IN BRIEF
- Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son was also found guilty of domestic violence.
- Norwegian royal family’s popularity have been dented recently, after Mette-Marit’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein was revealed.
An Oslo court has delivered a verdict that has sent shockwaves through the Norwegian monarchy, sentencing Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son to four years in prison on charges of rape and numerous other offenses.
Marius Borg Hoiby, aged 29 and the son of Mette-Marit from a previous relationship, faced accusations spanning 40 charges, including rape and traffic violations. These charges carried a potential maximum sentence of 16 years behind bars.
Among the charges, Hoiby was convicted for a rape incident that occurred at the official residence of the crown prince couple in 2018.
Although Hoiby is not an official member of the royal family and lacks stable employment, the court acquitted him of two other rape charges. However, he was found guilty of repeated domestic abuse against a former girlfriend, various traffic offenses, issuing threats, a drug-related crime, and other violations.
Prosecutors had initially sought a prison sentence of seven years and seven months for Hoiby.
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Hoiby, in custody since February, had denied the most serious allegations, including the charges of rape, which the prosecution said took place while the women were asleep or unconscious.
His lawyers had called for him to serve 18 months for the charges to which he had pleaded guilty.
Hoiby was not present in court on Monday but followed the reading of the verdict by video link.
The only rape victim in the courtroom collapsed in tears when the judge read out a guilty verdict in her case.
After conferring with Hoiby in custody, his lawyers said they would appeal the two rape convictions and that for domestic abuse.
“I think this verdict is a victory for our justice system, that shows that no one is beyond the law, despite who you are and who you are related to,” prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo told Agence France-Presse.
Hoiby’s life of excess
The trial, held from 3 February to 19 March, laid bare the life of excess lived by Hoiby, who was thrust into the public eye at the age of three when his mother’s romance with the crown prince began.
“I’m mostly known as my mother’s son, not anything else. So I’ve had an extreme need for recognition my whole life,” he testified during the trial.
“And that manifested itself in a lot of sex, a lot of drugs, and a lot of alcohol,” he said.
The rapes of which he was accused occurred between 2018 and 2024, after nights of partying where Hoiby consumed alcohol and drugs.
Prosecutors argued the cases involved consensual sex later followed by sexual acts when the women appeared to be asleep or passed out, and therefore unable to consent.
Much of the legal arguments centred on the women’s level of awareness, and what Hoiby would have been able to perceive at the time.
Hoiby had criticised the pressure put on him by the media, which he said painted him as “a monster” and made him “the hate target of all of Norway”.
Prosecutors describe ‘reign of terror’
The scandal erupted on 4 August 2024, when police arrested Hoiby on suspicion of assaulting his then-girlfriend in her Oslo apartment the previous night.
The media published photos of a knife stuck in the wall and a shattered chandelier on the floor.
One of his former partners, influencer Nora Haukland, then came forward and said he had also subjected her to physical and psychological abuse — described by prosecutors as a “reign of terror”.
During the trial, Hoiby acknowledged that jealousy sometimes made him lose control.
The women themselves did not file rape charges against Hoiby.
Instead, police investigating the August 2024 incident discovered videos on his phones and computers which they said constituted rapes, and contacted the women, who were unaware of the events depicted.
The scandal has embarrassed Norway’s monarchy and contributed to a fall in support, though it remains broadly popular.
It follows earlier revelations of Mette-Marit’s friendship with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mette-Marit, 52, suffers from an incurable lung disease that causes breathing difficulties and her condition recently took a turn for the worse. Doctors have placed her on a waiting list for a lung transplant.
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