The 28-year-old son of Norway's crown princess has been charged with raping four women and several acts of violence, and risks up to 10 years in prison, a prosecutor said on Monday, August 18. Marius Borg Hoiby, who was born from a relationship before Crown Princess Mette-Marit married Crown Prince Haakon, has been under investigation since his arrest on August 4 last year on suspicion of assaulting a girlfriend.
He is accused of raping four women while they were sleeping. In at least three of the cases, he met the women the same day and had consensual sex before the alleged rapes, public prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo told reporters. Hoiby is also charged with filming their genitals without their knowledge.
The four rapes allegedly took place in 2018, 2023 and 2024, the last one after the police investigation began. Henriksbo said investigators had video clips and photographs as evidence.
Other charges against Hoiby include domestic abuse against a former partner and several counts of violence, disturbing the peace, vandalism and violations of restraining orders against another former partner. The only victim identified by the prosecution was Hoiby's ex-girlfriend Nora Haukland, whom he is accused of physically and psychologically abusing in 2022 and 2023.
"The violence consisted, among other things, of him repeatedly hitting her in the face, including with a clenched fist, choking her, kicking her and grabbing her hard," the prosecutor said. The maximum penalty for the offences in the indictment is up to 10 years in jail, he said. "These are very serious acts that can leave lasting scars and destroy lives," he added.
The palace remained tight-lipped after the announcement. "It is for the courts to consider this matter and reach a decision," spokeswoman Sara Svanemyr said in a comment emailed to Agence France-Presse.
The prosecutor said that Hoiby, as a member of the royal family, would not be treated "more lightly or more severely" than anyone else in similar circumstances.
Hoiby has already admitted to assault and vandalism in the August 2024 incident. In a public statement 10 days after his arrest, he said he had acted "under the influence of alcohol and cocaine after an argument," having suffered from "mental troubles" and struggling "for a long time with substance abuse."
A tall blond who cultivates a "bad boy" look with slicked back hair, earrings, rings and tattoos, Hoiby has been in the eye of a media storm since his arrest. When the rape allegations emerged in November, he spent a week in custody – unprecedented for a member of Norway's royal family.
Hoiby is the child of a brief romance between his mother and Morten Borg – who has also been convicted of abuse and drug-related crimes. They were together at a time when the future princess was part of Norway's house music scene, known for its abundance of hash and ecstasy.
Hoiby was propelled into the spotlight at the age of four when his mother married Norway's crown prince, with whom she went on to have two more children. He was raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, now aged 21 and 19. Unlike them, however, he has no official public role..