Marius Borg Høiby, 29, was sentenced to four years in prison by Oslo District Court on June 15 after being found guilty of two counts of rape along with multiple other offenses, including assault and drug-related charges [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. He faced 40 charges in total, including four counts of rape, domestic violence, drug offenses, and violations of restraining orders [6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5].
Høiby was acquitted of two rape charges but convicted of two others, with one assault occurring in 2018 in the basement of the Crown Prince couple's official residence, Skaugum [1, 8, 9, 3, 4, 5]. He pleaded not guilty to the most serious rape allegations but admitted to some lesser charges such as assault and drug possession [6, 1, 2, 9, 3, 4, 5].
The seven-week trial ran from February 3 to March 19, 2026, after Høiby had been taken into custody on February 1 and remained detained since [6, 2, 10, 3, 4, 7, 5]. He appeared for the verdict via video link due to unspecified health reasons [6, 1, 2, 9, 4, 7, 5].
Prosecutors sought a sentence of seven years and seven months, while the defense asked for 18 months based on admitted lesser charges [6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5]. Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad stated, "The court finds it is proven she was not able to resist the action," supporting two rape convictions [5]. Defense lawyer Ellen Holager Andenaes said, "It is only natural to consider appealing the serious charges for which he was convicted and which he did not admit." Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo described the outcome as "a victory for our justice system, that shows that no one is beyond the law, despite who you are and who you are related to" [3, 5].
Though Høiby grew up alongside the Crown Prince couple's children after his mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, he holds no royal title and is not a formal royal family member [6, 1, 8, 9, 3, 5]. Crown Prince Haakon commented, "He is a citizen of Norway and, as such, has the same responsibilities as everyone else" [9].
During the trial, Høiby disclosed struggles with drug addiction and a lifestyle involving sex and alcohol, saying, "I’m mostly known as my mother’s son, not anything else. So I’ve had an extreme need for recognition my whole life, and that manifested itself in a lot of sex, a lot of drugs and a lot of alcohol" [8, 9, 3, 7].
The case attracted broad public and media attention in Norway and abroad, coinciding with other controversies around the royal family, including Mette-Marit's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein [6, 8, 3]. Crown Princess Mette-Marit is seriously ill with pulmonary fibrosis and was placed on a lung transplant waiting list earlier this month [6, 8, 10, 4]. Efforts by Høiby’s lawyers to secure his release to be with his ailing mother have been repeatedly denied, including a recent rejection by the court of appeal [6, 8, 2, 10].
