An Oslo court on Monday sentenced Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son to four years in prison on two counts of rape and 32 other offences, in a high-profile scandal that has rocked the monarchy.
Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship prior to her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, was accused of 40 charges, from rape to traffic violations, carrying a maximum possible sentence of 16 years in prison.
One of the rapes for which he was convicted took place at the crown prince couple’s official residence in 2018.
Hoiby, who is not formally part of the royal household and has no steady job, was acquitted of two other counts of rape, and convicted of repeated domestic abuse against an ex-girlfriend, traffic violations, issuing threats, a drug offence and others.
The prosecution had asked for a seven-year, seven-month jail term.
Hoiby, in custody since February, had denied the most serious allegations, including the charges of rape, which the prosecution said took place while the women were asleep or unconscious.
His lawyers had called for him to serve 18 months for the charges to which he had pleaded guilty.
Hoiby was not present in court on Monday but followed the reading of the verdict by video link.
The only rape victim in the courtroom collapsed in tears when the judge read out a guilty verdict in her case.
“It is only natural to consider appealing the serious charges for which he was convicted and which he did not admit,” defence lawyer Ellen Holager Andenaes said.
Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo said the sentence was “lengthy and strict”, and “fits the seriousness of the crimes that he is convicted of.”
“I think this verdict is a victory for our justice system, that shows that no one is beyond the law, despite who you are and who you are related to,” he told AFP.
Life of excess
The trial, held February 3 to March 19, laid bare the life of excess lived by Hoiby, who was thrust into the public eye at the age of three when his mother’s romance with the crown prince began.
“I’m mostly known as my mother’s son, not anything else. So I’ve had an extreme need for recognition my whole life,” he testified during the trial.
“And that manifested itself in a lot of sex, a lot of drugs, and a lot of alcohol,” he said.
The rapes of which he was accused occurred between 2018 and 2024, after nights of partying where Hoiby consumed alcohol and drugs.
Prosecutors argued the cases involved consensual sex later followed by sexual acts when the women appeared to be asleep or passed out, and therefore unable to consent.
Much of the legal arguments centred on the women’s level of awareness, and what Hoiby would have been able to perceive at the time.
Hoiby had criticised the pressure put on him by the media, which he said painted him as “a monster” and made him “the hate target of all of Norway”.
‘Reign of terror’
The scandal erupted on August 4, 2024, when police arrested Hoiby on suspicion of assaulting his then-girlfriend in her Oslo apartment the previous night.
The media published photos of a knife stuck in the wall and a shattered chandelier on the floor.
One of his former partners, influencer Nora Haukland, then came forward and said he had also subjected her to physical and psychological abuse — described by prosecutors as a “reign of terror”.
During the trial, Hoiby acknowledged that jealousy sometimes made him lose control.
The women themselves did not file rape charges against Hoiby.
Instead, police investigating the August 2024 incident discovered videos on his phones and computers which they said constituted rapes, and contacted the women, who were unaware of the events depicted.
The scandal has embarrassed Norway’s monarchy and contributed to a fall in support, though it remains broadly popular.
It follows earlier revelations of Mette-Marit’s friendship with the late convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mette-Marit, 52, suffers from an incurable lung disease that causes breathing difficulties and her condition recently took a turn for the worse. Doctors have placed her on a waiting list for a lung transplant.
