Norway crown princess's son to stay in custody before rape verdict, says court
An appeals court rejected a request to release Marius Borg Høiby citing his mother's serious illness, overturning a lower court's decision to free him pending next Monday's verdict.
A Norwegian appeal court on Wednesday rejected a request by Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, to be released from custody due to his mother's serious health condition. The ruling overturned a district court's decision from Monday that had ordered his release pending a verdict in a criminal case where he faces 40 charges.
The 29-year-old denies the most serious allegations, including four counts of rape. He has been in custody since early February, when he was detained ahead of his trial over new allegations of assault and violating a restraining order. The case began when he was first arrested at a woman's flat in Oslo's upscale Frogner district in August 2024.
His lawyers argued that Høiby needed to be close to his mother, who suffers from pulmonary fibrosis. Last week, doctors placed the 52-year-old princess on a waiting list for a lung transplant, saying her condition had significantly declined in recent months. The district court had ruled Monday that while there was a marginal risk of re-offending, Høiby had been drug-free in prison and it would be "disproportionately intrusive" to keep him jailed.
The appeal court disagreed, stating that the risk of re-offending was "virtually unchanged" since its previous decision on May 13. There was an obvious risk that he would have further contact with the "Frogner woman," the court decided.
"We are very, very disappointed on behalf of our client. One can imagine how he feels," one of his defence lawyers, Ellen Holager Andenæs, told Norwegian media. Prosecutors are seeking a prison term of seven years and seven months for Høiby, who is accused of 40 criminal offences. He denies four counts of rape but admits some lesser charges, including drug possession and traffic violations.
The case has cast a shadow over the Norwegian royal family, already dealing with revelations about Crown Princess Mette-Marit's three-year friendship with disgraced late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Høiby was born before Mette-Marit married heir to the throne Prince Haakon and grew up within the royal family despite not being a formal member. The crown prince and princess visited Høiby in Oslo prison last Sunday after her placement on the transplant list. Their children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, visited him hours after their mother was hospitalized on Thursday.
Høiby was allowed out of jail Monday to attend a meeting with his mother's doctor at the family's Skaugum estate outside Oslo. She was diagnosed with a rare form of incurable pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, which causes breathing difficulties and stiffens the lungs. Her consultant, Are Holm, said last week that her condition had worsened significantly in the past three months and that patients on the transplant list typically have about a year to live.
King Harald, 89, and Queen Sonja, 88, have been largely shielded from the crises affecting the royal family. During a royal visit on Tuesday, they were asked about the crown princess's health, and the queen said "the situation is serious."
