Marius Borg Hoiby, the 29-year-old stepson of Crown Prince Haakon and son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has been sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty on two counts of rape.
The landmark verdict, delivered in a comprehensive 128-page ruling at the Oslo District Court, cleared him of two other rape allegations but convicted him of numerous alternative offences, including the sustained abuse of an ex-girlfriend and causing serious bodily harm to another partner.
Hoiby, who is not a royal figure himself but grew up within the royal household, attended the crucial courtroom session via video link due to unspecified health reasons. The prosecution had initially pursued a far harsher sentence of seven years and seven months, whereas the defence had argued for an 18-month term. Following the formal ruling, Hoiby’s legal team immediately announced plans to appeal the decision.
The criminal case involved six women, and the court ruled that Hoiby must pay a total of 640,000 kroner in compensation to four of the victims.
A formal request by the defence for his immediate release from custody made so he could spend time with his mother, who is seriously ill with pulmonary fibrosis and on a lung transplant list, was firmly rejected by the court late on Monday due to persistent risks that he might violate existing restraining orders and attempt to contact one of the victims.
The trial has cast a significant shadow over the Norwegian monarchy, an institution already facing intense public scrutiny after the Crown Princess’s name recently appeared in unsealed files detailing a past association with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
While reputation specialists have described the escalating situation as an institutional crisis for the royal house, the palace has maintained a strict stance, stating it will offer no comment on the court’s verdict.
