Last summer, during the Paris Olympics, Norway’s royal family was rocked by scandal. Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son – who is not technically a member of the Norwegian royal family – was arrested for domestic violence on his then-girlfriend. The royal stepson is Marius Borg Høiby, and he has a long history of questionable and criminal behavior. Everything seems to have come to a head in the past year though. Once Marius was arrested, a more far-ranging investigation began into his behavior towards women and girls. Well, long story short, he’s now been charged with 32 crimes, including multiple rape charges.
The son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been charged with rape, domestic violence and assault a year after he was initially arrested.
Marius Borg Høiby, 27, Mette-Marit’s son from before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, was arrested in August 2024 after authorities alleged he “attacked” a 20-year-old woman “psychologically and physically,” according to a report from Norwegian outlet Se og Hør.
On Monday, Aug. 18, CBS and Reuters reported that Norway’s state prosecutor charged Høiby with 32 crimes, including one count of rape with sexual intercourse and three counts of rape without intercourse. According to the reports, Høiby is accused of filming some of the alleged offenses.
“The maximum penalty for the offenses listed in the indictment is imprisonment of up to 10 years,” prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo said, according to CBS.
Marius is not in the line of succession to the Norwegian throne and has no public role. In 2017, it was announced that he would live a mostly private life. Reuters reported that Høiby’s attorney said his client will plead guilty to some lesser crimes but disputes the most serious charges.
“He does not agree with the claims regarding rape and domestic violence,” Sekulic said, according to Reuters. Last year, Høiby was held for 30 hours following his arrest and was eventually released.
“The fact that Marius Borg Høiby is a member of the royal family should, of course, not mean that he should be treated more lightly or more severely than if similar acts had been committed by others,” Henriksbo said, per CBS.
This is “new” because now we know all of the charges and how serious all of this is. Although it’s kind of ridiculous to consider that if Marius was convicted of all 32 charges, he would only face ten years in prison? Like… what is Norway doing with their sentencing for rape convictions???
Meanwhile, two weeks ago, Marius’s stepfather Crown Prince Haakon took him on vacation to Portugal. Some European tabloids got photos too. It really looks like the Norwegian royal family isn’t taking Marius’s issues seriously.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Marius’s IG, Cover Images.
