Police believe the son of Norway’s crown princess sexually assaulted a woman at an afterparty at a royal residence, a court has heard.
Marius Borg Høiby, 29, pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape on Tuesday, the first day of his trial for multiple offences in a legal saga that has embarrassed the royal family and raised questions over sexual violence in Norway.
Appearing in front of a packed courtroom at Oslo district court, Høiby also denied charges including abuse in close relationships and filming women’s genitals without their knowledge.
The trial comes at a moment of unprecedented pressure on the Norwegian royal family, with Høiby’s mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, also facing criticism over her links with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Taking the stand in a separate room, the first of Høiby’s alleged victims to give evidence told the court she had attended a party at Skaugum, the official residence of Høiby’s stepfather, the crown prince of Norway, and his wife in 2018.
The woman, whose identity is being concealed under court orders, said she briefly had sex with Høiby at the party after he followed her into the toilet but had quickly stopped it and went back to the party.
She had no memories of what happened later, she said, but was subsequently approached by police who said they had had found videos on Høiby’s computer allegedly showing him groping her while she was lying on a sofa and not in a position to say no. In Norway, rape can be defined as occurring with or without intercourse.
Asked by the prosecutor, state attorney Sturla Henriksbø, how it felt to be in the courtroom, she said it was “the last thing” she wanted and that she found the experience “incredibly uncomfortable”. “It’s unfair that I’ve been dragged into it,” she added. “I’m sitting here shaking.”
Earlier, Henriksbø had said that despite Høiby’s status there should be “equality before the law”.
“The defendant is the son of the crown princess. He is part of the royal family. He should still be treated equally like any other person charged with the same offences. He should not be treated more severely or more leniently because of those with whom he is related,” he told the court.
“There is no requirement for a prosecution request from the victims,” he added. “It is society’s responsibility to prosecute serious crimes, regardless of whether the victim themself wants it. In several of these cases, it is not the victim who has come to the police and said: ‘I have been subjected to something criminal’.”
Høiby’s defence lawyer, Ellen Holager Andenæs, described Høiby as “an innocent boy”. “The starting point must be that Marius is innocent,” she said.
“Now the case is up for consideration in this courtroom, all information and noise from the outside is completely irrelevant,” she told the court. “Only what emerges here has weight.”
She said she was not accusing any of the alleged victims of “lying about their experiences”, but that “all the victims have in common that they had voluntary sex with Marius prior to the circumstances described in the indictment”.
She added: “It is an environment with a lot of substance abuse. Not just alcohol, but also illegal substances like cocaine and other things. It is also no secret that sex is a very big part of what happens in the environment. It can be surprising how it seems to be and the form it takes.”
The woman testifying, however, said that on the night in question she had drunk some red wine and a few drinks, “but nothing more than that”.
Høiby, who was arrested on Sunday and remanded in custody on new charges of assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order, faces 38 counts in the trial.
He pleaded guilty to some charges, including sexually offensive behaviour, a serious drug offence, violation of a restraining order and several driving-related offences. He pleaded partially guilty to serious bodily harm, reckless behaviour and violation of a restraining order.
His pleas for two of the charges, bodily injury and two cases of damage, were inaudible.
The trial is expected to last seven weeks and is being heard by a panel of three judges.
Even amid the scandals around Høiby and his mother, the royal family remains relatively popular. On Tuesday a motion to abolish the monarchy, put forward by republicans by tradition every few years, was rejected by MPs.
