The son of Norway’s crown princess went on trial on Tuesday in a case that has placed the country’s royal family under intense scrutiny, as prosecutors alleged he sexually assaulted a woman during an afterparty at a royal residence.
Marius Borg Høiby, 29, pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape as proceedings began at Oslo district court, where he is facing a total of 38 charges ranging from sexual offences to assault, threats and drug-related crimes. The trial, expected to last seven weeks, is one of the most high-profile criminal cases in Norway in recent years.
Opening the case, prosecutors said one of the alleged assaults occurred in 2018 following a party at Skaugum, the official residence of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Høiby is the princess’s son from a previous relationship.
Giving evidence from a separate room under court-ordered anonymity, the first complainant told judges she attended the gathering and briefly had consensual sex with Høiby after he followed her into a bathroom. She said she ended the encounter and returned to the party, but later had no memory of what happened.
She told the court that police later informed her they had discovered video footage on Høiby’s computer that allegedly showed him touching her while she lay on a sofa, unable to give consent. Under Norwegian law, rape can include sexual acts carried out without intercourse.
Describing the experience of testifying, the woman said she found it deeply distressing. “This is the last place I want to be,” she told the court. “It’s incredibly uncomfortable. I’m sitting here shaking.”
The lead prosecutor, state attorney Sturla Henriksbø, stressed that Høiby’s family connections should play no role in the proceedings. “The defendant is the son of the crown princess,” he said. “But he must be treated neither more harshly nor more leniently than anyone else. There must be equality before the law.”
Henriksbø added that in cases involving serious sexual crimes, the state has a duty to prosecute regardless of whether a victim initiates a complaint.
Høiby’s defence lawyer, Ellen Holager Andenæs, urged the court to disregard public debate and media attention surrounding the case. “The starting point must be that Marius is innocent,” she said. “Only what emerges in this courtroom matters.”
She said she was not accusing any of the complainants of fabricating their experiences, but argued that all had previously had consensual sexual relationships with Høiby and that the allegations arose in a social environment marked by alcohol, drugs and casual sexual encounters.
The woman who testified disputed suggestions she had been heavily intoxicated, saying she had consumed wine and a few drinks but “nothing more than that”.
Høiby was arrested again on Sunday and remanded in custody on fresh allegations including assault, making threats with a knife and breaching a restraining order. He has pleaded guilty to some lesser offences, including sexually offensive behaviour, a serious drug charge and several driving-related offences, while denying the most serious allegations.
The case comes at a particularly sensitive moment for the Norwegian monarchy. Crown Princess Mette-Marit has herself been criticised in recent weeks over past contact with Jeffrey Epstein, adding to pressure on an institution more accustomed to broad public trust.
