Son of Norway's crown princess sentenced in rape, domestic violence case

OSLO – The stepson of Norway's Crown Prince Haakon was found guilty of rape and domestic violence and sentenced to four years in prison after a seven-week trial that has further dented the royal family's once picture-perfect image.

Oslo District Court ruled on Monday, June 15, that 29-year-old Marius Borg Høiby, who joined the royal family when his mother Mette-Marit married Haakon in 2001, was guilty of two counts of rape, including one in the basement of the crown prince's home.

He was acquitted of two other rape charges.

During the trial, the court heard evidence of Høiby's drug addiction, self-made videos of sexual encounters and hundreds of incriminating electronic messages with a former partner.

Prosecutors, who had sought seven years and seven months in jail, said that the four women accusing him of rape, in both the proven and unproven cases, had each time been too unconscious or too incapacitated to resist him after attending parties.

"The court finds it is proven she was not able to resist the action," Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad said of the rape at the crown prince's home, while reading the verdict.

Hoiby had pleaded not guilty to the most serious accusations against him, including rape and domestic violence, while admitting to some lesser ones, including the transportation and delivery of 3.5 kg (7.7 pounds) of marijuana to an unidentified person, violating restraining orders and traffic violations.

Both Høiby's lawyer Petar Sekulic and the prosecution said they may appeal the verdict.

The royal household, which has in the past expressed sympathy for all those affected by the case, declined to react to Monday's verdict. "The matter has been considered by the courts, and we have no comment on the outcome," a spokesperson for the palace said in an email to Reuters.

No other members of the royal family attended the trial.

Marius Borg Høiby hit and choked girlfriend, per testimony

Høiby was also found guilty of domestic violence against a then-girlfriend between mid-2022 and the autumn of 2023. He repeatedly hit her in the face with his fist, choked her, slammed a door in her face and threw objects at her, the court heard during the trial.

Høiby watched the verdict via video link from prison but could not be seen or heard in the courtroom.

Only one of the women accusing him of rape was in court for the verdict. She cried after the judge upheld her case, dabbing her eyes with a tissue her lawyer gave her.

Høiby has no royal title, performs no official duties and is not in the line of succession. But his case has transfixed Norway due to his ties to the heir to the throne.

Høiby trial, Epstein ties put low-key Norwegian royals in the spotlight

Like other low-key Scandinavian monarchies, the Norwegian royals have had an image of a loving and relatively low-profile family, sending their children to state schools and enjoying skiing and surfing alongside members of the public.

But Høiby's trial, coinciding with Crown Princess Mette-Marit's apology for contacts with late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has hurt their popularity.

A Norstat survey on Feb. 21 during the trial showed a fall in the number of Norwegians favoring keeping the monarchy, to a record low of 60%, from 70% in January, and a rise to 27% from 19% in those wanting a different system of governance.

Their numbers, though, were better in May, with 64% of those polled by Norstat supporting the monarchy and 23% wanting a different system of governance.

Monday's verdict was delivered amid difficult personal circumstances for Mette-Marit, who needs a lung transplant for pulmonary fibrosis.

John Christian Elden, a lawyer for one of the victims, told Reuters that Høiby's sentence was in line with new sentencing rules that make a distinction between rape involving intercourse and rape not involving intercourse. The two counts of rape Høiby was convicted of did not involve intercourse.