OSLO, Norway (AP) — The future queen of Norway has expressed new regret over her past links with Jeffrey Epstein.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit on Friday apologized for the situation she has put the royal family in — “especially the King and Queen” — after a new release of Epstein files that Norwegian media said contained several hundred mentions of her.
The new apology from the wife of Crown Prince Haakon, less than a week after her initial expression of regret, caps a tough week for the family: Her 29-year-old son from a previous relationship went on trial for rape and other charges this week.
King Harald, 88, belongs to the House of Glücksburg and heads a monarchy in Norway that dates back more than 1,100 years. He has ties to other European houses and like the other European monarchs he wields no real political power today.
Harald married Sonja Haraldsen, a commoner, in 1968. Their son Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit, both 52, were married in 2001. She was a single mother who had lived a freewheeling life with a companion who had been convicted on drug charges.
The crown prince and princess share two children: Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 21, who is in the line of succession to become monarch one day, and 19-year-old Prince Sverre Magnus.
Mette-Marit has long been known to have had contacts with Epstein. After the latest release of documents a week ago, she said in a statement that she took responsibility for “not having investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly.”
The crown princess also expressed “deep sympathy and solidarity” with the victims of abuse committed by Epstein.
The latest release of Epstein files showed an email exchange with her in October 2012 in which he noted how he was in Paris “on my wife hunt,” but “i prefer Scandinavians.”
She replied that Paris was “good for adultery” but “Scandis” were “better wife material.”
Mette-Marit's statement on Friday said: "Some of the content of the messages between Epstein and me does not represent the person I want to be.”
On Tuesday, her son from an earlier relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, went on trial to face charges including rape, abuse in a close relationship, acts of violence and making death threats. He has denied the most serious charges; other include transporting marijuana and traffic violations.
The crown prince issued a statement last week saying the couple would not be present in court nor comment on the case over the expected seven weeks of proceedings.
The statement noted that Høiby was not a member of the Royal House but called him "an important member of our family.”
Mette-Marit has had medical issues recently. She was diagnosed in 2018 with a lung disease known as pulmonary fibrosis. Last month the royal court said medical tests had shown a “clear worsening” of her condition and that physicians had started looking into the possibility of lung-transplant surgery for her.
The royal family has traditionally enjoyed wide public support, but its popularity has declined since Oslo police in August 2024 said Høiby was facing suspicion for causing bodily harm and criminal damage.
A Norstat agency poll for Dagbladet daily and public broadcaster NRK showed that two-thirds of respondents said they supported the constitutional monarchy as a form of government, down from nearly three-fourths in August. A similar poll for VG also indicated declining support for the monarchy.
FILE - Norway's King Harald, Queen Sonja, front from right, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and Prince Sverre Magnus, back from left, pose aboard the Kingship Norway in the Geirangerfjord, Norway, Saturday Aug. 31, 2024. (Cornelius Poppe/NTB via AP, File)
FILE - From left, Norway's Princess Ingrid Alexandra, left, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit on their way to a gala dinner at the Palace in Oslo, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB via AP, File)
FILE - Norway's Marius Borg Hoiby and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Oslo, June 16, 2022. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)
Sonny Jurgensen, the Hall of Fame quarterback whose strong arm, keen wit and affable personality made him one of the most beloved figures in Washington football history, has died. He was 91.
While a cause was not disclosed, a Washington Commanders spokesperson confirmed Friday the team learned of Jurgensen’s death that morning from his family.
“We are enormously proud of his amazing life and accomplishments on the field, marked not only by a golden arm but also a fearless spirit and intellect that earned him a place among the legends in Canton,” his family said in a statement. “He lived with deep appreciation for the teammates, colleagues and friends he met along the way. While he has taken his final snap, his legacy will remain an indelible part of the city he loved and the family he built.”
Jurgensen arrived in Washington in 1964 in a surprise quarterback swap that sent Norm Snead to the Philadelphia Eagles. Over the next 11 seasons, Jurgensen rewrote the team’s record books.
He topped 3,000 yards in a season five times, including twice with Philadelphia, in an era before rules changes opened up NFL offenses. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and remains the only Washington player to wear the No. 9 jersey in a game.
