Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday, 15 June 2026, after the Oslo District Court convicted him on two counts of rape.
Høiby, 29, was born to Mette-Marit before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, and he holds no royal title or public role.
The conviction marks the most serious legal outcome yet for a member of the extended Norwegian royal household, as reported by PBS NewsHour.
What the Oslo District Court ruled
The court found Høiby guilty of two counts of rape and convicted him of domestic violence and abuse against former partners.
He had originally faced four rape charges, two of which the court dismissed, and he had earlier admitted to breaching a restraining order and to drug-related offences.
The case has been among the most closely watched criminal trials in Norway in recent memory, given Høiby’s proximity to the throne even without a formal role.
Police investigations widened over time, and at one stage prosecutors signalled the number of complainants could reach double digits before the final charge sheet was settled.
Høiby was first arrested in late 2024, and the charges that followed combined allegations of sexual offences with accusations of violence against previous partners.
The trial drew sustained coverage across Scandinavian and international media as it tested how the justice system would treat someone connected to, but not part of, the monarchy.
Alongside the custodial term, the court ordered Høiby to pay compensation to the women in the case. The judgment distinguishes clearly between the rape counts that secured a conviction and the charges that did not survive the court’s assessment of the evidence.
What happens next for Marius Borg Høiby
Both Høiby and the prosecution have two weeks from the verdict to lodge an appeal, which leaves the four-year sentence open to challenge from either side. An appeal by the prosecution could seek a longer term, while the defence may contest the rape convictions themselves.
A four-year term sits within the range Norwegian courts have handed down for comparable rape convictions, where sentences are often shorter than in many other jurisdictions.
That context is likely to shape any prosecution decision on whether the punishment matches the gravity of the two counts that stuck.
The Norwegian royal house has kept a careful public distance from the proceedings throughout the case, consistent with Høiby’s status as a private citizen. Whether either party files within the two-week window will determine if the matter is closed or returns to a higher court later this year.
