The son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been jailed for four years after being found guilty of rape.
Marius Borg Høiby was convicted today of two counts of rape following a six-week trial that laid bare allegations of violence, drug abuse and sexual misconduct.
An Oslo court also found him guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend, Nora Haukland, issuing threats and committing traffic offences, although he was acquitted of two other rape charges.
The 29-year-old had been charged with sexually assaulting four women who were asleep or otherwise unable to resist between 2018 and 2024.
The conviction marks a fall for Høiby, who grew up in the public eye after his mother married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001 when he was just four years old.
Although he does not hold a royal title or carry out official duties, he has long been closely associated with the Norwegian royal family.
Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad handed down the sentence after hearing evidence linked to 40 charges, including four alleged rapes, assaults, breaches of restraining orders, drug offences and driving violations. One charge relating to a restraining-order violation was overturned.
The court heard how Høiby’s drug addiction spiralled in recent years, while investigators presented more than 800 messages and a series of self-made videos of sexual encounters as evidence during the trial.
Hoiby, 29, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship prior to her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, was accused of 40 charges
Norway’s Marius Borg Hoiby on his way to a meeting with his lawyer in Oslo, Norway, in January
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway’s health has deteriorated – and she is on the lung transplant list (pictured in May)
One alleged rape took place in the basement of the Crown Prince’s family home, the court was told.
Høiby, who denied the most serious allegations while admitting to some lesser offences, was not physically present in court for the verdict and instead joined proceedings via video link.
The verdict comes at an especially difficult time for Høiby’s mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, whose health has deteriorated sharply in recent months.
She suffers from pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease that makes breathing increasingly difficult.
Earlier this month she was placed on Norway’s national lung transplant waiting list after her condition worsened.
Last week, Oslo District Court initially approved Høiby’s release from custody so he could spend time with his mother while she awaits a transplant.
However, prosecutors appealed the decision and a higher court overturned the ruling, meaning he remained behind bars ahead of Monday’s verdict.
The royal family has also faced renewed scrutiny over Mette-Marit’s past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Epstein files revealed that frequent communication between her and Epstein occurred long after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting an underage girl.
Additional drama is simultaneously unfolding for the royal family with the upcoming arrival of a second reality TV show by King Harald and Queen Sonja’s eldest daughter, Princess Martha Louise, and her ‘shaman’ husband, Durek Verrett.
The Nowegian royal family pictured during the confirmation of Princess Ingrid Alexandra (centre) in 2019
Princess Martha Louise and Shaman Durek Verrett are pictured at a gala dinner in Oslo in 2022
The couple wed on 31 August 2024 in Norway and now live in a penthouse in Oslo
The couple’s first Netflix show, Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story, took an ‘intimate look’ at the love story between Martha Louise and the Hollywood ‘half-reptilian and bisexual’ shaman.
The film followed the couple as they ‘navigated a swirl of controversy’ and prepared for their wedding, which took place in the picturesque small town of Geiranger in 2024.
In a move dubbed ‘Norway’s Megxit’, Martha Louise relinquished her royal role in November 2022.
Eyebrows were raised when the princess first began dating Verrett, who holds some controversial and pseudoscientific views, including that cancer in children can be caused by ‘being unhappy’.
The couple were introduced by friends in 2019 and have claimed to have known each other in a past life, specifically from ancient Egypt.
Their latest reality TV venture adds to what has been one of the toughest periods for the Norwegian throne in modern times.
