An Oslo court sentenced Marius Borg Høiby, the adopted son of Norway’s Prince Haakon, to four years in prison on Monday after being found guilty of two counts of rape and one count of domestic violence.
The 29-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who married into the Norwegian royal family in 2001, was acquitted of two other rape charges. He faced a total of 40 charges, including drug abuse, assault and violating a restraining order.
He denied the allegations of rape but pleaded guilty to several minor charges.
He was also convicted of assault and domestic violence. In addition to the prison sentence, Høiby was ordered to pay compensation to the victims.
He was not in court Monday due to health reasons, but watched the verdict read on video from the jail, the Associated Press reported.
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Høiby’s lawyers told Norwegian media on Monday that they intend to temporarily release him and file an appeal.
Høiby is “satisfied” with the relatively large number of acquittals, his defense lawyer Petar Sekulic said in an email to Swedish news agency TT, but he will challenge parts of the verdict on two counts of rape and domestic violence.
Prosecutors wanted a sentence of seven years and seven months in prison, while defense lawyers argued that he should be acquitted of the rape charges and receive no more than 18 months for the crimes he pleaded guilty to.
Photo taken on June 16, 2022, in Oslo, Norway, shows Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
Hakon Mosvold Larsen / NTB / AFP via Getty Images
During his trial, Høiby complained about media coverage and how he had become “an object of hatred,” the BBC reported.
“I’m no longer Marius, I’m a big monster. I’ve become hated by all of Norway,” he told the court.
In the first week of the trial, the court heard testimony from a woman who said Høiby raped her at a party at her parents’ estate outside Oslo in December 2018.
The woman said she felt “betrayed and shocked” after police showed her videos of Høiby sexually abusing her. He said he did not remember what happened and called his memory a “black hole.”
When he was questioned about the rape in 2018, Høiby told the court that he did not remember taking the videos and denied that he raped the woman. He said they had consensual sex after the other people who were at the after party went to bed.
When asked by the prosecutor if the woman was awake when they had sex, Høiby said, “I don’t sleep with women who aren’t awake.
Hoiby was found guilty of rape in 2018 and a second incident involving a woman he met at a party in Oslo in March 2024.
He has been under surveillance since his repeated arrests in 2024 amid allegations of rape and criminal damage and criminal damage.
The Palace said it is up to the courts to handle the case and issue a verdict.
The 29-year-old suspect has no royal position or official duties.
– in files from the Associated Press and Global News by Katie Scott
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
