Discussion about Princess Sofia's Past & Future Role in the Royal Family

[Somebody]

Extremely embarrassing but 20 years ago Sofia probably thought of Epstein as just a pleasant wealthy US businessman. It’s what Barbro Ehnbom knew of his activities at the time that’s surely in question, however?

Given that Sofia moved to New York after having modeled for Swedish men's magazine Slitz and having been voted 'Miss Slitz', I do expect both Sofia and Barbro knew that there was more to it than him just being a friendly wealthy businessman. To what extent they were in the know is the question -I doubt they knew the full picture- but I don't think they were naive either.

Moreover, as we already knew this part of her biography on the official website doesn't tell the full story... It doesn't say anything that suggests she was 'an aspiring actress' (nor that she worked at a pizzeria); I wouldn't be surprised if her 'studies' at this rather underwhelming institute were primarily a way to get a student visa and be able to live in the States - although apparently they ran into visa issues later on.

In 2005, The Princess moved to New York where she studied accounting and business development at the New York Institute of English and Business.
While in the United States, The Princess also studied yoga and qualified as a yoga instructor.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

From the very first moment that Sofia's relationship with Carl-Philip became public, I felt almost instinctively suspicious about Barbro Ehnbom...in fact she revolted me.

I won't say the impression I got from her relationship with Sofia, it's a pretty vulgar one.

But I never bought into the fairy godmother "mentor" role that she was described as having.

 

[LadyFinn]

Barbro Ehnbom's congratulations to Jeffrey Epstein: Picture of Princess Sofia
Epstein paid for plane tickets, hotel nights and let young Swedes stay in his properties in New York and Paris free of charge. He financed the "Female economist of the year" award at the Stockholm School of Economics, and was involved in selecting the winner. Epstein in turn got to meet a large number of young Swedish girls at dinners, luxurious parties and exclusive meetings.
– BBB (Barbro's Best and Brightest) was started with the aim of recruiting smart young beautiful girls from School of Economics to the network, which was Epstein's driving force for financing it, a source with insight into BBB tells Expressen.
Women in BBB are also said to have been encouraged to visit Epstein in hotel rooms.
According to the court, Sofia never took up Epstein's offer to fly to his island. (..)

Grattismejlet till Epstein: Bild på prinsessan Sofia

Här är bilden på prinsessan Sofia, som skickades till pedofilmiljardären Jeffrey Epstein på hans födelsedag. Finanskvinnan Barbro Ehnbom låg bakom kontakten mellan Sofia och Epstein. Bland annat ska miljardären ha hjälpt Sofia med visum. ”Grattis från dina BBB-flickor”, skriver Ehnbom till en...

www.expressen.se

 

[hereditarytitles]

What's the point of rehashing the same old stories about Sofia? Back when her relationship with Carl Philip became serious, her backstory was splashed across all the international newspapers, complete with photos. I also remember that Carl Gustav wasn't initially thrilled about the relationship. Perhaps the only new information is that her name has also been linked to Epstein and that her official biography has been embellished. But the latter was always obvious.

That was 20 years ago. She's happily married, has four healthy, beautiful children, and has never caused a scandal since joining the royal family.
So it's just clickbait to sell news IMO.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

Barbro Ehnbom gave me scary feelings back then - and she still does…

I thought at first it was just her vulgar appearance (the appearance of an old woman who still belives she’s 20) but there seems to have been more to it after all…

Her language (”your bbb-girls”), her behaviour in looking for ”wives for the year” to Epstein, and her total indifference and incomprehension for human trafficking stuns me… And she is supposed to be a woman who helps other women with their business careers and networks…

It’s not a woman i would want to have anything to do with…

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Which old stories about Sofia are being rehashed? Perhaps it was different in the foreign press, but Swedish mainstream media coverage of Sofia Hellqvist, later Princess Sofia, has always been unusually flattering, even compared to the media coverage of Emma Pernald (much less Daniel Westling, Chris O’Neill or post-scandal Jonas Bergström), without the sort of scrutiny that would uncover unflattering stories (e.g. the intensive coverage of Mr. Westling’s or Mr. O’Neill’s business activities compared with the hands-off approach to Ms. Hellqvist's).

Judging by another comment upthread, that hasn’t changed, even if the great global interest in Jeffrey Epstein has somewhat reduced the normal deference towards Princess Sofia, so that the news of their acquaintanceship is at least being reported.

