Marius Borg Høiby, son of the Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit (reg). (Photo: Lise Åserud/NTB/AFP)
Marius Borg Høiby, the 29-year-old son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, was found guilty on Monday on two counts of rape and sentenced to four years in prison.
Three judges found Høiby guilty in the Oslo District Court in Norway of raping a woman on Crown Prince Haakon’s estate in Skaugum in 2018, as well as another woman in Oslo in 2024. He was acquitted on two other charges.
Høiby did not appear in court due to unclear health reasons, but attended the proceedings via a video link.
State prosecutors requested that Høiby remain behind bars for seven years and seven months, but his defense asked for a shorter sentence of 18 months. He also intends to appeal.
Although Høiby is not a royal, the trial cast a shadow over the Norwegian royal family.
Høiby was born in 1997 from Mette-Marit’s brief relationship with the Norwegian convicted criminal Morten Borg. She married the Danish heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, in 2001.
Høiby was then four years old and grew up as part of the royal family. However, the palace declined to comment on Monday’s proceedings.
Mette-Mari suffers from a form of pulmonary fibrosis and is waiting for a lung transplant. Her son’s legal representatives repeatedly requested that he be released from custody to spend time with his mother due to her deteriorating health.
Although the Oslo District Court initially granted his release earlier last week, the Court of Appeal reversed the decision.
After the verdict, Petar Sekulic, Høiby’s lawyer, again pleaded in court for his release.
Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad, one of the three judges in the case, began the court session early on Monday with a summary of the findings, before reading a 128-page document outlining the verdict.
Høiby insists he is innocent.