The eldest son of Norway’s crown princess has been arrested, simply earlier than his trial opens on costs together with rape in a case that has been a humiliation to the royal household, police stated Monday.
Marius Borg Høiby was arrested on Sunday night and is accused of assault, threats with a knife and violation of a restraining order, police stated in a press release. They requested 4 weeks’ detention on grounds of danger of reoffending. His legal professionals couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
On Tuesday, he’s as a result of go on trial on the Oslo district courtroom. The indictment consists of 38 counts, together with rape, abuse in a detailed relationship in opposition to one former associate, acts of violence in opposition to one other and transporting 3.5 kilograms (7.7 kilos) of marijuana. Different costs embody making demise threats and visitors violations.
Høiby has been underneath scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested in 2024 on numerous allegations of wrongdoing. He was indicted in August, however had been free pending trial till Sunday.
Høiby is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a earlier relationship and stepson of the inheritor to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon. He has no royal title or official duties.
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The indictment centres on 4 alleged rapes between 2018 and November 2024; alleged violence and threats in opposition to a former associate between the summer season of 2022 and the autumn of 2023; and two alleged acts of violence in opposition to a subsequent associate, together with violations of a restraining order.
Høiby’s defence staff has stated that he “denies all costs of sexual abuse, in addition to the vast majority of the fees relating to violence.”
Haakon stated final week that he and Mette-Marit don’t plan to attend courtroom and that the royal home doesn’t intend to remark through the proceedings.
He emphasised that Høiby isn’t a part of the royal home and that, as a citizen of Norway, he has the identical tasks and rights as all others. He stated that he’s assured that each one involved will make the trial as orderly, correct and truthful as potential.
Whereas the royals are usually common in Norway, the Høiby case has solid a shadow on their picture. And the trial is opening simply as his mom faces renewed scrutiny over her contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.
Friday’s launch of the most recent batch of paperwork from the Epstein information shone an unflattering highlight on Mette-Marit. They contained a number of hundred mentions of the crown princess, who already stated in 2019 that she regretted having had contact with Epstein, Norwegian media reported.
The newly launched paperwork, which embody e mail exchanges with Epstein, confirmed that Mette-Marit borrowed a property of Epstein’s in Palm Seashore, Florida, for a number of days in early 2013, and the royal home confirmed that she did so by way of a mutual pal, broadcaster NRK reported.
In a press release emailed by the royal home, Mette-Marit stated that she “should take duty for not having investigated Epstein’s background extra totally, and for not realizing sooner what sort of particular person he was.”
“I deeply remorse this, and it’s a duty I need to bear. I confirmed poor judgment and remorse having had any contact with Epstein in any respect,” she stated. “It’s merely embarrassing.”
She expressed her “deep sympathy and solidarity” with the victims of Epstein’s abuse.
Mette-Marit’s contacts with Epstein and the Høiby trial aren’t the one supply of adverse publicity for Norway’s royals. The enterprise ventures of Haakon’s sister, Princess Märtha Louise, have drawn repeated criticism. In 2024, across the identical time Høiby’s case was making information, she married an American self-professed shaman, Durek Verrett.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