But in comparison to Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, who was criticized and apparently felt the need to publicly apologize for having occasionally met Jeffrey Epstein in group settings, or Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, who have been harshly criticized and faced calls to strip their titles for accompanying their mother to one of her meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, Princess Sofia still seems to be treated very leniently compared to other royals and non-royals who have been confirmed as past acquaintances of Jeffrey Epstein.


As for King Carl XVI Gustaf, my feeling is that he was indeed thrilled about the relationship, as he allowed Sofia Hellqvist a public role much earlier than any of his children’s other partners, and praised her much more lavishly in his wedding speech than he has his sons-in-law.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

FWIW my problem now isn't with Sofia..I wasn't her biggest fan when she was presented as a future Princess of Sweden, and I said so many times here at TRF.

But she has not put a foot wrong since her wedding. She is not self aggrandizing in any way, and seems dedicated to her husband and children.

Sofia was very young, barely out of her teens, when she was latched onto by the shady Barbro and became one of "her girls".

Barbro, like Ghislaine Maxwell, seemed to have a knack for finding young, vulnerable, ambitious females to "mentor" in lieu of a less polite word.

The parallells with Maxwell are fairly obvious and uncomfortable.

ETA: Sofia isn't the first Royal to be smeared by the Epstein brush. I have the feeling she won't be the last to come falling out of the tree. Trump has indicated that "a lot of people could be hurt" once the information is declassified and for once he wasn’t exaggerating.

 

[Magnolia471]

The emails are not explicit, but it's clear that BE arranged meetings between Sofia and Espein. He would have helped her get US visas, which was not that easy, even for a billionaire, and I don't think Epstein would do these favors for everyone.
If she was an adult and consenting, it's ultimately her business and there's no point in bringing it up...it was obvious what she was doing before getting married.

 

[Meraude]

Most likely there was nothing nefarious that happened when Sofia and Epstein met, but it's unfortunate that Sofia is absent from today's Nobel festivities. The information about her being absent came 5 November, and the reason why was revealed just a day or two ago (because of Ines). I would guess that these things (her absence, late info reason why, and the Epstein meetings) does rise some questions. Is there something wrong with Ines, as she's ten months now (not a newborn), and Sofia attended the Nobel festivities when the two oldest boys were younger than Ines. Or could there have been some early information about something the Epstein emails might reveal?

A post I made in the general news thread about Catl Philip and Sofia.

 

[JR76]

Judging by another comment upthread, that hasn’t changed, even if the great global interest in Jeffrey Epstein has somewhat reduced the normal deference towards Princess Sofia, so that the news of their acquaintanceship is at least being reported.

But in comparison to Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, who was criticized and apparently felt the need to publicly apologize for having occasionally met Jeffrey Epstein in group settings, or Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, who have been harshly criticized and faced calls to strip their titles for accompanying their mother to one of her meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, Princess Sofia still seems to be treated very leniently compared to other royals and non-royals who have been confirmed as past acquaintances of Jeffrey Epstein.

Both Crown Princess Mette-Marit and the two Princesses of York met Epstein after his conviction. This is what Mette-Marit apologised for - “I should have examined Epstein’s past more closely, and I regret that I did not.”
Judging from what we know at the moment, that Epstein made Princess Sofia an offer that she turned down, she has nothing to be neither ashamed nor has she anything to apologise for.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Both Crown Princess Mette-Marit and the two Princesses of York met Epstein after his conviction. This is what Mette-Marit apologised for - “I should have examined Epstein’s past more closely, and I regret that I did not.”

Yes, that's a good point.

At the same time, even some pre-conviction acquaintances of Jeffrey Epstein are finding themselves under scrutiny, as there is some evidence (most notably, but not limited to, the 2003 "birthday book") suggesting that even before the commencement of legal proceedings, at least some of his acquaintances appeared to be aware that he was, at a minimum, sexually interested in very young women.

Of course, that does not mean Princess Sofia was one of the acquaintances who knew of his reputation. It does mean that one cannot assume what she did or did not know about Jeffrey Epstein simply because she met him before 2008.

 

[Frelinghighness]

Revolting how Epstein targeted Sweden, known for beautiful women. I know several models and actors, men and women. They are always “hit on”, by all sexes. Either they are smart and learn to protect themselves or they don’t. Don’t forget Harvey Weinstein and all the women he attacked.
Sofia was smart and lucky. She has proved how smart she is by never putting a foot wrong since marriage and motherhood.

