In Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy wrote that “each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Yet somehow it feels like even the titan of Russian literature might find the Norwegian royal family too problematic for his liking.
Two of its high-profile members—Crown Princess Mette-Marit, the wife of the Norwegian heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, and her 29-year-old son, Marius Borg Høiby—are currently weathering two separate, spectacular scandals whose fronts have collided into each other to create a disastrous storm that seems like it may blow down the House of Glücksburg altogether.
Let’s begin with the latter. On February 3, a highly publicized trial began for Høiby in Oslo. Høiby faces 38 counts, including four counts of rape, as well as domestic abuse and assault charges, which he denies. He did, however, plead guilty to lesser charges including transporting drugs and violating a restraining order.
In court, he spoke of being followed by the press since he was a young child and his lack of personal identity outside of his family. “I am known for being Mama’s son. Nothing else,” Høiby reportedly told the judges last week on the second day of his trial. He said he had tried to numb it all with illicit substances: “Few can relate to the life I have led. A lot of parties, alcohol, some drugs.”
It was hard not to want to break out the world’s tiniest violin—especially after the testimony from his alleged rape victims began. One woman testified earlier this week that she had closed her eyes “so I wouldn’t have to take part in my own assault,” during an incident that took place in October 2023. As evidence, the prosecution submitted a video of the woman in bed, allegedly filmed by Høiby himself while the woman was asleep. Høiby maintains that the sex was consensual and that the woman was awake; he has pleaded not guilty to all but one of six counts of sexually offensive conduct, which includes filming women without their consent.
In late January, Crown Prince Haakon tried to distance himself—and his family—from the trial. Høiby is not his biological son, instead being born to Mette-Marit and Morten Borg, a convicted cocaine dealer, in 1997. Although he was raised alongside the crown prince and Mette-Marit’s children, Princess Ingrid and Prince Sverre, he doesn’t have any official role. “Marius Borg Høiby is not a member of the Royal House of Norway and is therefore autonomous. We care about him, and he is an important member of our family. He is a citizen of Norway and, as such, has the same responsibilities as everyone else—as well as the same rights,” Crown Prince Haakon said in a statement.
