Gwladys Fouche
Oslo: The son of Norway’s crown princess denied that videos on his phone showed acts of rape, as he broke down during his first day of testimony in his trial for rape and domestic violence, in a case that has shaken the embattled royal family.
Marius Borg Høiby, 29, who joined the royal family when his mother Mette-Marit married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, said his upbringing in the public eye since he was a toddler had led him to crave drink and sex.
He could face years in prison if found guilty of the most serious of the 38 charges against him.
Høiby has pleaded not guilty to the most serious charges of rape and domestic violence but acknowledged partial guilt – a plea allowed under Norwegian law – for aggravated assault and reckless behaviour. He also admitted lesser charges, including driving too fast.
The trial has transfixed Norway at a time when his mother, the crown princess, also faces fresh scrutiny over revelations about her ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Breaking down in tears, Høiby said it was hard to testify in a courtroom packed with reporters.
“I have been surrounded by the press since I was three. I have been harassed ever since,” he said. He said he had received “heavy medication” and would try to do his best in court.
“I am known as the son of Mummy,” he said, referring to Mette-Marit. “Which means I have an extreme need for affirmation,” he said. “A lot of sex, a lot of alcohol.”
“Few can relate to the life I have led. A lot of parties, alcohol, some drugs,” he said.
Wearing jeans and a dark blue jumper over a beige shirt, Høiby – who spoke with his arms crossed over his chest – sometimes consulted his handwritten notes in a notebook.
Among the charges against him are one count of rape with sexual intercourse and three counts of rape without intercourse, some of which he filmed on his telephone, the prosecution has said.
He said he had never shared the videos and denied they depicted sex without consent.
“If I had thought I had material that showed an assault, I would never have kept that material,” he said.
Høiby’s testimony on Wednesday (Oslo time) focused on an after-party in the basement of the crown prince’s family residence on the outskirts of Oslo in 2018, where the prosecution says he filmed himself performing a sex act on a woman who was unconscious. Police showed the video to the court behind closed doors.
He said he had sex with the woman but did not perform a second sex act with her while she was unconscious, or film it.
“We had completely normal sex, as far as I can remember,” Høiby said. “Afterwards, I told her to go. So I called her a taxi.
“I don’t have sex with people who are not awake.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the alleged victim – who cannot be identified to protect her privacy – testified she learnt about the alleged rape when police contacted her about the video, and she had not consented to the sexual act that was filmed. The prosecution said the woman was not in a position to consent.
Høiby’s trial is scheduled to run until March 19.
Norway’s royal family faces multiple challenges in addition to the trial and ongoing scrutiny of Mette-Marit’s ties to Epstein.
The royal palace told Reuters on Wednesday that Mette-Marit had postponed until further notice a planned private trip abroad, without providing further details.
An opinion poll conducted on Monday for daily newspaper Verdens Gang showed a fall in the number of Norwegians in favour of keeping the monarchy – to 61 per cent from 72 per cent last year – and a 10-percentage-point rise to 27 per cent in those who want a republic.
King Harald, 88, Europe’s oldest living monarch, cut back activity in 2024 after being hospitalised to treat an infection and later receiving a pacemaker.
Mette-Marit herself is in need of a lung transplant after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs.
King Harald’s daughter, Martha Louise, stepped down from official royal duties in 2022 to pursue her own business ventures, and said she and her husband – an American self-styled shaman – would refrain from using her title as princess in a commercial setting.
They both received criticism last year for starring in a Netflix documentary chronicling their daily lives, including their wedding, and for being critical of the king and queen.