 

[Sun Lion]

I have read that Epstein once spotted a young Princess Madeleine at a social gathering and his eyes lit up. He was discouraged from getting anywhere near her when he learned-from her bodyguards- that she was a daughter of the King of Sweden and unlikely to be interested in "modeling" for him.

Is there ANY socially prominent person in Europe or the USA that has not been infected by association with this horrible person?

I can picture a mini cam in Hell, from which he is greatly enjoying the havoc he continues to wreak in peoples lives.

ETA: With the release of more and more classified Epstein information, the public should prepare to be appalled/disgusted.

While looking at the coverage that the association of Princess Sofia and Epstein is now getting …many British newspapers, People magazine in the US etc … I came across an article Moonmaiden23 that has Epstein sitting with his arm around Princess Diana the night she wore her “revenge” dress at the Serpentine Gallery.

Not strictly on topic for this thread, so I won’t post the link here, but a draft of an article than was intended for “The New York” magazine back in the day that wasn’t published in the end, so you’re right, what socially prominent person did not come within his orbit at some point.

(I’ll see if I can find an Epstein thread and post the link there.)

 

[Moonmaiden23]

He REALLY liked being associated with Royalty, didn't he?

Hopefully that night at the Serpentine was the extent of his hobnobbing with Diana.

Poor Sofia probably knew that it was only a matter of time before her association with Epstein was made public.

 

[ladongas]

Well, regardless of what actually happened, Sofia and the other girls and young women would have been intended victims if not actually victims. The men who trafficked or intended to traffick the women are the BAD GUYS.
It seems unfair to continue to gnaw ‘this particular bone.

 

[LadyFinn]

Barbro Ehnbom has spoken with Expressen, where she says among other things:
At the beginning of the interview, Barbro Ehnbom says that she doesn't believe that she put Epstein and Sofia together. Later she admits that she arranged a meeting:
– I think it is a lot of fake news and I do not know what is what. But I know what has happened and what has not happened. Like, she has only been there once.
Sofia?
– Once, when it was a structured meeting.
But when you get a question from Epstein, if she can come there…
– But then, it was maybe a completely different jargon that was used in New York so many years ago. And I was probably quite tough because I hung out with guys like that on Wall Street. And like, if you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen.
– And he was a bachelor. And he had been engaged to a great Swede for several years that I know, who is a doctor, very intelligent [Eva Andersson-Dubin, ed. note].

Hon fick Sofia och Epstein att träffas – svarar

Svenska finanskvinnan Barbro Ehnbom presenterade prinsessan Sofia för pedofilmiljardären Jeffrey Epstein. Läckta mejl avslöjar återkommande kontakt om den då 20-åriga Sofia Hellqvist. – If you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen, säger Barbro Ehnbom nu.

www.expressen.se

 

[An Ard Ri]

Its very rare that the Swedish RF get mentioned in the UK/Irish media and I now see the story in some US outlets too
Princess Sofia of Sweden met Jeffrey Epstein ‘on a few occasions’, the royal palace confirms

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Barbro Ehnbom has spoken with Expressen, where she says among other things:
At the beginning of the interview, Barbro Ehnbom says that she doesn't believe that she put Epstein and Sofia together. Later she admits that she arranged a meeting:
– I think it is a lot of fake news and I do not know what is what. But I know what has happened and what has not happened. Like, she has only been there once.
Sofia?
– Once, when it was a structured meeting.
But when you get a question from Epstein, if she can come there…
– But then, it was maybe a completely different jargon that was used in New York so many years ago. And I was probably quite tough because I hung out with guys like that on Wall Street. And like, if you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen.
– And he was a bachelor. And he had been engaged to a great Swede for several years that I know, who is a doctor, very intelligent [Eva Andersson-Dubin, ed. note].
[URL unfurl="true"[/URL]

What the hell did I just read ?? Is Ehnbom still lucid at this point?

 

[Marengo]

Well, regardless of what actually happened, Sofia and the other girls and young women would have been intended victims if not actually victims. The men who trafficked or intended to traffick the women are the BAD GUYS.
It seems unfair to continue to gnaw ‘this particular bone.

