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Faces four years in prison: Marius Borg Høiby and his mother, Mette-Marit. (File photo)
Image: dpa
Wild parties, drugs, ex-girlfriends, and shocking allegations: The Høiby case has kept Norway on the edge of its seat for months. Now, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been sentenced to four years in prison.
A court in Oslo has handed down the verdict against Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son, Marius Borg Høiby. The 29-year-old was found guilty of 34 different offenses and must serve four years in prison. The Norwegian must pay a total of 580,000 kroner (approximately 48,249 Swiss francs) in compensation to four women, including two ex-girlfriends.
Høiby stood trial in the spring on charges of rape, violence, and drug offenses. These included a total of four counts of rape. He was found guilty of two counts of rape. The court acquitted him of two counts of rape.
The verdict is not yet final. According to Norwegian media, the convicted man is already planning to file an appeal. His client does not wish to accept the conviction for two counts of rape under Norwegian law, nor for the abuse in his relationship with an ex-girlfriend, defense attorney Petar Sekulic told the NTB news agency.
Shortly after the sentencing, Høiby has already filed another request for release from pretrial detention.
For a whole series of crimes. There were a total of 40 charges against Høiby, and the prosecution sought convictions on 39 of them. The most serious charges: four counts of rape under Norwegian law. Høiby is alleged to have abused women and filmed them while they were asleep. While he denied these charges, the Norwegian has admitted to other offenses. These include assault, threats, violations of a restraining order against an ex-girlfriend, a drug offense, and several traffic violations.
Høiby was found guilty of 34 different criminal offenses, including two counts of rape.
One of the rape cases in which the judges found Høiby guilty took place at the residence of the Crown Prince’s family. “Video footage was presented in the case. The recordings show sexual acts and penetration with a finger,” the presiding judge said, according to Norwegian media. “The victim lies completely still; no sounds can be heard.” Therefore, the court considers it proven that she was asleep during the recording. He was also convicted for a similar incident at the apartment of a woman Høiby had met at a party.
However, the judges did not consider it proven that he had raped an acquaintance during a surfing vacation in the Lofoten Islands. “The court has concluded that there is reasonable doubt,” a Norwegian newspaper quoted the presiding judge as saying. It was the only case in which, according to the indictment, Høiby was alleged to have penetrated a woman’s vagina with his penis while she was asleep. In another case, in which Høiby was alleged to have raped a woman in a hotel in Oslo under Norwegian law, he was reportedly also acquitted. However, as in other cases, he was convicted of filming the woman without her knowledge.
During the seven-week marathon trial between early February and mid-March, numerous witnesses appeared alongside Høiby himself, including ex-girlfriends, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, researchers, and criminal investigators. Photos and videos on the Norwegian man’s cell phones played a key role in the presentation of evidence. Hundreds of text messages between the defendant and the alleged victims were read aloud, and internet search histories were disclosed. This revealed details about Høiby’s private life and sexual preferences. On several occasions, Høiby tearfully accused the media of hounding him since childhood and defended his parents.
Contrary to the original plan, Høiby did not attend the sentencing hearing in person. For health reasons, he was allowed to watch the sentencing via a video link from prison.
Yes, Høiby must serve four years in prison. Both the prosecution and the defense had anticipated a prison sentence even during the trial. At the end of the trial, the prosecution had sought a sentence of seven years and seven months for the royal godson. Høiby’s lawyers, however, had argued for a sentence of one and a half years for the crimes the Norwegian had admitted to. The time he spent in pretrial detention is to be credited toward his sentence.
Shortly before the trial began, Høiby had again violated a restraining order against an ex-girlfriend and was arrested. According to media reports, the two had been seeing each other frequently in the months leading up to the trial, even though a visitation ban was already in place.
Mette-Marit’s son made several attempts during and after the trial to be released from pretrial detention—if necessary, with an electronic ankle monitor. Citing his mother’s deteriorating health, he tried again shortly before the verdict was handed down, but without success.
Shortly after his sentencing, Høiby again applied for release from pretrial detention. This was reported unanimously by Norwegian media. The application is likely to cover the period until a possible appeal.
In what is already a difficult time for the Norwegian royals, the trial of Crown Prince Haakon’s godson has placed an additional strain on the family. Mette-Marit and the others stayed away from the court proceedings but have regularly visited Høiby in prison. The Crown Princess is seriously ill and urgently needs a new lung. In addition, she has been under fire in Norway for months over her friendship with the American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
15.06.2026, 08:37
15.06.2026, 13:24
