Princess Sofia breaks her silence about meeting with Jeffrey Epstein 20 years before she married into Sweden's royal family

Princess Sofia has spoken for the first time about meeting with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein 20 years before she married into Sweden's royal family.

The 41-year-old is mentioned several times within emails sent to Epstein in 2005 but the royal insisted she had no contact with him after that.

Speaking to the media as she returned from maternity leave, Princess Sofia said her "thoughts go out to all the victims of crime".

Princess Sofia, who is married to Prince Carl Philip – son of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia – has largely been absent from royal duties since the birth of her daughter, Princess Ines, in February last year.

Her links with Epstein were made public in December and she missed the Nobel Prize awards in Stockholm that was attended by the King and Queen, and other members of the royal family as per tradition.

At the time, the Royal House of Sweden confirmed to media that Sofia had met with Epstein in New York in 2005.

On Tuesday, Princess Sofia returned to official duties, attending an event in the capital to mark Safer Internet Day.

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She spoke to media as she arrived for the Ctrl + Rights Youth Summit.

"As we mentioned earlier, I met him in a couple of social settings," Princess Sofia told reporters, in Swedish.

"But now that I have read about all the terrible crimes he has subjected young women to, I am so grateful I have had nothing to do with him since the few occasions in my 20s.

"My thoughts go out to all the victims of crime. I hope there is justice in this.

"We met at a restaurant in a social context when I was introduced and at a film screening. Thank goodness that was all."

Princess Sofia's statement to the media was not planned, a palace source told newspaper Svensk Dam.

The princess, who was then known as Sofia Hellqvist, met with Epstein when she was a student in Manhattan. She was there studying accounting at the New York Institute of English and Business.

Before becoming a princess, Sofia was known in Sweden as a glamour model and a reality television star.

Sofia was reportedly introduced to Epstein by Swedish business businesswoman Barbro Ehnbom, who has previously been described as a mentor to Sofia and who attended her 2015 wedding.

Princess Sofia's decision to address her links with Epstein on the day she returned from maternity leave is likely to have been made to stop further speculation.

The Norwegian royal family, who have historic ties with Sweden's monarchy, has also been dragged into the Epstein scandal.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who is married to Norway's heir Crown Prince Haakon, is mentioned within the newly-released Epstein files.

The cordial exchanges between Mette-Marit and Epstein, which stretch over more than 100 emails and texts, were sent between 2011 and 2014.

One email, sent from the Crown Princess' official account, on October 23, 2011 implies she had become aware of his conviction for sex offences against an underage girl in 2008.

At the weekend, Crown Princess Mette-Marit issued a second statement in as many weeks after her past links with Epstein came to light in the release of three million pages of texts and emails by the US Department of Justice.

The day before, previously unpublished photos emerged showing Crown Princess Mette-Marit meeting with Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, in New York.

The photo was taken at the Clinton Global Initiative and show the two women smiling at each other.

Mette-Marit's son Marius Borg Høiby, who is now on trial for rape and assault, accompanied his mother to Manhattan for the event.

Her second apology included a direct mention to Norway's King and Queen, her in-laws.

On Friday Mette-Marit said: "It is important for me to apologise to all of you whom I have disappointed.

"Some of the content of the messages between Epstein and me does not represent the person I want to be. I also apologise for the situation I have put the royal family in, especially the King and Queen."

In addition, the Royal House said the Crown Princess wanted to explain herself in more detail, but was unable to, adding that she "hopes for understanding that she needs time to gather her thoughts".

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