Arya News - A Swedish figurehead’s connection with disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is causing a royal headache in Sweden.
Editor’s Note : This story contains discussions of child abuse that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you suspect a child is being abused, find out how to report it in your state here . To connect with a counselor, you can call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4253.
( NewsNation ) — A Swedish figurehead’s connection with disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is causing a royal headache in Sweden.
Princess Sofia was absent Wednesday as other members of the royal family attended the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. The no-show coincided with a news story in Sweden quoting the Royal Court confirming that Sofia, a former model and reality TV star, had met with Epstein on “a few occasions around 2005.”
Epstein, a widely connected investor and philanthropist, was convicted of soliciting a minor for sex, under a controversial 2008 plea deal in Florida for which he served a relatively light sentence. He died by suicide in New York while awaiting federal trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.
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News outlet Dagens Nyheter published emails between Epstein and Swedish-American businesswoman Barbro Ehnbom, a mentor of Princess Sofia. In a December 2005 message, Ehnbom reportedly described her mentee as an aspiring actress who had arrived in New York.
“I thought you might like to meet. Maybe we can visit before you go on holiday?” the businesswoman wrote.
Epstein said he was in the Caribbean , an apparent reference to the private residence where he allegedly abused minors. Epstein reportedly offered to send a ticket for Sofia to visit.
The Royal Court said Princess Sofia did not accept the invitation and “has not had any contact with the person in question for 20 years.”
The former Sofia Kristina Hellqvist married Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip in 2015. The two have four children, their youngest, daughter Ines, born in February. The Royal Court said Princess Sofia, 41, was taking care of the baby Wednesday.
Epstein-related fallout has been considerably greater for Britain’s Prince Adrew , who had a long association with him beginning in 1999. Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre accused the royal of having sex with her when she was 17, which Prince Andrew has denied.
He settled a civil lawsuit with Giuffre before her death earlier this year and has lost a succession of royal titles and privileges. He’s now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
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