Written by Seekriti Saha
The 29-year-old son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Marius Borg Høiby, has been sentenced to 4 years in prison after he was found guilty of multiple offences, which include two separate crimes of rape.
The verdict, which was handed down by the Oslo district court on Monday morning, follows a highly publicised six-week trial that gripped the Nordic nation. It has severely shaken the reputation of the Norwegian Royal family. In addition to his prison term, Høiby was handed a two-year restraining order against one of his victims and ordered to pay financial compensation to four women.
Høiby had originally faced 40 charges spanning over a period of six years between the years 2018 and 2024. Of these most severe allegations include four counts of rape, where prosecutors alleged that the victims were either sleeping or heavily incapacitated or unable to consent.
Jon Sverdrup Efjestad, the presiding Judge convicted him on two rape counts. He was found guilty of domestic violence and assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Nora Haukland. She is the only victim to who has been publicly named in these proceedings.
Høiby was acquitted of the remaining two counts of rape, and one count of violating a restraining order was overturned. While he had previously admitted to lesser offences—including physical assault, making threats, property damage, and drug infractions—he maintained a plea of not guilty to the most serious accusations of sexual assault.
The legal battle has developed at an intensely fraught moment for the Norwegian monarchy as the royal household as the Crown Princess Mette-Marit, is suffering from a chronic lung disease and is awaiting a lung transplant.
Last week, the Oslo district court initially agreed to temporarily release Høiby from custody—where he has been held since just before his trial began on February 3—so that he could spend time with his ailing mother. However, the decision was swiftly blocked and overturned by the court of appeal.
The trial has also coincided with renewed media scrutiny of Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s past associations with the late American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
(The article has been curated by Seekriti Saha, who is an intern at The Indian Express)
