Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday after being convicted of rape. The Oslo District Court found the 29-year-old guilty of two of the four rape charges he was facing, while acquitting him of the other two.
In addition to the rape convictions, Høiby was found guilty of assault and abuse in a close relationship, and the court ordered him to pay financial compensation to his victims. Due to health reasons, Høiby was not physically present in the courtroom and instead watched the reading of the verdict via a video link from prison.
Following the ruling, Høiby’s legal team announced plans to appeal the convictions related to rape and domestic abuse, while also seeking his temporary release from custody. Defense lawyer Petar Sekulic stated that while Høiby was satisfied with the extensive acquittals on certain charges, he firmly rejects the remaining major convictions.
The high-profile case involved a total of 40 criminal charges spanning from 2018 to 2024, which included sexual assault allegations involving women who were asleep or otherwise unable to resist, alongside lesser offenses such as drug-related crimes and restraining order violations.
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Prior to the verdict, prosecutors had requested a sentence of seven years and seven months, whereas the defense argued for a maximum of 18 months based only on the minor offenses Høiby had admitted to.
The six-week trial, which concluded in March, relied heavily on evidence extracted from Høiby’s cellphone, including messages, images, and videos. The case has attracted intense international media scrutiny because of Høiby’s upbringing within the Norwegian royal household alongside the future king, despite holding no official royal title or duties.
The public interest has been further amplified by the deteriorating health of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who suffers from pulmonary fibrosis and is currently awaiting a lung transplant. The trial has also forced renewed scrutiny upon the royal family, coming in the wake of public apologies from the Crown Princess regarding her past, scrutinized social contacts with the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
