The Norwegian royal family experienced a tumultuous 2024, to say the least. At one point, Princess Märtha Louise marrying a Hollywood shaman with a controversial past seemed like the most dramatic thing that could happen. However, a member of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit's family faced multiple serious legal accusations. Now it's been reported that Mette-Marit's son, Marius Borg Høiby, is accused of sexually assaulting a model and TV presenter—and the incident allegedly happened while the royal family slept upstairs.
Borg Høiby—who was born to Mette-Marit before she met the future king—was arrested three times between August and November 2024 for a string of incidents including assault and suspicion of rape. Norwegian media outlet Se og hor reported that new details have emerged during the future queen's son's investigation, and Linni Meister, 39, has been identified as another victim.
Per the media outlet, Meister, who was a good friend of Borg Høiby, attended a wild party in the basement of Skaugum Castle in 2018. She was recently brought forward for questioning by police, with the TV personality seemingly under the impression that she was being asked as a character witness and would "simply contribute her positive experiences of him."
However, "investigators presented shocking evidence that allegedly showed that Linni herself was the victim of an assault committed by Marius"—information that, according to the magazine's sources, left her "completely stunned."
Per Se og hor, Meister "remembered nothing from that evening that was anything but reminiscent of an assault" and "remembered the evening as a pleasant gathering."
Sources claim that Meister previously thought of the princess's son as a "nice and polite guy" and "told her friends that she had difficulty understanding the violent accusations" that Borg Høiby had been faced with last year, according to the media outlet.
In November, Borg Høiby—who holds no royal title—was arrested on suspicion of rape for a separate incident, and in the summer, he was arrested on charges of criminal damage and bodily harm at his girlfriend's apartment. He was then arrested again in September for violating a restraining order after contacting the woman using a hidden phone number.
The crown prince and his wife have yet to address the allegations surrounding Meister, but in December, Mette-Marit told NRK (via the Daily Mail), "If I had to choose one word for this year, it would be 'challenging.' It has been a demanding year and a demanding autumn for us."
Last fall, Ole-Jørgen Schulsrud-Hansen, a royal commentator for Norway's TV2, spoke to Marie Claire about the various "scandals" surrounding the country's royal family. "According to surveys, the Norwegian public has voiced a diminishing trust in the monarchy due to the scandals and controversies that have rocked the institution the past year," the journalist shared.
However, he pointed out that Norway still supports the Crown Prince couple and does "not think that this will weaken the prospects of the crown princess as a future queen."
"The public seems to have a deal of sympathy for the crown princess at this time," he added.
