Son of Norway’s crown princess goes on trial, charged with rape
The charges have brought unwanted scrutiny to the Norwegian royal family
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MARIUS Borg Hoiby, the eldest son of Norway’s crown princess, went on trial on Tuesday on charges including rape, assault and filming women without their consent.
The trial in Oslo, Norway, began days after Borg Hoiby, 29, was arrested in a separate case, and after his mother came under pressure for her past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, compounding a sense of crisis for the Norwegian royal family.
Prosecutors have charged Borg Hoiby - the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and the stepson of Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to Norway’s throne - with 38 counts, including four counts of rape and six counts of filming people without their consent.
He has also been charged with physically attacking a former partner, issuing threats and damaging property, according to the indictment.
On Tuesday, Borg Hoiby pleaded not guilty to rape and filming women without their consent, according to NRK, Norway’s national broadcaster. But he pleaded guilty to other charges, including transporting more than 3.2 kg of cannabis and violating a restraining order. He entered a partial guilty plea on a charge of aggravated assault, NRK reported.
Members of the royal family did not attend the trial on Tuesday, according to NRK. The proceedings are expected to last about six weeks.
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Borg Hoiby, who was 4 years old when his mother married into the royal family, has no title or official duties. But his legal woes and various accusations against him, including substance abuse and violence toward women, have brought unwanted scrutiny to the royal family.
Prosecutors have not publicly named the women whom Borg Hoiby is accused of raping, and the court will hear some witness testimony behind closed doors.
The indictment centres on accusations of rape between 2018 and 2024; accusations of violence and threats against a former partner between 2022 and 2023; and accusations of violence against a subsequent partner. Borg Hoiby was arrested in 2024 and charged last year.
On Sunday, Borg Hoiby was arrested in connection with new allegations of assault, threatening another person with a knife, and violating a restraining order, according to NRK. He remained in police custody until his court appearance on Tuesday.
Borg Hoiby’s lawyer and Norwegian police could not immediately be reached for comment.
The trial came as Mette-Marit faced scrutiny for her past ties to Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died in 2019.
Her relationship with Epstein had previously been reported, but emails released last week suggested that they had been closer than the palace had previously acknowledged.
While King Harald V and Queen Sonja remain popular, the royal family’s image has been dented in recent years. In 2022, Princess Martha Louise, the crown prince’s sister, stepped away from royal duties over her relationship with Durek Verrett, a self-proclaimed American shaman.
A poll published on Monday by Verdens Gang, a Norwegian daily, found that about 61 per cent of respondents favoured keeping the monarchy, down from 72 per cent last year. NYTIMES
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