Support truly
independent journalism
The eldest son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit is under suspicion for causing bodily harm and criminal damage, Oslo police said Wednesday.
Marius Borg Høiby is the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon, and is the son of Mette-Marit from a previous relationship. He has no royal title or official duties.
On Sunday, officers responded to a disturbance in downtown Oslo and a man in his 20s was briefly detained. Police have confirmed it was Borg Høiby, 27, who faces preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage, one stage short of formal charges, and was released.
Details were unclear but police said there was “a relationship between the suspect and the victim.” In a statement, officers said they “currently do not have information that the victim has suffered serious injuries.”
The case was top news in Norway where the royals are popular.
Norwegian news agency NTB said that Mette-Marit had postponed a planned trip to attend the Olympic Games in Paris while her husband Haakon traveled to the French capital. The reason for the postponement was not given.
In Paris, Haakon told Norwegian reporters that “it is a serious matter when the police are involved in the way they are, but at the same time it is not right for me to go into the details of the case.”
Borg Høiby lives with the royal couple and their two children — Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.
Norway’s future queen made headlines in 2001 when she married Haakon, because she was a single mother who had lived a freewheeling life with a companion who had been convicted on drug charges.
Born on 20 July 1973 in Oslo, Norway, Prince Haakon is the only son of King Harald and Queen Sonja. He has an older sister, Princess Märtha Louise, who stepped down from her royal duties in November 2022. While he is the King and Queen’s youngest child, he was still born as heir to the throne. It wasn’t until 1990 that Norway’s order of succession became absolute primogeniture, which is a law that allows the eldest child to be next in line for the throne, regardless of what gender they are.
Haakon got his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at University of California at Berkeley in 1999 and his Master’s in development studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2003.
He also served in the Navy after graduating from the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy in Bergen in 1995. As noted by the The Royal Highness’ official website, he holds three different ranks in his services: General in the Norwegian Armed Forces, admiral in the Norwegian Navy, and general in the Norwegian Air Force.
