Sweden’s royal family has confirmed that Princess Sofia, the wife of Prince Carl Philip, met convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on several occasions before her marriage into the Swedish monarchy, prompting a rare statement from the royal court in Stockholm addressing the connection.
The Swedish royal court disclosed that the princess, 41, encountered Epstein multiple times around 2005, when she was 21 years old and working as a glamour model and reality television star in New York. The revelations emerged from emails obtained from ddosecrets.com and reported by Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
According to the leaked correspondence, Swedish businesswoman Barbro Ehnbom introduced Sofia to Epstein during her time in Manhattan. In one email, Ehnbom described Sofia as “an aspiring actress who just arrived in New York. She’s the girl I told you about before I left, who I thought you might like to meet.”
Epstein responded by offering to send Sofia a plane ticket to visit his private Caribbean island, Little St James in the US Virgin Islands. The royal family confirmed that Princess Sofia declined this invitation.
The financier also offered both Sofia and her friend places at acting school, though the royal family stated that the princess “has neither applied for nor attended any form of acting training.”
In their official statement, the royal court emphasized the limited nature of the contact. “Princess Sofia has been introduced to the person in question on a few occasions around 2005. The princess has not had any contact with the person in question for 20 years,” the family said.
Before marrying 46-year-old Prince Carl Philip in 2015, Sofia Hellqvist was a reality television star and glamour model. She participated in the reality show “Paradise Hotel” in 2005 and appeared regularly on New York’s party circuit before ultimately transitioning into charitable work and establishing herself as a member of the Swedish royal family.
Ehnbom, who played a significant role in Sofia’s introduction to Epstein, was among the guests at the princess’s wedding ceremony in 2015.
The timing of these revelations proved particularly notable, as they emerged just days before the annual Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm. Princess Sofia unexpectedly skipped this year’s event, breaking with tradition as she had been a regular attendee since her engagement to Carl Philip in 2014. The royal court explained that she chose to stay home with the couple’s youngest child, Princess Ines, who was born on Feb. 7, 2025.
King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia led the royal family at the prize ceremony and subsequent banquet. Crown Princess Victoria attended the event, while Prince Carl Philip was also present. The royal family maintained their composure throughout the event despite the controversy surrounding Sofia’s past encounters with Epstein.
Epstein was convicted in 2008, three years after meeting Sofia. The encounters between Sofia and Epstein occurred before his criminal convictions became public knowledge, though the royal family’s acknowledgment of the meetings has raised questions about the extent of his connections within European social circles.
The disclosure comes amid ongoing scrutiny of royal connections to Epstein. Just weeks before the Swedish royal court’s statement, King Charles took action against his younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, stripping him of his titles. The former prince had maintained a long-standing association with Epstein.
Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip have been married for a decade, with Princess Ines being their youngest child. The couple has largely maintained a positive public image, with Sofia dedicating herself to charitable work and royal duties since joining the family. The royal court’s decision to issue a statement addressing the Epstein connection appears aimed at providing transparency while emphasizing that the encounters occurred two decades ago, long before Sofia’s marriage into the Swedish royal family and before Epstein’s criminal activities became widely known.
