Marius Borg Høiby: the chronicle of a royal scandal

The scandal surrounding Marius Borg Høiby reached another – sad – peak in mid-September. On Friday evening, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit was arrested again and was only released after a night in prison. The 27-year-old is said to have violated a contact ban, and a temporary restraining order had recently been issued against him. However, the Norwegian royal’s downfall began much earlier.

Marius Borg Høiby: Bodily harm in early August

In the Autumn last year Borg Høiby was questioned “preventively” by the Norwegian police for the first time. As the Norwegian newspaper “Se og Hør” recently reported, the officers drove to the royal residence Skaugum, where they confronted him. “The police regularly conduct preventive questioning of people who may be involved in criminal activities,” the authorities said. It would take almost another year before Borg Høiby’s situation escalated.

On the first of August-weekend 2024 The Crown Princess’s son attacked a young woman in Oslo. He abused her “mentally and physically,” Norwegian media reported. The woman, who was able to escape from the apartment and call the police, was diagnosed with a concussion. She remained in a Norwegian clinic for two days. One day after the incident, Borg Høiby was arrested and spent two days in custody, after which he retreated to the Skaugum farm, the residence of the Crown Prince’s family, about 25 kilometers from Oslo.

It didn’t take long before a Ex girlfriend of the 27-year-old. Juliane Snekkestad spoke on Instagram about her time at the side of the Norwegian royal. “In the past week I received a lot of calls, messages and questions about my ex,” said the 29-year-old. “Family and friends have known for a long time and I have decided not to remain silent any longer,” said Snekkestad. “To answer all questions: Yes, I was previously mentally and physically abused by the person you are talking about. The psychological violence was the worst for me,” she said. Another ex-girlfriend, Nora Haukland, said publicly that he had also attacked her.

During a trip to the Olympic Games in Paris, Marius’ stepfather, Crown Prince Haakon, also commented: “I don’t want to go into details, but this is a burden for me too. It is a serious matter when the police are called in,” Haakon told “Dagbladet” in mid-August.

Confession shortly after attack

Shortly afterwards, Borg Høiby appeared to the surprise of many confessed“Last weekend something happened that should never have happened,” he explained in a statement. “I committed assault and destroyed objects in an apartment.” He also revealed that he had been under the influence of cocaine. He suffers from several mental disorders that have affected his life since childhood, said Borg Høiby.

Anyone who thought that the confession would bring some peace to the matter was mistaken. It only took a few days before the Norwegian newspaper “VG” published saucy Telephone recordingswhich are said to have been made in the time between the attack and the confession. “I hit you a little, a little slap with the palm of my hand,” Høiby tried to downplay the act. He choked her so hard that she couldn’t breathe, the woman replied, and reported “hundreds” of blows. Borg Høiby then instructed her to collect her belongings from his apartment in Skaugum. “At 4 p.m. your clothes will be burning. 4 p.m. Everything you own is already out here. And I have a large canister of petrol and a lighter in my hand. Do you hear that? You will be here at 4 p.m.,” he told her.

Barely a month after the physical attack, there was still something to celebrate in Norway. Princess Märtha Louise married on 31.August her partner Durek Verrett at the fjord. Mette-Marit and Haakon of Norway were there with their children, but the troubled son was missing. Borg Høiby was in Italy at the time.

But he was not protected from negative headlines. While he was on vacation, a interim injunction issued against the Norwegian. This means that he is not allowed to approach his victim for six months. The victim’s lawyer, Mette Yvonne Larsen, confirmed this to the Norwegian news agency NTB. “Until March 2025. This was deemed necessary, but I have no further comments,” said Larsen, according to the newspaper “Aftonposten”. “The basis for the injunction is the victim’s wish,” “Aftonposten” quoted prosecutor Andreas Kruszweski as saying.

After his renewed arrest Borg Høiby was not aware of any guilt. His lawyer stated that the arrest was based on a “weak factual and legal basis”.

Sources: / / NTB /