Marius Borg Høiby Found Guilty Of Rape And Sentenced To Four Years

Marius Borg Høiby, the 29‑year‑old son of Crown Princess Mette‑Marit, was found guilty of two counts of rape. He received four years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for seven years and seven months. His defence wanted 18 months. The court settled just above the middle. Many are saying, is this justice when courts compromise with a rapist?

Høiby faced 40 charges, including four rape counts, drug offences, partner violence, and breach of a restraining order. The judges cleared him of two rapes but convicted him of two others. One victim was raped on the Crown Prince’s own estate at Skaugum in 2018. Another was attacked in Oslo in 2024 while asleep or incapacitated. He filmed it. The court agreed she could not resist.

Now the man who grew up in palaces, protected by royal privilege, will serve time. But in Norway, a year in prison is effectively eight or nine months with good behaviour. If granted standard early release, he could serve closer to two-thirds. He will be out in three years, maybe less. For his victims, their abuser is only temporarily gone.

Marius Borg Høiby, the 29‑year‑old son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette‑Marit, has been found guilty of two counts of rape and given four years in prison.

The three judges cleared him of two other counts of rape, but found him guilty of many of the other offences of which he had been accused.

Prosecutors had called for Høiby to be given seven years and seven months in prison. His defence lawyers had called for a lesser term of 18 months.

Høiby was not in court for the verdict, but joined the session via video link.

The court ruled he should pay a total of 640,000 kroner (£50,000) in compensation to four of the women.

BBC

Four years for a man who raped two women, abused an ex‑girlfriend, drug offences, and terrorised multiple victims. For Marius, with his royal connections, his mother’s pulmonary fibrosis used as a sympathy card, and repeated attempts to get released from custody, he will serve maybe three years, then walk free.

The victims are left behind. One woman was raped while asleep, and he filmed it. Another was attacked on the Crown Prince’s estate. Their lives as they knew them are ruined. And when he gets out, he will still have wealth, protection, and he will still carry the protection of proximity to one of Europe’s most powerful families. Is this justice?