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Marius Borg Hoiby: Son of Norway’s crown princess arrested on suspicion of rape

Borg Høiby, 27, lives with the royal couple

Jan M. Olsen
Tuesday 19 November 2024 11:20 GMT
Norway's Marius Borg Hoiby and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Oslo, June 16, 2022
Norway's Marius Borg Hoiby and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Oslo, June 16, 2022 (Lise Åserud / NTB)

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The eldest son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been arrested again, this time on suspicion of rape, police said on Tuesday.

Marius Borg Høiby is the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon, and the son of Mette-Marit from a previous relationship. He has no royal title or official duties.

Borg Høiby was arrested late Monday in Oslo on a preliminary charge of having had “sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious or for other reasons unable to resist the act.” A preliminary charge comes before a formal charge and allows authorities to detain suspects during an investigation.

Police did not say when the alleged rape occurred, but only that “the victim must have been unable to resist the act.” Norwegian media said Borg Høiby denied the accusation.

Hege Salomon, the lawyer for the woman who was allegedly raped, said “she is having a hard time.” She told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that police, not the woman, had brought the case. The woman was not identified.

Borg Høiby, 27, lives with the royal couple and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.

The royal palace had no comment, the news agency NTB said.

Back row from left, Marius Borg Hoiby and Crown Prince Haakon, front row from left, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus, Queen Sonja and King Harald pose during a Christmas photo session at Skaugum, the the residence of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, in Asker, Norway, Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. (Lise Aaserud/Pool Photo via AP)
Back row from left, Marius Borg Hoiby and Crown Prince Haakon, front row from left, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus, Queen Sonja and King Harald pose during a Christmas photo session at Skaugum, the the residence of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, in Asker, Norway, Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. (Lise Aaserud/Pool Photo via AP)

On August 4, police officers responded to a disturbance in downtown Oslo and briefly detained Borg Høiby. He faced preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage and was released. Details were unclear but police said there was “a relationship between the suspect and the victim.”

More preliminary charges have since been filed against Borg Høiby, including violating several restraining orders and driving without a valid driver’s license. In all, the cases involve four women and one man.

The case was top news in Norway, where the royals are popular.

Norway’s future queen made headlines in 2001 when she married Haakon because she was a single mother who had lived a freewheeling life with a companion who had been convicted on drug charges.

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