Marius Borg Høiby: Charge against Mette-Marit’s son

He belongs to the royal family – but Marius Borg Høiby should neither help nor harm in the upcoming legal proceedings. This underlines the prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø when he lists the crimes because of which the son of the Norwegian crown princess Mette-Marit is charged. Among other things, it is about the allegation of rape.

“Of course, who he is related to the media interest in the case, but should have no importance for the question of the indictment or the sentence that is expected if he is guilty,” said the prosecutor before the assembled press in Oslo. The sentence that Høiby expects is therefore up to ten years in prison.

Around a year after the emergence of first violence against the 28 -year -old stepson of Crown Prince Haakon, the public prosecutor in Oslo raised charges against Høiby on Monday. In total, he is charged with 32 points – including the allegation of rape, but also due to abuse in tight relationships, assault, property damage and violations of visiting bans. According to the public prosecutor, the court process will probably begin in mid -January 2026.

Høiby is the oldest of the three children of Mette-Marit, who turns 52 on Tuesday; He comes from an earlier relationship. Together with heir to the throne Haakon (52), the Crown Princess has two other children: the hereditary princess Ingrid Alexandra (21) and the Prince Sverre Magnus (19), which was recently moved to Sydney (19). Høiby belongs to the royal family, but does not wear a primary title and is also not an official member of the Norwegian royal family.

Nevertheless, the royal headlines in Norway have been revolving around Høiby for around a year. After initial allegations on assault and property damage, he admitted in August 2024 that he had become violent under the influence of alcohol and cocaine towards his girlfriend at the time and destroyed things in her apartment. In a written statement, he reported on psychological problems and of the abuse of drugs for a long time.

In the course of the investigation, the police continued to extend the allegations against Mette-Marit’s son. He was arrested and interrogated several times. In November 2024 he even sat in custody for a week after new allegations had become known to several alleged sexual offenses.

The Norwegian royal family did not want to comment directly on the indictment against Høiby. “It is up to the courts to treat this case and to make a decision. We have nothing to add,” said Hof spokeswoman Guri Varpe from the NTB news agency.

The scandal about the heir to the heirs of the heir to the throne has not passed the Norwegian Royals without a trace. In an interview by the broadcaster NRK at the end of 2024, Mette-Marit said that the investigation against Marius had burdened the royal family. “It was hard. You can’t call it otherwise,” said the crown princess. “It was really, really hard for us.”

King Harald V (87) also spoke of a difficult year for the royal family last October. In a speech at the Oslo castle, Harald said: “Sometimes life is just very difficult, everyone can experience that, including our family.” In his speech, he did not go into the scandal around Høiby, but said: “The royal family is a team that works well together. We are also a family – with the joys and challenges that, as we all know, can be part of.”

Note: This article has been updated.