I suppose that is only the case if you take away any agency from sex workers. It is a way to look at it and I believe in Sweden they legally see sex workers as victims and their clients as perpetrators [I remember a Swedish actress explaining it once on Dutch television and started ranting about our legal system in this matter].

But at least in the Netherlands that is not the case legally. If the sex worker is adult and does the work out of free will, it legally is a job like anything else. As long as Sofia met him voluntarily while she was an adult and did whatever it is she did [or not] do with him voluntarily I can't see how we can speak of victims in this particular situation. It would be an arrangement of mutual benefit for both parties who willingly agreed to have intercourse in exchange for whatever it is the other party received.

 

[LadyFinn]

The Royal House gave a new statement to Expressen this afternoon:
The Royal House's information department now writes that it is "important that the focus of reporting is placed where it belongs".
"No one can be asked to remember all the people they have met in their lives, but what Princess Sofia remembers is that she met Epstein a few times about 20 years ago. We want to clarify and make it clear that this happened in social contexts, such as at a restaurant and a film premiere", the information department writes in an email.
In one of the leaked Epstein emails, Ehnbom writes that Epstein helped Sofia and another woman with a visa. The Royal House denies this: "Information that the Princess has received help from Epstein with acting training or a visa to the USA is incorrect. The Princess has thus never been in any form of dependence on him, nor has she had contact with him for 20 years".

Hovets nya svar om Sofia och Epstein

Prinsessan Sofia träffade pedofilmiljardären Jeffrey Epstein flera gånger när hon var i 20-årsåldern. Efter de senaste dagarnas rapportering kommer hovet med ett klargörande. ”Prinsessan har således aldrig stått i någon form av beroendeställning till honom, ej heller haft kontakt med honom sedan...

www.expressen.se

The Royal House has sent the statement also to other medias.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Note: I wrote the following before @LadyFinn’s above post reporting the Royal Court’s denial of the phone call.

The Royal House confirms to DN Dagens Nyheter that Sofia met Jeffrey Epstein several times in various social contexts.
DN Dagens Nyheter:
Businesswoman Barbro Ehnbom put young Swedish women from her network in contact with the now-infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
One of them was Princess Sofia, who met the billionaire several times, DN can reveal. He also offered to arrange acting training for her.

Princess Sofia has not agreed to an interview, but the court confirms that she met Jeffrey Epstein several times in various social contexts.
“Princess Sofia has been introduced to the person in question on a few occasions around 2005,” their information department wrote in an email to DN.
The court does not answer where, how, or why she met Jeffrey Epstein. The court does not provide an answer as to whether it is true that Princess Sofia received the offer.
“Princess Sofia has neither applied for nor attended any form of acting training,” they write.
But Sofia’s friend Camilla, who is mentioned in the email, says that they met Jeffrey Epstein at an office in New York – a meeting arranged by Barbro Ehnbom.
It is true that Epstein, who called himself “Jeff”, then offered her and Sofia to go to “film school”, Camilla tells DN.
– He probably wanted to throw out an offer, to show that he could and had power and money.

Prinsessan Sofia träffade Epstein flera gånger

Prinsessan Sofia träffade sexförbrytaren Jeffrey Epstein flera gånger, kan DN avslöja. Miljardären erbjöd sig att ordna en skådespelarutbildning åt henne.

www.dn.se

SVT and TV4 quote the article

Hovet: Prinsessan Sofia har träffat Jeffrey Epstein

Sexförbrytaren Jeffrey Epstein hade kontakt med en svensk finanskvinna. Hon presenterade honom för prinsessan Sofia, rapporterar DN. Hovet bekräftar att prinsessan Sofia träffade Epstein några gånger.

www.svt.se

Prinsessan Sofia träffade Epstein – flera gånger

Prinsessan Sofia erbjöds biljett till Karibien • Mejl och möten i New York

www.tv4.se

Here’s an article in English …

LEAK: Swedish Princess Sofia and Epstein met several times - The Nordic Times

The Royal Court confirms that she met the convicted sex offender several times in 2005 through financier Barbro Ehnbom.

nordictimes.com

Barbro Ehnbom's congratulations to Jeffrey Epstein: Picture of Princess Sofia
Epstein paid for plane tickets, hotel nights and let young Swedes stay in his properties in New York and Paris free of charge. He financed the "Female economist of the year" award at the Stockholm School of Economics, and was involved in selecting the winner. Epstein in turn got to meet a large number of young Swedish girls at dinners, luxurious parties and exclusive meetings.
– BBB (Barbro's Best and Brightest) was started with the aim of recruiting smart young beautiful girls from School of Economics to the network, which was Epstein's driving force for financing it, a source with insight into BBB tells Expressen.
Women in BBB are also said to have been encouraged to visit Epstein in hotel rooms.
According to the court, Sofia never took up Epstein's offer to fly to his island. (..)

