Norway royals face new scrutiny
The eldest son of Norway’s crown princess was back in court on Wednesday for Day 2 of a trial at which he is facing allegations of multiple alleged offenses, including rape.
Marius Borg Høiby, 29, pleaded not guilty to the most serious charges as the seven-week trial opened on Tuesday. He is the first son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship and the stepson of the heir to the throne, Prince Haakon.
While Høiby has no royal title or official duties, the case—and new revelations about Mette-Marit’s contacts with Jeffrey Epstein—has put an international spotlight on a widely beloved royal family.
Single mother
King Harald, 88, belongs to the House of Glücksburg and heads a monarchy in Norway that dates back more than 1,100 years. But like with many European royal houses, Norway’s monarch wields no real political power today.
The Norwegian royal house has kinfolk in other European royal families. For example, Harald is related to both Britain’s King Charles III and Spain’s King Felipe VI: they’re all descendants of Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom.
Harald married Sonja Haraldsen, a commoner, in 1968. Their son Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, both 52, were married in 2001. She made headlines that year because she was a single mother who had lived a freewheeling life with a companion who had been convicted on drug charges.
The crown prince and princess share two children: Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 21, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 19.
The Norwegian Constitution was altered in 1990 to allow the firstborn, regardless of gender, to take precedence in the line of succession. That means that Princess Ingrid Alexandra is due to one day ascend the Norwegian throne.
The change does not apply retroactively and Haakon remains first in line to the throne even though he has an older sister, Princess Märtha Louise.
Simply embarrassing
Mette-Marit has long been known to have had contacts with Jeffrey Epstein. But she’s faced new scrutiny over their ties following the largest release of Epstein documents on Friday.
In a statement after the release, Mette-Marit said she took responsibility for “not having investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly,” and expressed regret for “having had any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing.”
She expressed “deep sympathy and solidarity” with the victims of abuse committed by Epstein.
The latest release of documents included an email from Mette-Marit to Epstein in November 2012 asking: “Is it inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my I5 yr old sons wallpaper ?”
Declining support
He replied: “let them decide” and advised that the mother should “stay out of it.”
In an email exchange from the previous month, Epstein noted how he was in Paris “on my wife hunt,” but “i prefer Scandinavians.”
She replied that Paris was “good for adultery” but “Scandis” were “better wife material.”
Høiby took the witness stand on Wednesday, a day after denying rape charges. Norwegian tabloid VG reported that he cried at one point and lashed out at the media for the intense attention he has received since he was a toddler.
The crown prince issued a statement last week saying the couple would not be present in court nor comment on the case during the trial. It noted that Høiby was not a member of the Royal House, before adding: “We care about him, and he is an important member of our family.”
The royal family has traditionally enjoyed wide public support, but its popularity has declined since Oslo police in August 2024 said Høiby was facing suspicion for causing bodily harm and criminal damage.
A Norstat agency poll for Dagbladet daily and public broadcaster NRK showed that two-thirds of respondents said they supported the constitutional monarchy as a form of government, down from nearly three-fourths in August. A similar poll for VG also indicated declining support for the monarchy.
