Feb. 9, 2026

Ingrid Alexandra Says She’s “Going Crazy” as Mette-Marit Apologizes Again as Marius Borg Høiby Trial Swamps Norway Royals

Show Notes
Transcript

Norway’s royal crisis deepens as Princess Ingrid Alexandra breaks royal protocol with an emotional Instagram post saying she’s “going crazy” amid relentless personal attacks. Her message lands as Crown Princess Mette-Marit issues yet another apology over her Epstein ties, admitting regret and acknowledging that parts of their correspondence do not reflect the person she wants to be. Crown Prince Haakon steps in to shield his family, saying his focus is “taking care of the flock,” while critics warn the family’s transparency is eroding trust rather than restoring it. Parliament moves to reaffirm the monarchy, but support is slipping, republican membership is surging, and even Norway’s prime minister has weighed in. As polls soften and public patience thins, Norway confronts an uncomfortable question: has its most relatable royal family finally lost control of the narrative?

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Callarogu Shark Media Now, Hello and welcome to Crown and

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Controversy Norway. I'm your Palace Intrigue host Mark Francis. Princess

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Ingrid Alexandra has posted an unusually personal message on her

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private Instagram account, speaking out against what she described as

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personal attacks and saying she was going crazy amid an

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intense period of scrutiny for the Norwegian royal family. The

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twenty two year old, who is studying in Sydney and

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his second in line to the throne, shared the message

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with her roughly eight hundred followers. The post was first

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reported by Norwegian broadcaster and Rakay. In the message, Ingrid

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Alexandra wrote that it was not about any issue, not Marius,

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not Mum or Dad, Prince Harken or Prince Severe Magnus,

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but instead about personal attacks that often applied to us.

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She added, I chose to post it here because I'm

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going crazy. When is enough? The princess said the message

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had been written in a notes app and explained that

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she had been making similar notes for six years, describing

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the post as part of what she called a thought experiment.

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It remains unclear what specific incidents prompted the message. Eric Mustard,

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an expert on the Norwegian royal family, told often Poston,

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I find this sad to read. I can understand that

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this is a very difficult situation for the royal family,

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but it is sad that she has had to resort

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to Instagram to make this. The family is undoubtedly under

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a lot of pressure, but at the same time, a

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lot of it is self inflicted by her mother and

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her half brother. When you write to that many people

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on Instagram, it's not private. You can't just throw things

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out like that and think it won't be made public.

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Crown Princess Meta Mariad issued a fresh apology on Friday,

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saying she regretted the situation she has put the Norwegian

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royal family in, especially the King and Queen. Meta Mariat's

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past contact with Jeffrey Epstein has been publicly known for

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several years. After the latest document release, she said she

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must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein's background more thoroughly,

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and expressed deep sympathy and solidarity with the victims of

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abuse committed by Epstein. Among the newly revealed material is

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an email exchange from October twenty twelve. In it Epstein

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wrote that he was in Paris on my wife, adding

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I preferred Scandinavians. Meta Marie replied that Paris was good

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for adultery, but that Scandies were better wife material. Addressing

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the content of the correspondence to the Crown Princess said

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on Friday, some of the content of the messages between

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Epstein and me does not represent the person I want

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to be. Norway's Crown Prince. Hearken said on Friday that

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his priority in recent days has been supporting his family

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during what he described as a very difficult period. Speaking

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to reporters on the sidelines of an official royal visit,

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Hearken addressed the growing pressure on the royal household following

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renewed scrutiny of his wife, Crown Princess Meta Marie, and

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the criminal trial of her son from a previous relationship.

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For me, the most important thing in these past few

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days has been to take care of the flock. Are

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consent referring to his family. We support Marius in the

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situation he is in. We look after the other children

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as well. They also need to be cared for, and

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I have to make sure to take care of the

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Crown Princess how can acknowledge that there is a strong

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public interest in hearing directly from his wife, but said

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she is not yet ready to speak. She thinks that

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it is completely natural she would like to speak, but

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right now she can't, and I also tell her that

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she is not allowed to. She needs time to gather

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herself and then she would like to say more about

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the matter. And we hope people understand that she needs

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a bit of time more in just a moment. Deep

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Crown is a British royal insider who works with us

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on our Palace Intrigue podcast. Dean Crown tells us what

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strikes me about the Norwegian situation is how thoroughly it

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demonstrates the value of British royal restraint. Princess Ingrid Alexandra

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posting to Instagram about going crazy over personal attacks would

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simply never happen here. Crown Princess Metamory's public apologies to

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the King and Queen would also not happen in Britain.

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Such matters would be handled with a terse palace statement

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and strategic withdrawal from public view. One certainly wouldn't issue

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multiple apologies that only amplify the story. The Norwegians seem

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to believe transparency equals relatability, what it actually reveals as

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a lack of institutional discipline. Oslo is learning the hard way.

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That Oslo is learning the hard way what Buckingham Palace

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has always known. Some things are better left unsaid. Norway

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Is Parliament voted last week to reaffirm the constitutional monarchy,

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a routine vote held every four years. The measure passed overwhelmingly,

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with only seventeen of one hundred and sixty nine lawmakers

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supporting a proposal to investigate dismantling the monarchy. Marius Dalen,

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the lawmaker who introduced the proposal, said he loves the

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King and Queen but believes change is inevitable, saying when

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the people don't that they present their identity and common values,

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then its time. Another lawmaker, Jury Melby, said if an

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elected politician was involved in a scandal in the way

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that Meta Marie is involved in the Epstein files, I

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think that elected politician would have difficulties getting re elected.

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Polling conducted found that fifty four percent of Norwegian's support

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remaining a monarchy, while thirty three percent favour becoming a republic.

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Political commentator Kim Ahnhmstad said a friendship with Epstein clashes

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with national expectations of royal modesty, describing it as in

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conflict with how Norwegians want the royal family to be. Still,

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many believe the monarchy is unlikely to fall. Kenneth Tiller,

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a real estate worker, said that would take a revolution

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and they have it. If you'd like to email us

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addresses the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com and don't forget.

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Currently we're running two series now on the Royals. We

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have Ground and Controversy Norway right here, as well as

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our daily Palace Intrigue which covers the British royal family

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and many other specials on weekends. We thank you for

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your support, so please follow us on your favorite app, Spotify,

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Apple or Apple of Choice. I'm Mink Francis my thanks

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good terms