Grattismejlet till Epstein: Bild på prinsessan Sofia

Här är bilden på prinsessan Sofia, som skickades till pedofilmiljardären Jeffrey Epstein på hans födelsedag. Finanskvinnan Barbro Ehnbom låg bakom kontakten mellan Sofia och Epstein. Bland annat ska miljardären ha hjälpt Sofia med visum. ”Grattis från dina BBB-flickor”, skriver Ehnbom till en...

www.expressen.se

In terms of the timeline, the key date is probably June 30, 2008, when Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to one count of solicitation of prostitution with a minor (and one count of solicitation of prostitution) and was sent to jail. Subsequent to that date, it becomes much more difficult (though not impossible) for his acquaintances, male or female, to claim ignorance of his actions.

There is no evidence from Barbro Ehnbom’s leaked emails (which date from 2005 to 2008) that Sofia Hellqvist contacted Jeffrey Epstein in or after June 2008. So it is perfectly possible that Ms. Hellqvist had no idea Mr. Epstein was a child sexual abuser at the times she met with him, or at the time she called him about her visa problems.


Nevertheless, I have questions about the Royal Court’s statement reacting to the leaked tranche of Ehnbom-Epstein emails from 2005-2008.

The Royal Court stated that "The princess has had no contact with the person in question for 20 years." Unless something is lost in translation, that would date Sofia Hellqvist’s last contact with Jeffrey Epstein to 2005 at the latest.

However, Barbro Ehnbom’s email to Jeffrey Epstein saying "This is Sofia, aspiring actress who just arrived in New York. This is the girl I told you about before I left, who I thought you might want to meet" was sent on December 18, 2005.

The Royal Court confirmed that "Princess Sofia was introduced to the person in question on a few occasions around 2005" (my bolding). Barbro Ehnbom’s email of April 21, 2006 stated “They [Sofia and Camilla] run into problems with their visa and called him, no?”

So as of December 18, 2005, Sofia Hellqvist had never met Jeffrey Epstein, but they subsequently met “a few times” and held at least one phone call (which phone call took place before April 21, 2006). For all of this to have occurred in 2005, the multiple meetings and phone call would have had to happen between December 18 and December 31 – which seems like a rushed schedule for a busy socialite like Jeffrey Epstein.

It seems much more likely that at least some of the confirmed contacts took place in 2006.

Moreover, Barbro Ehnbom emailed Jeffrey Epstein birthday congratulations from herself, Sofia Hellqvist, and two other BBB women on January 30, 2008. (The message was “Congratulations from your BBB girls” and apparently did not include Sofia Hellqvist’s name, but Sofia Hellqvist, Barbro Ehnbom, and the two other women were in a photograph attached to the email.) Perhaps Ms. Ehnbom sent the virtual birthday card without the other women’s consent, but if Sofia Hellqvist did consent to be included in the birthday card, that could be considered a form of indirect contact.


Again, whether Sofia Hellqvist contacted Jeffrey Epstein in December 2005 or early 2006 or even January 2008 makes no difference in terms of her possible ignorance or knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s actions: He did not plead guilty and go to jail until June 2008.

But it invites the question of whether the Royal Court is attempting to create the impression that Sofia Hellqvist fully cut off contact with Jeffrey Epstein earlier than she actually did. Which, in my opinion, is unnecessary in terms of protecting Princess Sofia’s reputation (assuming there continues to be no evidence that she contacted Jeffrey Epstein after he pled guilty to soliciting child prostitution in June 2008) and only undermines the Royal Court’s credibility.


Regarding the gender issue: Many female acquaintances of the late Jeffrey Epstein who are or have been under the microscope (to a much greater extent than Princess Sofia) for having interacted with Mr. Epstein. Barbro Ehnbom is one such example.

In my opinion, it is probably safe to presume the vast majority of Mr. Epstein’s female acquaintances were not involved in his sexual abuse operation, but nor can his female acquaintances all be presumed to be his victims or intended victims.

