Oslo police have formally charged Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, with multiple serious offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and bodily harm. The charges follow an extensive months-long investigation involving a “double-digit” number of alleged victims.
Høiby, 28, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, has been under scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested in 2024 amid allegations of rape and on preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage.
At a press conference on Friday, Oslo police attorney Andreas Kruszewski stated that Høiby had been cooperative throughout police interrogations, which have now concluded. Evidence in the case includes text messages, witness statements, and materials gathered during police searches.
The charges laid out against Høiby include one count of rape involving intercourse, two counts of rape without intercourse, four counts of sexual assault, and two counts of bodily harm. Kruszewski declined to provide an exact number of victims but confirmed it was in the double digits.
Høiby’s defense attorney, Petar Sekulic, told the Associated Press in an email that his client is “absolutely taking the accusations very seriously” but “doesn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in most of the cases – especially the cases regarding sexual abuse and violence.”
The Norwegian Royal Palace has not yet issued a public comment in response to the charges. Høiby, who formerly resided with the royal couple and their two children, now lives in a separate residence nearby. He remains free while awaiting a possible trial and continues to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
