New charges against son of Norway princess

Norway's Marius Borg Hoiby and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Oslo, June 16, 2022. (Lise Aserud/NTB via AP, File)

The son of Norway’s crown princess, who goes on trial in February accused of raping four women, has been charged with new crimes including a “serious narcotics offence”, the prosecutor said on Monday.

Marius Borg Hoiby, son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from another relationship before she married Crown Prince Haakon, was charged on August 18 with four rapes and 28 other crimes, including acts of violence against ex-girlfriends.

Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo said in a statement sent to AFP that an additional indictment had been issued on Monday against Hoiby, 29, covering a total of six counts.

One was a “serious narcotics offence” dating from one incident in 2020 “involving 3.5 kilos of marijuana”. Hoiby has admitted to the crime, Henriksbo said.

Hoiby’s lawyer Ellen Holager Andenaes told Norwegian news agency NTB her client had “on one occasion transported marijuana from A to B without earning a penny”.

Two of the counts concerned restraining order violations, while three others were traffic violations for driving a motorcycle at high speed, Henriksbo said.

“The additional indictment will now be sent to the Oslo district court for consideration during the main hearing, which begins on February 3,” he said.

Hoiby was arrested on August 4, 2024, suspected of having assaulted his then-girlfriend.

He has admitted to acts of violence in that case, but has denied most of the charges against him, according to his lawyers.

In a public statement 10 days after his August 2024 arrest, Hoiby said he had acted “under the influence of alcohol and cocaine after an argument”, having suffered from “mental troubles” and struggling “for a long time with substance abuse”.

The four rapes allegedly took place in 2018, 2023 and 2024, the last one after the police investigation began.

It is the biggest scandal to hit the Norwegian royal family.

Hoiby is not technically a member of the royal family, and therefore has no official public role.

The trial will take place in the Oslo district court from February 3 until March 13.