 

[victor1319]

If I have it right, Aftonbladet and the German daily Bild had back then some excerpts from her long deleted blog about her adventures in NY, NY... And one of her adventures was the now badly disgraced jailbird P. Diddy... Plus Lord Little Finger Epstein...

Some party nights from the youth can age pretty bad!

Bild... P. Diddy (in German only, sorry)

 

[hereditarytitles]

I suppose that is only the case if you take away any agency from sex workers. It is a way to look at it and I believe in Sweden they legally see sex workers as victims and their clients as perpetrators [I remember a Swedish actress explaining it once on Dutch television and started ranting about our legal system in this matter].

But at least in the Netherlands that is not the case legally. If the sex worker is adult and does the work out of free will, it legally is a job like anything else. As long as Sofia met him voluntarily while she was an adult and did whatever it is she did [or not] do with him voluntarily I can't see how we can speak of victims in this particular situation. It would be an arrangement of mutual benifit for both parties who willingly agree to have intercourse in exchange for whatever it is the other party received.

That's how the laws are here, too. As long as the woman isn't a minor or wasn't forced into this "job" (which would have to be proven first, if it even goes to court), it's an accepted profession. There's clearly a great demand among the predominantly male clientele. Imagine if it didn't exist; it would make many things worse or more criminal. That's why I don't agree with the term "victim" in this context.

In my city, we even have a high-rise building with a caretaker, a doctor, and administrative offices where the women receive their clients and can feel safe because of the protected environment.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

The Royal House gave a new statement to Expressen this afternoon:
The Royal House's information department now writes that it is "important that the focus of reporting is placed where it belongs".
"No one can be asked to remember all the people they have met in their lives, but what Princess Sofia remembers is that she met Epstein a few times about 20 years ago. We want to clarify and make it clear that this happened in social contexts, such as at a restaurant and a film premiere", the information department writes in an email.
In one of the leaked Epstein emails, Ehnbom writes that Epstein helped Sofia and another woman with a visa. The Royal House denies this: "Information that the Princess has received help from Epstein with acting training or a visa to the USA is incorrect. The Princess has thus never been in any form of dependence on him, nor has she had contact with him for 20 years".

Hovets nya svar om Sofia och Epstein

Prinsessan Sofia träffade pedofilmiljardären Jeffrey Epstein flera gånger när hon var i 20-årsåldern. Efter de senaste dagarnas rapportering kommer hovet med ett klargörande. ”Prinsessan har således aldrig stått i någon form av beroendeställning till honom, ej heller haft kontakt med honom sedan...

www.expressen.se

The Royal House has sent the statement also to other medias.

The visa: Aside from the issues with Jeffrey Epstein himself, calling a wealthy and connected friend-of-a-friend to ask him to use his wealth and connections to obtain a visa for you is probably not a course of action that everyone in Sweden would look kindly on. It is good that the Royal Court has belatedly addressed it, but I wonder why they didn’t do it in their original reply.

However, the new statement is not exactly a denial of Barbro Ehnbom’s 2006 comment that “They [Sofia and Camilla] run into problems with their visa and called him [Epstein]”. The Royal Court says Sofia did not “receive help” with her visa (or with acting training) from Jeffrey Epstein, or become “dependent” on him, but calling someone about a visa and actually receiving help from them are two different things.


The clarification that “[their meetings] happened in social contexts, such as at a restaurant and a film premiere": Perhaps the Royal Court did not include this in their original response because they worried foreign gossip magazines would sensationalize it (something like “Read all about Sofia’s secret dinner and movie with Epstein!”).

But frankly, former friends of Jeffrey Epstein are collectively under suspicion of condoning much worse things than questionable socializing. By stating that Sofia Hellqvist only met Jeffrey Epstein in social settings (as the Norwegian Royal Court did with Crown Princess Mette-Marit), they get ahead of Prince Andrew-style questions like “Didn’t they see all those poor abused young girls when they visited Epstein at his homes?”

 

[hereditarytitles]

If I have it right, Aftonbladet and the German daily Bild had back then some excerpts from her long deleted blog about her adventures in NY, NY... And one of her adventures was the now badly disgraced jailbird P. Diddy... Plus Lord Little Finger Epstein...

Some party nights from the youth can age pretty bad!

