Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit, is sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of two counts of rape and 32 other offenses. The Oslo court acquitted him of two other rape charges. The case, which exposed Høiby's drug addiction via video evidence, has damaged the royal family's reputation amid his mother's serious illness and her past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Rape conviction sentencing
- ▪The court found the rape victims were asleep or otherwise incapacitated and unable to resist
- ▪One of the rapes Høiby was convicted of took place in 2018 in the basement of the crown prince's official residence at Skaugum
- ▪Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit, was sentenced to four years in prison by an Oslo court on June 15, 2026
- ▪Høiby was ordered to pay a total of 640,000 kroner (about £50,000 or €57,000) in compensation to four women
- ▪Høiby was convicted on two counts of rape and acquitted on two other counts
Additional criminal charges
- ▪Evidence presented during the trial included self-made videos of sexual encounters and over 800 electronic messages
- ▪Høiby had previously admitted to lesser charges, including transporting 3.5kg (7.7 pounds) of marijuana in 2020
- ▪During the trial, Marius Borg Høiby testified that a lifelong "extreme need for recognition" led to a life of "a lot of sex, a lot of drugs and a lot of alcohol."
- ▪Marius Borg Høiby faced a total of 40 criminal charges and was ultimately convicted of 34 offenses
- ▪Høiby's convictions included domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend Nora Haukland, drug offenses, and violating restraining orders
- ▪Police discovered the potential rapes by finding videos on Høiby's devices while investigating an assault case; the women did not initially file the rape charges
Defense appeal plans
- ▪Høiby's defense team had argued for a sentence of no more than 18 months for the offenses he had admitted to
- ▪Høiby's mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, suffers from pulmonary fibrosis and is on a waiting list for a lung transplant
- ▪Throughout the trial, Høiby pleaded not guilty to the rape charges while admitting to several lesser offenses
- ▪Prosecutors had requested a sentence of seven years and seven months for Høiby
Crown Princess health crisis
- ▪Marius Borg Høiby is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship and does not hold a royal title or official duties
Royal family reputation damage
- ▪The Norwegian royal court issued a statement saying, "The matter has been considered by the courts, and we have no comment on the outcome."
- ▪The trial coincided with public scrutiny of Crown Princess Mette-Marit's past association with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
- ▪During the trial, a Norstat poll showed public support for the Norwegian monarchy fell to a record low of 60%, before recovering to 64% in May
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