Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the country’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit showed “poor judgment” in her extensive contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after correspondence with her was included in a new release of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“The crown princess herself has acknowledged that she exercised poor judgment, and I agree,” Støre told Norwegian broadcaster TV 2 on Sunday.

Mette-Marit came under intense scrutiny over the weekend after her name appeared hundreds of times in correspondence with Epstein included in the latest batch of files released Friday. The documents include emails dating from 2011 to 2014 and reveal a familiar tone in the exchanges, as well as the fact that the crown princess spent four days at Epstein’s Palm Beach residence in January 2013.

The crown princess on Saturday apologized for her relationship with Epstein and described her contacts with him as “embarrassing,” according to a statement issued by the Norwegian royal palace.

“I showed poor judgment and regret having any contact with Epstein at all,” Mette-Marit said in the statement.

“Jeffrey Epstein is solely responsible for his actions. I must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly, and for not realizing sooner what kind of person he was. I deeply regret this, and it is a responsibility I must bear,” the crown princess said.

She went on to express her “deep sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the abuses committed by Jeffrey Epstein.”

Several of the exchanges with Epstein have drawn particular attention. In one of the messages, Mette-Marit referred to Epstein as “such a sweetheart.” In another exchange, after Epstein said he was on a “wife hunt” in Paris, she replied that “Paris is good for adultery” and added that “Scandis [are] better wife material.”

In another email, Mette-Marit asked if it was “inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15 yr old sons wallpaper?”

The revelations come at a sensitive time for the Norwegian royal family. Mette-Marit’s 29-year-old son, Marius Borg Høiby — who does not hold a royal title — is due to stand trial in Oslo on Tuesday, accused of committing 38 criminal offenses, including the rape of four women and drug-related charges. He denies the most serious accusations and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Mette-Marit’s sister, Princess Märtha Louise, made headlines in 2024 after she married an American self-proclaimed shaman, who, among other things, claimed he predicted the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. Their unusual love story is the subject of a Netflix documentary “Rebel Royals.”

The latest release of Epstein files includes references to several prominent politicians and business figures, among them U.S. President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and former U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson, who on Sunday resigned his membership of the Labour Party over his friendship with Epstein.

Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajčák, who also is mentioned in the files, stepped down over the weekend from his role as an adviser to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico following the disclosures.