Marius Borg Høiby, 29, grew up inside one of Europe’s most heavily guarded palaces. His mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, married Prince Haakon when he was four years old, and since then his life has been framed by protocols, cameras, and expectations.
This Monday, the Oslo District Court found him guilty of abusing two women, one at the royal estate of Skaugum in 2018 and another in the capital in 2024, and sentenced him to four years in prison. The court also found him guilty of abusing his ex-girlfriend, influencer Nora Haukland, and ordered him to pay $68,300 in compensation to four of the victims. Høiby was not present in the courtroom; he took part by videoconference, without giving health-related explanations.
What makes this story impossible to let go of is what is happening in parallel. Mette-Marit suffers from a severe form of pulmonary fibrosis and was recently placed on the waiting list for a lung transplant. Her condition is deteriorating. Her son’s defense lawyer requested his release so he could be by her side, and the court denied it. Reputation experts are already speaking of an institutional crisis for the Norwegian crown, worsened by previous revelations about the princess’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. But according to royal correspondent Caroline Vagle, today all of that fades into the background. Mette-Marit’s health overshadows any other conversation.
