The eldest son of Norway’s Crown Princess was arrested just before the start of his rape trial in a case that embarrassed the royal family, police said Monday.
Marius Borg Hoiby was arrested Sunday evening and is charged with assault, threatening with a knife and violating a restraining order, police said in a news release. They requested four weeks of detention because of the risk of reoffending. His lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment.
On Tuesday he is due to stand trial at the Oslo District Court. The indictment includes 38 charges, including rape, abuse in a close relationship against a former partner, acts of violence against another, and transportation of 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of marijuana. Other charges include death threats and traffic violations.
Høiby has been under surveillance since he was arrested several times in 2024 on various allegations of wrongdoing. He was indicted in Augustbut he was at large awaiting trial until Sunday.
Høiby is the son of the Crown Princess Mette Marit from a previous relationship and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon. He has neither royal title nor official functions.
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The indictment relates to four alleged rapes between 2018 and November 2024; alleged violence and threats against a former partner between summer 2022 and fall 2023; and two alleged acts of violence against a subsequent partner, as well as violations of a restraining order.
Høiby’s defense team said he “denies all accusations of sexual abuse, as well as the majority of accusations concerning violence.”
Haakon said last week that he and Mette-Marit did not intend to attend court and that the royal household did not intend to comment during the proceedings.
He emphasized that Høiby is not part of the royal household and that as a Norwegian citizen he has the same responsibilities and rights as everyone else. He said he was confident that everyone involved would make the trial as orderly, proper and fair as possible.
While the royal family is generally popular in Norway, the Høiby affair has tarnished their image. And the trial opens just as his mother faces new scrutiny over her contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.
on Friday publication of the latest batch of documents The Epstein files shined an unflattering spotlight on Mette-Marit. They contained several hundred mentions of the crown princess, who had already said in 2019 that she regretted having contact with Epstein, Norwegian media reported.
The newly released documents, which include email exchanges with Epstein, show that Mette-Marit borrowed an Epstein property in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days in early 2013, and the royal household confirmed she did so through a mutual friend, broadcaster NRK reported.
In an emailed statement from the royal household, Mette-Marit said she “must take responsibility for not investigating Epstein’s background more thoroughly and realizing sooner what kind of person he was.”
“I deeply regret it, and it is a responsibility I must take. I demonstrated a lack of judgment and I regret having had any contact with Epstein,” she said. “It’s just embarrassing.”
She expressed her “deep sympathy and solidarity” with the victims of Epstein’s abuse.
Mette-Marit’s contacts with Epstein and the Høiby trial are not the only source of negative publicity for the Norwegian royal family. The business ventures of Haakon’s sister, Princess Märtha Louise, have attracted repeated criticism. In 2024, around the same time that Høiby’s case was in the news, she married a self-proclaimed American shamanDurek Verrett.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
