Norway's future king and queen, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon, are dealing with yet another controversy surrounding Mette-Marit's son after Marius Borg Høiby was arrested yet again on Monday, Nov. 18.
Borg Høiby, 27—who is the princess's son from a prior partner and holds no royal title—was arrested on suspicion of rape late Monday night. Per Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, he was accused of committing a sexual act without intercourse and police "have searched and seized Marius Borg Høiby's residence in Skaugum."
The woman in question, who is in her twenties, "does not want to date the episode, nor say where it happened", according to the paper.
Defense attorney Øyvind Bratlien told Aftenposten, "Høiby does not admit criminal guilt after the extended charge. He cooperates well with the police and wants to explain himself."
Crown Prince Haakon, who is carrying out royal business in Jamaica for the United Nations, gave a statement to Norwegian media outlet NRK on Nov. 19, stating, "There are serious charges that Marius is now facing. Today, of course, we are thinking of all those affected."
The future king—who said the royals were not notified of the arrest ahead of time—added, "I would have liked to be at home with Mette today. I miss her."
Crown Princess Mette-Marit was a single mom to Borg Høiby when she met the crown prince, and the royal couple went on to welcome two children together, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20—who will become Norway's queen one day—and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18.
As for Marius, his case gets more complicated because at the time of his arrest, the crown princess's son was driving with a woman who has a restraining order against him, per Aftenposten.
In early August, Borg Høiby was arrested on charges of criminal damage and bodily harm at his girlfriend's apartment in Oslo, Norway, with the woman suffering a concussion after the incident. And in September, he was arrested for violating a restraining order after contacting her using a hidden phone number.
At the time of the incident, Marius told NRK (via Hello!) he suffered from "several mental disorders" and a substance abuse problem.
"Last weekend something happened that should never have happened," the future king's stepson said. "I committed bodily harm and destroyed objects in an apartment in the intoxication of alcohol and cocaine after an argument."
Aftenposten reports that after Monday's arrest, the woman's attorney said, "My client was in the car with Høiby last night because she was going to borrow his car. There were purely practical reasons why she was there. I am not aware of whether this is being investigated as a breach of a restraining order."
