Princess Sofia of Sweden made a notable appearance at the recent celebration of King Carl Gustaf XVI’s 80th birthday. Sofia Hellqvist, now 41 and once known for her career as a glamour model and reality TV star, chose a wide-brimmed blue hat to subtly deflect attention, obscuring much of her face from the cameras. This public appearance follows Sofia’s recent candid remarks regarding her past encounters with Jeffrey Epstein, acknowledging that she met the convicted sex offender at two social gatherings. She clarified that these meetings took place prior to her marriage into the Swedish royal family and expressed her relief at having had “nothing to do with him” since those early interactions.

Earlier in the week, Sofia joined other prominent members of the Swedish royal family for the Te Deum mass, donning a light blue hat that once again concealed her face during the ceremony on the Lejonbacken terrace, which included a flypast celebration. King Carl Gustaf, a distant relative of King Charles, is the first Swedish monarch in over a millennium to celebrate 50 years on the throne, marking this milestone with the traditional service. Accompanying Sofia and Prince Carl Philip were their children: Prince Alexander, 10; Prince Gabriel, eight; Prince Julian, five; and Princess Ines, one. Sofia, who frequented New York’s social scene before her 2015 marriage, was named in documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice in February in connection with Epstein. The documents list her as a guest—identified as Epstein’s companion—at a private screening and dinner for the film “Les Misérables” in New York in 2012.

Upon seeing her name in the files, Epstein reportedly responded with enthusiasm, writing, “Amazing!!!” Addressing these revelations publicly for the first time, Princess Sofia confirmed their meeting at the film event but expressed her hopes for justice for Epstein’s victims. She stated, “Now that I have read about all the terrible crimes he has subjected young women to, I am so grateful that I have had nothing to do with him since the few occasions in my twenties. My thoughts go out to all the victims. I hope there will be justice in this.” She clarified that their encounters were purely social, occurring at a restaurant introduction and the film screening, with no further contact. Despite previous denials regarding her attendance at the screening, a spokesperson for Princess Sofia told the Swedish outlet Expressen that she was in Sweden on the date in question and had no explanation for her name’s inclusion in the document.

The Swedish royal family previously disclosed that the princess met with the disgraced financier multiple times in 2005. At one point, Epstein sent an invitation offering for the princess to visit him on his private island in the Caribbean, according to leaked emails reported in Swedish outlet Dagens Nyheter . Epstein also offered the princess and her friend places at acting school, the newspaper claimed. The pair were introduced several times by a Swedish businesswoman, Princess Sofia’s mentor, according to the outlet, who later attended her wedding. The princess worked as a topless model and a yoga instructor and helped to set up a charity before she married Carl Philip, 46, who is third in line to the throne. ‘This is Sofia, 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. Maybe we can visit before you go on holiday?’, the businesswoman allegedly wrote in an email to Epstein on December 18, 2005.

She also linked to a photograph of the then 21-year-old model. ‘I’m in the Caribbean. Does she want to come for a couple of days? I’ll send a ticket,’ replied Epstein, who three years later would be convicted in a state court in Florida for procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. According to the family, the princess did not accept the invitation to Epstein’s infamous US Virgin Islands home called Little St James, where multiple young women including the late Virginia Giuffre have alleged that they were trafficked and abused. Before marrying the son of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Princess Sofia was a well-known face in Stockholm’s nightlife. She participated in the reality show ‘Paradise Hotel’ in 2005, launching her career, before she moved to New York. She attended exclusive parties and blogged about her glitzy life full of celebrities and Hollywood stars on sites such as Glife and Nattstad. She married the prince in a lavish ceremony in the chapel at Stockholm’s Royal Palace, where thousands of well-wishers lined the streets celebrating the commoner-turned-princess.

A few months after the first emails she sent to Epstein in 2005, the Swedish financier received another email from his assistant, in April 2006. It said: ‘Jeffrey wonders what really happened with Camilla. Did you tell her she has a ticket to New York anytime she wants?’ ‘I think he means Sofia, the little beautiful dark-haired girl who had her friend Camilla with her,’ replied the businesswoman, according to a report in Dagens Nyheter based on leaked emails. She goes on to write that Epstein offered both Sofia and her friend places at an acting school, but that both women had issues with their visas. They allegedly called Epstein about this, the businesswoman wrote.

The Swedish media made much of the princess’s past in the lead up to the royal wedding, including the fact that she posed topless with a live boa constrictor for a men’s magazine in 2004. A year later, she appeared on a Swedish reality TV show, in which scantily dressed singletons compete to stay in a luxury holiday resort. In response to the media backlash, she told Swedish television that she had long since moved on. Five years after appearing on ‘Paradise Hotel’, Sofia met her future husband in a nightclub in Stockholm. Within a year, the couple moved to Djurgården of Stockholm, where they still live in the Villa Solbacken.