“Sonny Jurgensen is, and always will be, one of the defining legends of Washington football,” said controlling owner Josh Harris, who grew up a fan. “For me, Sonny was the embodiment of what it means to don the burgundy and gold: tough, smart and endlessly devoted to this franchise and its fans."
Jurgensen’s four-plus decades of association with the franchise in Washington as a quarterback and then as a broadcaster made him a one-name celebrity in the nation’s capital. He was the one and only Sonny, contrary but loyal: the everyman red-headed football player with the out-of-shape belly who kept a connection with fans but could also pull out a cigar and hobnob with the team owner.
Notorious for breaking curfew, Jurgensen was also known for ignoring coaches and joking about his less-than-ideal physique. He more than compensated with his pinpoint passing from the pocket, helping make the then-Redskins exciting and competitive again, leading the team to more victories in his first three seasons than the club had won in its previous six.
“All I ask of my blockers is 4 seconds,” he once said. “I try to stay on my feet and not be forced out of the pocket. I beat people by throwing, not running.”
That’s exactly what he did on Nov. 28, 1965, when he dismissed the crowd’s boos and rallied Washington from a 21-0 deficit to a 34-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys by throwing for 411 yards and three touchdowns. The game was the highlight of coach Bill McPeak’s five losing seasons with the club.
“I’m glad the crowd let me stay in,” Jurgensen said sarcastically after the game. “It was decent of them, and maybe Bill McPeak appreciates it, too.”
Jurgensen played through numerous injuries and even won over the notoriously tough Vince Lombardi, who coached Washington to its first winning season in more than a decade in 1969. Lombardi said of Jurgensen, “He is the best I have seen.”
But Lombardi died the following year, and Jurgensen never really hit it off with defense-minded successor George Allen. Washington acquired Billy Kilmer, generating the great “Sonny vs. Billy” debates that lasted until Jurgensen retired after the 1974 season.
“Few players could rival Sonny Jurgensen’s genuine love of the game that continued long after his playing days," Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said. "Watching Sonny throw a football was like watching a master craftsman create a work of art.”
Jurgensen finished his career with 2,433 completions for 32,224 yards and a 57.1 completion percentage. He threw 255 touchdown passes, 189 interceptions and had a career rating of 82.6. He made the Pro Bowl five times, led the NFL in passing yards five times, and will always be in the record books for an untoppable 99-yard touchdown pass to Gerry Allen in 1968.
Washingtonians too young to remember Jurgensen as a player came to adore him for his astute observations as part of the radio broadcast trio of “Sonny, Sam and Frank.” Jurgensen, Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff and play-by-play man Frank Herzog would fuss and laugh while both rooting for and criticizing the burgundy and gold.
Jurgensen also became an unofficial confidant-at-large around the organization. He took Gus Frerotte under his wing when the young quarterback was battling Heath Shuler for the starting job in the mid-1990s. He became a member of Daniel Snyder’s inner circle after Snyder bought the team in 1999, arriving in the owner’s helicopter and getting a special sideline seat to watch practices.
Still, Jurgensen wouldn’t hesitate to question decisions and performances he didn’t like, especially when it came to quarterbacks. He often pined for the days when QBs were allowed to call their own plays.
Born Christian Adolph Jurgensen III in Wilmington, North Carolina on Aug, 23, 1934, Jurgensen was a two-way star at Duke and was drafted in the fourth round by the Eagles in 1957. He sat behind Norm Van Brocklin until 1961, when he took over the starting job and threw for 3,723 yards, 32 touchdown and 24 interceptions — all league highs.
Three years later he found himself on the way to Washington on April 1, 1964.
“Someone came in and said, ‘You were traded to the Redskins,’ ” Jurgensen said in a 2007 interview. “I said ‘No, it’s April Fool’s Day, you’re kidding.’ He said, ‘No, I’m not kidding. I just heard it on the radio.’
“So I was shocked.”
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FILE - Former Washington Redskins quarterback Sonny Jurgensen sits in a golf cart in a tunnel before an NFL football game between the Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - Washington quarterback Sonny Jurgensen looks to pass against the New York Giants during an NFL football game in 1974. (AP Photo/File)
