Marius Borg Høiby: Son of Norwegian Crown Princess Faces 38 Charges As Rape Trial Opens

Marius Borg Høiby, the 29-year-old son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit, went on trial in Oslo on Tuesday, facing 38 criminal charges, including the rape of four women.

He was arrested the night before on new allegations of assault, knife threats, and violating a restraining order, the Associated Press reported.

Oslo District Court granted a police request to hold him for up to four weeks on the grounds that he posed a reoffending risk. Defence lawyer Petar Sekulic said the arrest followed an 'incident' on Sunday but declined to give details.

The trial opens as his mother faces renewed scrutiny over her ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Documents released by the US Justice Department on 31 January show she exchanged hundreds of emails with the convicted sex offender between 2011 and 2014. Her name appears more than 1,000 times in the files.

38 Charges Over Six Years

The indictment covers offences between 2018 and November 2024. Høiby faces four counts of rape, domestic abuse charges against one former partner, assault charges against another, death threats, transporting 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of marijuana, traffic violations, and breaching a restraining order, Euronews reported.

He faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted. His lawyers said he 'denies all charges of sexual abuse, as well as the majority of the charges regarding violence.'

Høiby was first arrested in 2024 and indicted in August 2025. He had been free pending trial until Sunday's arrest. The trial is scheduled to run until 19 March.

Epstein Files Implicate Crown Princess

The newly released Epstein files show Mette-Marit maintained contact with the financier years after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor. In one 2011 email, she wrote that she had googled him and the results 'didn't look too good.'

She stayed at his Palm Beach estate for four days in 2013. The emails also discussed adultery, his 'wife hunting' in Paris, and whether she should give her then-15-year-old son wallpaper depicting naked women. That son was Marius, the Irish Times reported.

'I showed poor judgment and regret having any contact with Epstein at all,' the Crown Princess said in a statement. 'It is simply embarrassing.' Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said he agreed she had shown poor judgment.

Public Support For Future Queen Collapses

A TV2 poll published on 2 February found 47.6 per cent of Norwegians believe Mette-Marit should not become queen. Only 28.9 per cent support her taking the role, RNZ reported.

Royal historian Lars Hovbakke Sørensen called it the most severe crisis in the history of the Norwegian monarchy. The leader of the Young Liberals said the royal family 'appears like a madhouse.'

Crown Prince Haakon said last week that Høiby is 'not a member of the Royal House of Norway' and holds no royal title. Neither he nor Mette-Marit will attend the trial. The Crown Princess has left the country for a private trip.

Monarchy Faces Multiple Scandals

The Høiby case is one of several controversies affecting Norway's royals. In 2024, King Harald's daughter Princess Märtha Louise married Durek Verrett, an American self-described shaman, after stepping back from official duties.

Overall support for the monarchy remains at about 70 per cent, a January poll by NRK showed. That survey was conducted before the Epstein files were released, the Globe and Mail noted.

Aftenposten, Norway's largest newspaper, published a headline over the weekend asking: 'Can Mette-Marit be queen after this?'