Norwegian Royal Son Faces Serious Sexual Assault Charges in Oslo Court
Marius Borg Høiby, the 29-year-old son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has entered a plea of not guilty to four alleged rapes as part of a broader trial involving 38 criminal charges. The defendant, who is the crown princess's son from a relationship prior to her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, broke down in tears during his testimony, claiming he has faced years of press harassment.
Emotional Courtroom Testimony Reveals Memory Gaps
Taking the stand at Oslo District Court, Høiby told three judges he has no recollection of taking pictures and videos discovered on his mobile phone that police allege show him sexually assaulting a woman while she was unconscious. "I don't even remember taking them," Høiby stated when questioned about the digital evidence.
The prosecution presented four films and ten pictures apparently captured between 7:12am and 7:17am on a December 2018 morning, which they believe document a rape without intercourse occurring at Skaugum, the official residence of the crown prince and princess. Høiby acknowledged the afterparty took place in the basement while the royal couple were upstairs.
Conflicting Accounts of the 2018 Incident
Høiby maintained that any sexual activity with the woman was consensual and occurred while she was awake, stating emphatically: "I don't sleep with women who are not awake." He described storing sexual photos and videos in a separate phone application because "I don't want to scroll past a lot of nude photos," adding that the material was "never been for anyone else but me anyway."
In stark contrast, the alleged victim testified she remembered briefly having consensual sex with Høiby earlier in the evening before stopping it, but had no memory of the alleged rape until police showed her the footage. She described seeing herself "completely unconscious" in the videos, calling the discovery "a betrayal and a shock." The woman believes she may have been drugged, telling the court: "Unfortunately, I have been [a victim], thanks to Marius Borg Høiby."
Personal Struggles and Royal Family Pressure
During emotional testimony, Høiby revealed he found it "incredibly difficult to speak in front of so many people" and claimed the press had "harassed and tormented" him since childhood. He described living a life that "very few here can relate to," marked by excessive partying, drinking, and an "extreme need for validation" that manifested in "a lot of sex, a lot of drugs, and a lot of alcohol."
The trial unfolds during a period of unprecedented scrutiny for the Norwegian royal family, with Crown Princess Mette-Marit also facing criticism over her connections to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Høiby faces potential imprisonment of up to sixteen years if convicted on the most serious charges, which include the four alleged rapes he continues to deny.
Norwegian legal definitions allow rape to be classified as occurring with or without intercourse, adding complexity to the prosecution's case as they attempt to prove allegations based on the digital evidence recovered from Høiby's mobile device.
