Born from a relationship prior to the marriage of his mother, Mette-Marit, with Crown Prince Haakon, Marius Borg Høiby, 27, is accused of violence against his ex-girlfriends and has hit the social and legal headlines since this summer.
Rape, violence, threats… In Norway, serious suspicions targeting the son of the future queen have plunged the royal family into “the biggest scandal” of its history, punctuating a “terrible year” for the crown. Born from a relationship prior to the marriage of his mother, Mette-Marit, with Crown Prince Haakon, Marius Borg Høiby, 27, has been making social and legal headlines since this summer.
The young man with the appearance of a wanton hunk – earrings and tattoos on a tuxedo – and to whom the local media attributes very bad company, was arrested in Oslo on August 4, suspected of having assaulted his girlfriend at night previous. A photo showing a knife stuck in a wall was published in the press, which also claimed that Marius Høiby handed over a partially destroyed phone without a SIM card to the police that day.
In a public written statement, he made his mea culpa and admitted to violence and degradation during the altercation, confiding that he suffered from “psychological disorders” and fight “for a long time against drug addiction”.
No official role
Nothing to put out the fire. Since then, revelations have continued around the princess's son, who has no official public role unlike his half-brother and half-sister, born after his mother's marriage to the crown prince. Two ex-girlfriends say they have also suffered violence, expanding the list of police suspicions, which includes death threats, a violation of a ban on contact and the rape of at least two women.
In Norwegian law, the notion of rape also covers sexual acts without penetration, committed when the victim cannot offer resistance – as seems to have been the case.
It was for this reason that Marius Høiby was placed in pre-trial detention for a week in November. Never seen before. “It’s a snowball that nothing seems to be able to stop”commented Sigrid Hvidsten, commentatrice du journal Dagbladet. “This is the biggest scandal we have ever had in the Norwegian royal house”. Marius Høiby, who has not been charged at this stage, only admits to violence and damage during the night of August 3 to 4 as well as death threats.
Sultry remarriage
Although it is far from over, the affair concludes a difficult year — one “terrible year”says Sigrid Hvidsten– for the royal family. His image had already been damaged by the remarriage in August of Princess Märtha Louise, eldest daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja, with a self-proclaimed shaman, the American Durek Verrett. Both are proponents of alternative therapies. She says she communicates with angels; sells him a supposedly life-saving medallion at a high price, attracting charges of charlatanism.
Often accused of misappropriating the title of Märtha Louise for commercial purposes, the couple received a new round of criticism for having sold the royal wedding rights to the magazine specializing in crowned heads Hello! and Netflix. Which did not prevent him from leaving behind unpaid debts, according to the celebrity magazine Se og Hør.
From 81% in 2017, support for the monarchy fell to 62% in September. To make matters worse, King Harald, 87, experienced new health problems which forced him to take a long sick leave at the start of the year and to reduce his activities. In February, the oldest sovereign in office in Europe had to be repatriated by medical plane after contracting an infection during a private stay in Malaysia.
A sign of the times, in October the government budgeted 20 million crowns (1.7 million euros) for the purchase of a “sarcophagus” in anticipation of his death.
Touched, not flowed
The aging sovereign only spoke of the torments of his clan in allusions. “Sometimes life is just very difficult. It's something everyone can experience, including our family.”he said at the end of October. “When people we love are not well, it also hurts those around them. We do our best to look out for each other.”he added.
Observers say Norwegian monarchy should stay afloat as long as scandals only concern personalities “peripherals”.
The royal couple, Crown Prince Haakon and his wife, remain very popular. “The Republic is not an imminent threat. Even the worst polls show that twice as many Norwegians support the monarchy.deciphers Tor Bomann-Larsen, author of biographies on the royal family. For him, “as long as its most central members maintain their rank, the monarchy is safe”.
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