They learned the truth only later, when investigators showed them the evidence
Prosecutor argues rape causes lasting trauma; defendant faces up to 16 years total if convicted on all 40 charges spanning 2018-2024. Four alleged victims initially unaware of sexual assault until police showed them video evidence discovered during investigation launched in August 2024.
- Prosecutor requested 7 years 7 months; defendant faces up to 16 years on all 40 charges
- Four alleged rapes spanning 2018, 2024; victims unaware until police showed video evidence
- Investigation began August 2024 after assault arrest; Hoiby denies rape charges but admits some acts
- Son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit; not official royal family member, outside line of succession
Norwegian prosecutors have requested 7 years and 7 months imprisonment for Marius Borg Hoiby, son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, facing 40 charges including rape and assault. The defendant denies the most serious allegations while admitting some acts.
In an Oslo courtroom on Wednesday, Norwegian prosecutors asked for seven years and seven months in prison for Marius Borg Hoiby, the 29-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who stands accused of sexual assault and violence against former partners. Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo made the case plainly: rape leaves scars that victims carry forever, that it destroys lives in ways both visible and hidden. Hoiby sat impassive in jeans and a blue polo shirt, his tattooed arms exposed, as the request was read aloud. He faces forty charges in total—a constellation of allegations that could add up to sixteen years behind bars if he is convicted on all counts.
The investigation began in August 2024 after Hoiby was arrested for assaulting a girlfriend. What emerged from police searches of his phones and computers was a record of four alleged rapes spanning 2018, 2023, and 2024. The women involved did not initially understand what had happened to them. They learned the truth only later, when investigators showed them video and photographic evidence and explained what the law calls these acts. The shock of that discovery—of realizing you were a victim through the eyes of strangers—is its own kind of violence.
Hoiby admits to some of what he is accused of. He has acknowledged assaulting his ex-girlfriend and damaging her property. He blames alcohol and cocaine, mental health struggles, and substance abuse for those actions. But he denies the rape charges, the most serious allegations, the ones that carry the heaviest sentences. His defense attorney, Petar Sekulic, has stated that his client rejects all accusations of sexual abuse and most of the violence charges as well.
The trial is nearly complete. Lawyers for the alleged victims will speak on Thursday, followed by closing arguments from the defense. A verdict is not expected for weeks, possibly months. The case has become a test of how Norway's justice system handles someone born into proximity to power but without official standing in it. Hoiby is the child of Mette-Marit's relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, who is first in line to the throne. He was raised alongside his half-siblings, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, but he holds no public role and stands outside the line of succession.
Yet he has drawn attention repeatedly over the years. Norwegian media has reported that he moved in circles that included gang members and figures connected to Albanian organized crime in Oslo. He cultivated a particular image—tall, blond, styled as a "bad boy" with slicked-back hair, earrings, rings, and extensive tattoos. His mother, the crown princess, tried to shield him from the spotlight. The spotlight found him anyway.
When the rape allegations first surfaced, Crown Prince Haakon spoke to Norway's public broadcaster. He said the situation was affecting everyone around his stepson. These are serious charges, he said. We are thinking of all those affected. He added that police and the courts must be allowed to do their work without interference. Later, as the trial began, he and his wife announced they would not attend court proceedings. The Royal House would make no public statements during the trial. Haakon emphasized that Hoiby is not a member of the Royal House and that as a Norwegian citizen, he has the same rights and responsibilities as anyone else. He expressed confidence that the trial would be conducted fairly and justly.
It is a careful distance, maintained in public. Behind it lies a family reckoning that will not be resolved in a courtroom. The verdict, when it comes, will determine what Hoiby's punishment is. It will not determine what his mother, his stepfather, or his half-siblings feel about any of it, or what they do next.
Notable Quotes
Rape can leave lasting scars and destroy lives—something a victim may carry forever— Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo
These are serious charges. We are thinking of all those affected, and the courts must be allowed to do their work— Crown Prince Haakon
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does the prosecutor's language about lasting trauma matter so much in a case like this?
Because it shifts the conversation from what happened in a moment to what happens after. These women didn't know they were victims until the police told them. That's a specific kind of harm—the discovery itself becomes part of the injury.
The defendant admits some acts but denies the rape charges. What's the distinction he's drawing?
He's saying he did things—he assaulted someone, he damaged property—but that those acts were not what the law calls rape. It's a narrowing. He's owning some culpability while rejecting the most serious frame.
The video evidence seems central. How does that change the nature of the accusation?
It makes denial harder. You can argue about what happened, about consent, about intention. But a recording is a recording. It's why the police found what they found so damaging—there was documentation.
Why does the crown prince's statement matter if he's trying to stay out of it?
Because he can't actually stay out of it. By saying Hoiby isn't really royal, that he's just a citizen like anyone else, Haakon is trying to create distance. But everyone knows who his stepson is. The statement is an attempt to make that irrelevant. It probably isn't.
What happens to the family after the verdict?
That's the question no one can answer yet. A conviction doesn't erase the relationship. Neither does an acquittal. The trial is public; the aftermath is private. That's where the real reckoning happens.