The stepson of the future King of Norway has been arrested on 23 counts, including three rapes | Credit: Instagram/europeroyals
Oslo Police have arrested the eldest son of Norway’s crown princess and stepson of the future king of Norway on 23 counts, several of them violent crimes, including three rapes and harassment against a police officer, several news outlets reported.
Marius Borg Høiby’s detention is the result of months of investigations into the 23 or so crimes he is suspected of committing, against at least a dozen victims, the BBC revealed. He had already been arrested on three occasions last year, including in August, September and November.
Høiby is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of Norway’s future king, Crown Prince Haakon. He has been under scrutiny since his multiple arrests in 2024 due to allegations of rape and on bodily harm and criminal damage charges, the Guardian wrote.
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Crown Princess’ son is taking accusations seriously
Oslo police attorney Andreas Kruszewski stated that Høiby had been cooperative during the police questioning, which was now complete. Evidence in the case was drawn from sources including text messages, witness testimonies and police searches, the police attorney said.
Petar Sekulic, Høiby’s lawyer, said his client is “taking the accusations very seriously, but doesn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in most of the cases – especially the cases regarding sexual abuse and violence”.
The 28-year-old, who does not have a royal title or official duties, had been under investigation since his arrest on 4 August 2024 on suspicion of assault, according to a Norwegian police statement.
“During the investigation, we have both received reports that have led to an investigation, and investigated cases that the police have come across in the investigation material along the way,” the statement adds.
Victims in the double-digits
According to police, charges against Høiby, have been updated, and now include “one case of rape with intercourse, two cases of reape without intercourse, and four cases of sexually offensive behaviour,” the police said.
The Norwegian police statement lists 16 additional charges, ranging from abuse, bodily harm, threats, restraining order violations, harassment of a police officer and five road traffic offences.
Police attorney Andreas Kruszewski told the BBC the Norwegian police had handed the case over to prosecutors who will decide whether to press charges.
“I cannot go into further detail about the number of victims in the case beyond confirming that it is a double-digit number,” Mr Kruszewski said.
The Royal House of Norway noted in a statement that the case was proceeding through the legal system and had nothing further to add.