Who is Marius Borg Høiby? All about stepson of Norway Crown Prince, found guilty of rape and jailed for four years

Marius Borg Høiby, 29, the stepson of Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, was found guilty of rape and domestic violence. On Monday, after a seven-week trial, an Oslo court found him guilty and sentenced him to four years in prison.

He was convicted of two counts of rape, including one in the basement of the crown prince’s home. The court also found him guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend, Nora Haukland, issuing threats, and traffic offences. He was acquitted of two other rape charges.Høiby pleaded not guilty to the most severe accusations against him, including those of rape, while admitting to some lesser ones, and can appeal the verdict, Reuters reported.

The prosecutor had sought seven years and seven months in prison. This case has exposed Høiby’s struggles with drug addiction, as well as self-recorded videos of sexual encounters and more than 800 electronic messages presented as evidence.

“The court finds it is proven she was not able to resist the action,” Oslo District Court Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad said of the rape at the crown prince’s home while reading the verdict.

The 29-year-old had been charged with sexually assaulting four women who were asleep or otherwise unable to resist between 2018 and 2024, the Daily Mail reported.

Who is Marius Borg Høiby?

Born in 1997, Marius Borg Høiby is the son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship. Mette-Marit, then a waitress, had a short affair with Morten Borg, Høiby’s biological father, according to Tatler. Borg was one of the first people to be convicted for dealing cocaine in Norway.

He was reportedly a friend of Mette-Marit’s then fiancé, John Ognby. Mette-Marit and Ognby later split after he reportedly chased her down the street with a knife.

She was pregnant at the time. By the time she gave birth, Borg was in prison.Høiby joined the royal family when his mother, Mette-Marit, married Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon in an unprecedented royal wedding in August 2001.The Prince raised him as his own son. “In the beginning, it was hard to make him understand that it was we who were getting married, and not him,” Crown Prince Haakon said after the big day.

“So we just decided that all three of us would get married,” Prince Haakon said on the big day, according to The New York Times. Høiby grew up surrounded by love. Queen Sonja affectionately called him ‘Little Marius’ and also described her grandson as ‘the world’s cutest little bright guy, who is so charming and wonderful’.Though he grew up in the royal household, he was never granted formal royal status or assigned official ceremonial duties.

But he grew up as an integral part of Norway’s highest circles of power and prestige. Despite not being a royal figure, the trial has cast a shadow over the broader royal family.The verdict also comes at a difficult time for Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Her health has been deteriorating in recent months. She suffers from pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease that makes breathing increasingly difficult. Earlier this month, the Princess was placed on a lung transplant waiting list as her condition worsened.Considering her health, last week the Oslo District Court allowed Høiby to be released temporarily to visit his mother before her transplant. But prosecutors challenged the decision, and a higher court reversed it, so he remained in custody ahead of Monday’s verdict.On the other hand, the royal family had also come under scrutiny lately for Mette-Marit’s past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Epstein files revealed that they were in touch frequently, even after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting an underage girl.