Norway King Harald V Dead: Royal Family's Ties to Jeffrey Epstein Explained

King Harald V of Norway passed away at the age of 89 on Friday at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet. He had been hospitalized previously for haemolytic anaemia, a bacterial infection in his blood, and was receiving antibiotics for the infection. Harald's death marks the end of his 35-year reign as king. His 53-year-old son, Crown Prince Haakon, has officially become King Haakon VIII.

Haakon's wife, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, became the new queen, but her reputation has suffered due to her past connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

Mette-Marit, who married King Harald in 2001, has been under scrutiny since emails to Epstein, exchanged between 2011 and 2014, were released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in January 2024. Although she has never been accused of a crime and did not participate in Epstein's alleged abuse, her correspondence with the sex offender has dominated Norwegian media coverage.

Mette-Marit has publicly apologized multiple times for her poor judgment in associating with Epstein. In December 2019, she acknowledged that she should have investigated Epstein's past more thoroughly and expressed regret for not doing so. She claimed she was manipulated and deceived by Epstein and had cut off contact with him in 2013. However, recently released emails revealed that her contact with Epstein continued into 2014, and she stayed at his Palm Beach, Florida mansion for four days in 2013.

The scandal has taken a toll on the monarchy, with support for the crown among Norwegians falling by roughly 10 percentage points over the past year. A February poll found that 44 percent believed Mette-Marit should not become queen. The Royal House of Norway announced Harald's death in a statement, expressing deep grief over the loss of the beloved king.