Bild... P. Diddy (in German only, sorry)

Interesting, I'd never heard or read about that before. If it's true, Sofia unfortunately moved in a very questionable scene during her youth. These people's pasts catch up with them eventually, even if it takes decades. And of course, there are always young women involved who hope to gain some advantage from it, some naive, some not. Sofia was certainly one of those young women, otherwise she wouldn't have posed for nude photos and engaged in other activities in that scene.

But, again, that was in her youth, and luckily for her, she found the love of her life, and even a member of a royal family.

Now her past is catching up with her, which must be painful. She could speak out publicly and say that she made mistakes, but was young and ambitious and didn't know what kind of people she was dealing with. That would certainly be helpful.

 

[Somebody]

In her case, it is very much in line with what was already known about her very questionable past. I would have been more surprised for almost anyone else in the royal world to have this type of connection than for Sofia, who was happy to model (including posing mostly nude) for men's magazines in her late teens and early twenties.

Indeed, fortunately, once she met Carl Philip, she drastically changed her behavior to fit in with the royal family.

 

[Sun Lion]

If I have it right, Aftonbladet and the German daily Bild had back then some excerpts from her long deleted blog about her adventures in NY, NY... And one of her adventures was the now badly disgraced jailbird P. Diddy... Plus Lord Little Finger Epstein...

Some party nights from the youth can age pretty bad!

Bild... P. Diddy (in German only, sorry)

Thanks victor1319 … if I open links in Chrome I can usually translate them, so it was interesting to read that Sofia was in New York from 2005 until 2008 according to her quoted blog excerpt.

And seeing her mention coming across Johnny Depp and singing karaoke with Mark Warhlberg present as well as being offered a ride in Diddy’s Rolls Royce …

… plenty of people go to New York and would never even see these people from an distance, let alone interact with them.

I think you have to have connections, be in some inside circle and taken places and allowed to get close.

I don’t understand why a young woman would have trouble getting a visa to the US.

Being young you have less chance to have a criminal conviction … which could cause issues … and especially from a place like Sweden, a safe Western country. Maybe because she stayed three years and wanted to work.

The article is certainly hard on Sofia …”will slither her way into European high society”, “ jungle viper”, “nibbled on quite a few fruits”.

Poor girl will have so many eyes and cameras on her next time she comes out in public, trying to read her reaction to the revelations … defiant or crushed.

 

[JR76]

Now her past is catching up with her, which must be painful. She could speak out publicly and say that she made mistakes, but was young and ambitious and didn't know what kind of people she was dealing with. That would certainly be helpful.

She's already done exactly that.

 

[hereditarytitles]

She's already done exactly that.

I didn't know that, otherwise I wouldn't have worded my post that way. I was always under the impression that, unlike others, she never commented on it publicly. When and where was that?

Thanks victor1319 … if I open links in Chrome I can usually translate them, so it was interesting to read that Sofia was in New York from 2005 until 2008 according to her quoted blog excerpt.

And seeing her mention coming across Johnny Depp and singing karaoke with Mark Warhlberg present as well as being offered a ride in Diddy’s Rolls Royce …

… plenty of people go to New York and would never even see these people from an distance, let alone interact with them.

I think you have to have connections, be in some inside circle and taken places and allowed to get close.

I don’t understand why a young woman would have trouble getting a visa to the US.

Being young you have less chance to have a criminal conviction … which could cause issues … and especially from a place like Sweden, a safe Western country. Maybe because she stayed three years and wanted to work.

The article is certainly hard on Sofia …”will slither her way into European high society”, “ jungle viper”, “nibbled on quite a few fruits”.

Poor girl will have so many eyes and cameras on her next time she comes out in public, trying to read her reaction to the revelations … defiant or crushed.

But, that article in tabloid "Bild", which I never had seen before, is from 2015, 10 years ago. Nobody will remember it .

 

[Sun Lion]

But, that article in tabloid "Bild", which I never had seen before, is from 2015, 10 years ago. Nobody will remember it .

Yes I saw it was from 2015 hereitarytitles … but as a first-hand account from Sofia herself, I won’t be surprised to see it quoted in some of the current coverage if this story keeps running.

Or if it dies down … this Sofia/Epstein association … but is resurrected in the future with more email releases.

I think the Epstein email releases will feed media for years … it’s only the tip of the iceberg currently. (I mean about any well-known person who came within his orbit.)