 29% with 24% still undecided.
It followed questions from constitutional historians about whether the wife of the heir to the throne could or should one day be her country’s queen after the revelations of the past days.
One of the most damaging parts of the information now made public about the friendship between Mette-Marit and Jeffrey Epstein is that their relationship developed after he was convicted of sex offences in 2008. The newly released papers show that the Crown Princess of Norway stayed at Epstein’s Miami home in 2013 for four nights.
The papers include several emails between the two including one in which Crown Princess Mette-Marit told Epstein ”you tickle my brain” and called him ”my crazy friend”. She also asked about the suitability of wallpaper featuring naked women for her then 15 year old son, Marius, and asked about life on his island,
There are also other embarrassing revelations including an email in which she described a royal wedding as boring.
Norway’s royal family has always been popular, in large part due to King Harald V and his father, King Olav. When Harald, father of Crown Prince Haakon, celebrated his silver jubilee in 2016, some opinion polls put his popularity at over 90%. Even now, the royal family averages 70% in popularity rankings. But the latest revelations could change everything.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit never had an easy ride into royalty. Her past was controversial when her relationship with Haakon became known – she had enjoyed the so called ‘party scene’ in Norway which included drug use. However, an emotional interview ahead of her wedding in which she broke down in tears and said sorry changed everything.
She became nicknamed the ‘Cinderella of Kristiansand’ after her homeplace and as she adopted popular causes, including support for people with HIV and promoting literacy, she found a niche in royal life. She was also a very modern Crown Princess, taking to Instagram almost as soon as it launched. Her support for Norwegian fashion and industry gained her more fans. Her diagnosis with pulmonary fibrosis, in 2018, also led to sympathy.
However, the first cracks in the fairytale appeared in 2024 when she mysteriously turned up late to the Paris Olympics. While her husband was cheerleading the nation’s athletes in the City of Light, Mette-Marit stayed behind for a few days. It later transpired this was the same time that her son, Marius, was first under police investigation.
At Christmas 2025, just after her doctors announced she was being prepared for a lung transplant which may soon be necessary, she told Norwegian TV that she felt criticism of her as a parent was unfair.
Following the news about her friendship with Epstein, the Crown Princess spoke briefly. In a statement issued through the royal palace on Saturday, Mette-Marit acknowledged the relationship and admitted that she had exercised “poor judgment”. She said she regretted having had any contact with Epstein and described the episode as “embarrassing”, adding that she wished to express her sympathy for his victims.
However, it has done little to take the heat away from her. As she prepares to see her eldest child enter court on extremely serious charges, her own conduct has become an international talking point. The fairytale has ended for the princess once called Cinderella.
