Marius Borg Høiby: The scandal and the Norwegian royal family

Behind the magnificent facade of Oslo Castle, human dramas have probably taken place in recent years, the extent of which can only now be guessed at. The focus is on Marius Borg Høiby. The little boy who was held in the arms of his mother Mette-Marit on the balcony of that very castle on a beautiful August day 23 years ago at her dream wedding to Crown Prince Haakon, to the cheers of the Norwegians. Today he is an adult. And the fairy tale of the perfect royal patchwork family, in which a child from a problematic previous relationship of the commoner Crown Prince’s bride “just like that” growing up as an equal alongside his two royal half-siblings and becoming a happy and upright member of society – it was probably too good to be true.

Marius Borg Høiby: Childhood between palace and rented apartment

Did you see that “Bonus child” While Crown Prince Haakon used to appear more often in official family photos and at joint events of the Norwegian royal family, the biological son of Morten Borg, a bon vivant with a previous conviction for cocaine possession, with whom Marius also lived for part of his childhood and youth, has appeared less and less in public in recent years.

At first, this was explained by his studies in the USA. But now we suddenly hear that he had been struggling with mental problems and drug addiction for a long time. His life in the tension between the royal palace and a middle-class rented apartment has apparently led to an inner conflict that he was unable to deal with. The current alcohol and drug binge, in which Marius is said to have physically attacked his current girlfriend, was apparently not a one-off slip-up, as we have now learned.

Dangerous drug-induced outbursts

According to Norwegian media, the current dramatic incident occurred in the apartment of his 20-year-old girlfriend. There is talk of punches, chokeholds and a knife being rammed into the wall. Shortly after his release from custody, Mette-Marit’s son has now made a shocking statement about the incident in which he acknowledged his alcohol and cocaine consumption and admitted to being guilty of bodily harm. He also mentioned that he had previously had to undergo drug rehabilitation. He now plans to resume this therapy.

The decision to go public with this unexpectedly open confession was probably made after consultation with his lawyer, as two of Marius’ former partners have now come forward, claiming to have been subjected to violent attacks in their respective relationships with him. Borg Høiby is now officially charged with assault and damage to property. The police have already indicated in a press conference that these charges could be expanded.

Did Mette-Marit want to influence the victim?

The fact that the concerned mother Mette-Marit is said to have sought direct contact with the victim after the crime does not make matters any better. If the Crown Princess said more in the phone call than just asking about the young woman’s well-being (for example, asking for the criminal charges against her son to be withdrawn), this could later be considered in court as an attempt to influence a witness, which is just as much a criminal offense in Norway as it is in Germany, even though members of the royal family enjoy immunity.

As much as it is humanly understandable that Mette-Marit’s mother’s voice was stronger at that moment than the voice of royal duty, which should have advised her to exercise extreme restraint, that would be more than unwise. An ill-considered intervention could damage the reputation of the royal family in the long term just as much as her son’s criminal behavior.

Palace reaction: downplaying

Meanwhile, royal communications chief Guri Varpe consistently passes on urgent media inquiries about the case to Borg Høiby’s lawyer, arguing that Marius is a member of the royal family, but not a member of the royal house. A small but important difference. Therefore, this is a private matter.

At the same time, the royal press office published a picture showing King Harald and his wife Sonja watching the Olympic Games on television in their summer residence Mågerø on the island of Tjøme, seemingly carefree – a less than ideal public image at the time.

This almost raises the question of whether the king is aware of the seriousness of the situation, whether he is still master in his own house. After all, according to the constitution, he is equally responsible for protecting the institution he leads and for ensuring that order prevails in the royal household. If he is increasingly unable to do this alone due to his age, it would be his job to ensure that an apparatus is in place around him to deal with this. But that has not happened so far, as Norwegian media comment: It seems that the monarch has lost control, they say.

Lack of crisis management

The accusation against his step-grandson is a difficult matter for the King and the entire Royal Family. Due to the seriousness of the allegations and the existence of similar previous incidents, the matter could develop into a serious problem for the Royal Family if they continue to deal with it in their current defensive manner.

The Norwegian royal family, like the Windsor relatives in the UK, is a family business. Many other companies would first set up a crisis team in a situation like this to gain full control. But that is not happening because the decision has been made to treat the case as a private matter, regardless of the potential impact on the institution of the monarchy.

Consequences for the monarchy?

We will probably never know what exactly was going on behind the palace walls when the crime was discovered. But there is no doubt where the responsibility lies in the end – with the head of the company, King Harald. In a normal company, the question would be how the CEO managed everything, or what his “Vice CEO” Crown Prince Haakon took optimal crisis management when he learned that his stepson had been arrested by the police and charged with assault. All we know is that Haakon traveled to the Olympic Games in Paris as planned shortly afterwards, while his wife initially remained in Oslo.

It is also unclear when and to what extent the royal couple was informed. Perhaps Haakon and the palace officials wanted to spare the 87-year-old, latently ailing king while he was on vacation. Perhaps they thought they could manage without him. But Harald is still the head of the royal family and the Marius case is not the only scandal that is currently brewing. At the end of August, his daughter Märtha Louise will marry her fiancé Durek Verrett, a self-proclaimed shaman who is anything but uncontroversial in Norway and who repeatedly attracts attention with controversial public statements and actions.

Time for a change of throne?

The king also seems strangely passive on this front. Doubts as to whether he still has what it takes to fulfil his office have now been publicly expressed for the first time in the Norwegian press. When asked about the subject of abdication in January, when his cousin Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who is almost the same age, made way for his son Frederik, Harald referred to the oath for life that he had once taken before parliament when he ascended to the throne.

The fact remains that the criminal proceedings against Marius Borg Høiby are an unprecedented event in the recent history of European monarchies. There have always been major scandals, but never before has it been admittedly about violence in this form, and against a woman from the royal family’s closest circle. It casts a bad light on the Norwegian royal family that a young person who theoretically grew up in the best of conditions could develop such mental problems and was then apparently left to deal with them pretty much alone.

If there had been similar violent incidents in the past and it was clear that Marius was developing dangerously, the king, as monarch and head of the family, should have ensured that the Crown Prince couple, together with the biological father, took action on the young man’s behalf much earlier. Even if this lack of leadership does not cost Harald his crown, it will cause significant damage to the reputation of the Norwegian monarchy.