Norway’s Queen Mette-Marit is set for a potentially uncomfortable encounter with Luxembourg’s Grand Duchess Stephanie at King Harald V’s funeral, years after an email to Jeffrey Epstein surfaced in which she described Stephanie’s royal wedding as “deadly boring.”
Mette-Marit, 53, became Queen of Norway when her husband, Haakon VIII, took the throne following the death of his father on August 28 at the age of 89.
Members of royal families from across the globe arrived in Oslo last night ahead of the late monarch’s state funeral, with the Prince of Wales expected to attend today on behalf of King Charles III.
Among the dignitaries confirmed for the solemn service at Oslo Cathedral are Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Guillaume and his wife, Grand Duchess Stephanie, placing them in the same room as Mette-Marit for the first time since her criticism of their 2012 wedding was made public.
In an email dated October 21, 2012, Mette-Marit — whose past friendship with the convicted paedophile financier has drawn intense scrutiny — wrote: “Boring wedding. Was like some kind of old movie. Where you know the characters are not hanging around for much long[er].”
The email was sent from a redacted address under the name ‘HKH Kronprinsessen’ after Mette-Marit and Haakon joined Harald, Queen Sonja and several European royals for the Grand Duke and Duchess’s two-day nuptials on 19 and 20 October, 2012.
Haakon’s wife was forced to apologise earlier this year when it was revealed that she exchanged dozens of emails with ‘sweetheart’ Epstein despite his conviction for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.
After the extent of her friendship with Epstein was revealed, Mette-Marit issued a grovelling apology as she said the emails do ‘not represent the person I want to be’.
Norway’s Queen Mette-Marit faces an awkward reunion with Luxembourg’s Grand Duchess at Harald V’s funeral after calling her wedding to the Grand Duke ‘deadly boring’ in an email to Jeffrey Epstein
Among those confirmed to attend today’s poignant service at Oslo Cathedral are Grand Duke Guillaume and his wife, Grand Duchess Stephanie, who will meet Mette-Marit for the first time since it was revealed she criticised their 2012 wedding
Harald stood by his daughter-in-law at the time as he reiterated ‘we must remember that the Crown Princess has not done anything illegal’ and that she deserved ‘credit’ for ending their friendship ‘very early’.
Ahead of the late King’s funeral today, VIPs, dignitaries and royals from around the world have gathered in the Norwegian capital to pay their respects to Harald V.
Haakon was pictured outside Oslo Cathedral last evening after attending a rehearsal with his mother Queen Sonja, daughter Princess Ingrid Alexandra and son Prince Sverre Magnus.
Mette-Marit was not photographed with her family after she missed her husband’s swearing-in ceremony due to ‘complications’ from her recent lung transplant surgery in June.
She was also unable to attend her late father-in-law’s church memorial service but joined Haakon in welcoming their royal guests with a private dinner on the eve of Harald’s state funeral.
It is the first time Haakon and Mette-Marit will have received Europe’s monarchs as Norway’s King and Queen, as a 42-person royal contingent descended on the Norwegian capital yesterday.
Ahead of today’s service, which takes place at 1pm local time, European royalty were spotted arriving at the five-star Grand Hotel in Oslo.
Having landed at Oslo Airport on 8 September, Spain’s King Felipe and seemingly Queen Letizia were photographed exiting a bus before entering the luxury hotel.
The Grand Duchess pictured on her wedding day
The late Norwegian monarch attended the nuptials at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg on October 20, 2012
The Spanish King waved at cameras as he walked on a red carpet toward the entrance of the lobby, dressed in dark grey suit, a white shirt and black tie and carrying his own beige-toned duffel bag.
Several royals also arrived at King Felipe’s hotel on Tuesday, with Luxembourg’s former Grand Duke Henri, Princess Alexia of Greece, and Carlos Morales Quintana stepping off a bus, while Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko arrived in a Mercedes-Benz.
According to TV 2, many of these high-profile guests opted for shared transit later that day.
On 8 September, a group including Felipe, Letizia, Henri, the Serbian Crown Prince couple, Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, Princess Alexia, and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece all took a bus together to the Palace.
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Passing away on 28 August aged 89, King Harald V was Europe’s oldest reigning sovereign, ruling over Norway for 35 years.
Yet, despite modernising his family’s rule over the years, he refused to step down like other ageing monarchs.
His son immediately became King Haakon VIII and last week pledged an oath of allegiance to Norway’s constitution in parliament.
From left to right: Mette-Marit, Queen Sonja, Princess Maertha Louise of Norway, and Haakon VIII at the Palace Square to greet the crowd and look at the flowers and tributes that mourners have laid down in Oslo on August 31, 2026, four days after the death of King Harald V.
Pictured: Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde sit on board a bus as they arrive at the GA terminal at Oslo Airport in Gardermoen on the day of Norway’s King Harald’s funeral, Norway, September 9, 2026
Pictured: Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia sit on board a bus at the GA terminal at Oslo Airport in Gardermoen on the day of Norway’s King Harald’s funeral, Norway, September 9, 2026
Pictured: Spain’s King Felipe waving at cameras as he walked on a red carpet toward the entrance of Oslo’s Grand Hotel, dressed in dark grey suit and carrying his own beige-toned duffel bag
Pictured: A portrait of late King Harald V is displayed in the window of a shop near the Oslo Cathedral in Oslo, Norway on September 9, 2026, on the day of his state funeral
Today, the coffin will be taken from the royal palace to Oslo Cathedral in a procession, followed by Haakon, other senior Norwegian royals, foreign guests and representatives of Norway’s parliament and others.
In attendance will be The Netherlands’ King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Beatrix and Princess Catharina-Amalia, along with Prince William, Princess Anne, Denmark’s King Frederik, Queen Mary, Crown Prince Christian and Princess Benedikte.
Other royal guests include Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine and Princess Christina.
The funeral comes during a difficult time for the Norwegian Royal Family, after Mette-Marit apologised for her friendship with Epstein, who died while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
She said she had been misled by the late sex offender as she sought to contain the fallout from the scandal.
‘I was manipulated and deceived,’ Mette-Marit said in an emotional interview with public broadcaster NRK earlier this year.
‘Of course, I wish I had never met him,’ she said of Epstein.
The now-Queen maintained contact with Epstein from 2011 to 2014, and stayed at his Palm Beach house for four days during a private trip in 2013, files released by the US Department of Justice showed.
‘He used the fact that we had a mutual friend, and that I’m gullible. I like to believe the best about people. But I also chose to end contact with him,’ Mette-Marit said.
‘I’ve never seen anything illegal,’ she told NRK.
Sitting beside her, Mette-Marit’s husband Haakon said he supported his wife at a difficult time and that marriage is both for ‘the good days and the bad’.
‘Mette is caring, wise and really strong. And that’s why I will always have her on the team when something difficult happens,’ the crown prince said.
After the extent of her friendship with Epstein was revealed, Mette-Marit issued a grovelling apology as she said the emails do ‘not represent the person I want to be’.
Addressing the scandal, King Harald said ‘I found out about it when you found out about it’, according to a report by Hello! magazine.
Reiterating that being named in the Epstein Files does not assume any guilt or wrongdoing connected to the late financier’s abhorrent crimes, King Harald added: ‘We must remember that the Crown Princess has not done anything illegal.’
‘Unlike some others in Norway, she broke the connection very early. So I think we should give her credit for that,’ he continued.