Copenhagen (EFE).- Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in an Oslo courtroom to charges of rape, assault, and secretly filming several women without their consent. However, he admitted to committing assaults and other less serious crimes.
The 29-year-old, who is not a member of the royal house, pleaded guilty to one case of assault against a woman and partially admitted to another case of reckless behavior, as well as threats.
According to Norwegian public television, “NRK,” he also confessed to transporting several kilos of marijuana for a third party, violating a restraining order, and committing several traffic offenses.
The trial has been subject to numerous restrictions, including a prohibition on showing images of the accused and limitations on reproducing testimonies and evidence.
Høiby is the son of Mette-Marit’s previous relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon.
The alleged rape occurred at the princes’ residence.
The indictment includes 38 crimes, including four cases of raping different women while they slept, six cases of sexually abusive conduct, assaults, threats, serious violations of narcotics laws, property damage, public disturbance, and trafficking.
During the initial hearing, one of the four women who was allegedly raped by Høiby testified. The prosecutor presented videos recorded by Høiby as evidence.
The videos were found on his digital devices and show Høiby raping the women in the basement of Skaugum, the residence of the crown princes, where Høiby lived. The rapes occurred after parties while the women were sleeping.
Høiby has previously admitted to having problems with alcohol and other drugs, as well as psychological issues.
As of Monday, the Norwegian Justice Department decreed four weeks of preventive detention for Høiby, who, according to NTB, had been hospitalized since Sunday for unknown reasons, and is being investigated for new crimes of assault and threats.
Høiby to testify on Wednesday
“It is not good for the case in any way that he is locked up,” said Ellen Holager Andenæs, one of his lawyers, at the end of the hearing.
She criticized how the media has handled the case since the young man was first detained by the police in Aug. 2024.
His other lawyer, Petar Sekulic, said that Høiby is “very afraid” of the media’s insistence on covering the case and of the seriousness of the accusations.
The trial will continue on Wednesday with a hearing in which the accused will testify. It will last until Mar. 13.
The trial began a few days after new revelations about Mette-Marit’s friendship with the late American convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein, increasing pressure on the Norwegian Royal House.
According to a survey released Tuesday by TV2, 47.6% of Norwegians do not believe Mette-Marit should become queen after the latest news about Epstein, compared to 28.9% who think otherwise.
The survey also found that 33.1% have very little confidence in Mette-Marit, while 16.8% have little confidence.
70% of Norwegians consider that the monarchy has been weakened over the last year (2025) due to several scandals, according to TV2.
However, a recent NRK survey showed that seven out of 10 Norwegians support the monarchy.
A few days ago, Haakon revealed that no member of the royal family is scheduled to attend the trial or comment on the proceedings.EFE
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