Marius Borg Høiby, stepson of Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of rape and domestic violence by Oslo District Court. The verdict followed a seven-week trial that included testimony about drug addiction,
OSLO — By the time the verdict was read, the royal family’s “picture-perfect” image had already started to crack.
On Monday. June 15. Oslo District Court sentenced Marius Borg Høiby to four years in prison after finding him guilty of rape and domestic violence following a seven-week trial. The court ruled that the 29-year-old was responsible for two counts of rape. including one in the basement of the crown prince’s home. He was acquitted of two other rape charges.
Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad said during the reading of the verdict that the rape at the crown prince’s home was proven to have involved a victim “not able to resist the action.”
Høiby watched the verdict via video link from prison and could not be seen or heard in the courtroom. Only one of the women accusing him of rape was present for the verdict; she cried after the judge upheld her case, wiping at her eyes with a tissue her lawyer gave her.
The sentence landed at the intersection of legal fallout and personal strain inside Norway’s monarchy. It was delivered as Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Høiby’s mother. faces difficult circumstances of her own and needs a lung transplant for pulmonary fibrosis. The royal household. which has previously expressed sympathy for those affected by the case. declined to react to Monday’s decision. saying the matter had been considered by the courts and that it had no comment on the outcome.
Høiby’s path through the courtroom was complicated even before the sentence. Prosecutors had sought seven years and seven months in jail. During the trial. the court heard evidence of Høiby’s drug addiction. self-made videos of sexual encounters and hundreds of incriminating electronic messages with a former partner.
The court also tied the proven rapes to the aftermath of party settings. Prosecutors argued that the four women accusing him of rape—whether in cases that were proven or those that were not—were each too unconscious or too incapacitated to resist him after attending parties.
Beyond the rape convictions, the domestic violence case carried its own timeline and detail. Oslo District Court found Høiby guilty of domestic violence against a then-girlfriend between mid-2022 and the autumn of 2023. The court heard that he repeatedly hit her in the face with his fist. choked her. slammed a door in her face. and threw objects at her.
Even as the courtroom processed the most serious allegations, Høiby admitted to parts of the case involving lesser charges. He had pleaded not guilty to the most serious accusations. including rape and domestic violence. while admitting to some lesser ones: transporting and delivering 3.5 kg (7.7 pounds) of marijuana to an unidentified person. violating restraining orders. and traffic violations.
The legal battle is not expected to end with Monday’s ruling. Both Høiby’s lawyer, Petar Sekulic, and the prosecution said they may appeal the verdict.
There was no attendance by other members of the royal family during the trial. Høiby has no royal title, performs no official duties, and is not in the line of succession. But his case has transfixed Norway because of his ties to the heir to the throne.
The trial has also played out against a broader reputational backdrop for the monarchy. The period coincided with Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s apology for contacts with late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a situation that has hurt the family’s popularity.
A Norstat survey conducted on Feb. 21 during the trial showed a drop in support for keeping the monarchy to a record low of 60%, from 70% in January. It also showed an increase to 27% from 19% among those wanting a different system of governance. Those numbers improved in May. when 64% of those polled by Norstat supported the monarchy and 23% wanted a different system of governance.
After the verdict. attorney John Christian Elden. one of the victims’ lawyers. told Reuters that the four-year sentence matched new sentencing rules that distinguish between rape involving intercourse and rape not involving intercourse. Elden said the two rape counts that led to conviction did not involve intercourse.
In the end, Monday’s ruling did more than set a prison term. It put a legal stamp on allegations that had weighed on Norway’s monarchy for months, in a moment when personal hardship and public skepticism were already converging on the family.
Marius Borg Hoiby Norway crown prince Haakon Mette-Marit rape conviction domestic violence sentence Oslo District Court sentencing appeal Jeffrey Epstein apology Norstat survey