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The eldest son of Norway’s heir to the throne was arrested shortly before the start of his trial on rape charges in a case that has shamed the royal family, police said Monday.
Marius Borg Høiby was arrested on Sunday night and charged with assault, threats with a knife and breaching a restraining order, police said in a statement. They asked for four weeks of detention due to the danger of repeating the crime.
He is due to be tried at the Oslo District Court on Tuesday. The indictment includes 38 counts, including rape, abuse in an intimate relationship with one ex-partner, acts of violence against another and transportation of 3.5 kilograms of marijuana. Other charges include death threats and traffic violations.
Høiby has been under scrutiny since he was arrested multiple times in 2024 on various charges of wrongdoing. But until Sunday, he was free awaiting trial.
Prosecutors said Høiby, 29, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted in a trial expected to last until mid-March.
Høiby is the son of Mette-Marit from a previous relationship and the stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon.
Although members of the royal family are generally popular in Norway, the Høiby case has cast a shadow over their image.
The Epstein files show the connection
Ahead of the trial, the release of the latest batch of documents from the Epstein file on Friday cast a less than flattering light on Mette-Marit. Several hundred of them mentioned the heir to the throne, who already stated in 2019 that she regretted having contact with Epstein, according to Norwegian media.
Newly released documents, which include email exchanges with Epstein, show that Mette-Marit borrowed Epstein’s property in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days in early 2013, and the royal family confirmed that she did so through a mutual friend, NRK television reported.
In an emailed statement from the royal house, Mette-Marit said she “must take responsibility for not investigating Epstein’s background more thoroughly and for not realizing earlier what kind of person he is.”
“I deeply regret this and it is a responsibility I must bear. I showed poor judgment and I regret having any contact with Epstein at all,” she added. “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 drawn repeated criticism. In 2024, around the same time the Høiby case was in the news, she married an American self-proclaimed shaman, Durek Verrett.
Former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is facing increased scrutiny after a new tranche of the Epstein files revealed questionable photos and the BBC reported new allegations from a woman linking the two men.
