Marius Borg Høiby trial prosecutors in Oslo asked on Wednesday for a prison sentence of seven years and seven months for Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of Crown Prince Haakon. The request comes near the end of a high-profile trial in Norway in which Høiby faces 40 charges, including four rape allegations, abuse in an intimate relationship, restraining-order violations and drug-related offences. He denies the rape allegations and the most serious accusations.
Why prosecutors say the Høiby sentence should be severe
Lead prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø said the proposed sentence must reflect what the prosecution describes as some of the most serious offences in Norwegian criminal law, especially rape and abuse in close relationships. According to the prosecution, the requested sentence is built around the most serious allegation, linked to an incident at Skaugum in 2018, which it says on its own would justify around three years in prison.
Prosecutors also outlined how the other rape allegations would add to the total sentence. In their closing arguments, they said one alleged rape in Lofoten in 2023 would on its own justify about two years and eight months, while two 2024 cases in Oslo would each justify about two years if considered separately. Under Norwegian sentencing practice, however, the final sentence is not calculated by simply adding each individual penalty.
No sentence discount for fame or media attention
The prosecution argued that Høiby’s public profile and the intense media coverage of the case should not reduce the sentence. Police prosecutor Andreas Kruszewski said crimes allegedly committed after Høiby had already come under public scrutiny should not count in his favour.
That point is politically and institutionally significant in Norway because Høiby is closely linked to the royal family, even though he has no formal royal role. Prosecutors stressed that he should be treated like any other defendant, with neither a harsher nor a lighter sentence because of who he is.
The Nora Haukland case and the other charges in the trial
The prosecution also asked the court to treat the allegations involving influencer Nora Haukland as serious abuse in an intimate relationship. Henriksbø said that offence alone would justify 11 months in prison, although in the combined sentence the additional weight would be lower.
In addition, prosecutors said Høiby repeatedly breached a restraining order involving another woman, describing the scale of the alleged violations as extensive. They also pointed to a marijuana transport case from 2020, in which Høiby has admitted receiving and transporting 3.5 kilograms of cannabis from Lørenskog to Tønsberg. According to the prosecution, that offence alone would justify 11 months in prison.
Compensation claims now exceed NOK 1 million
As the trial enters its final stage, lawyers representing several of the women involved have also asked for financial compensation. NRK reported that the combined claims now exceed NOK 1 million (about €90,000), including claims for lost income and non-economic damages.
One lawyer asked for NOK 260,000 (about €23,500) in compensation for the woman linked to the Skaugum case, in addition to NOK 60,000 (about €5,400) for lost income. Similar compensation claims were presented for women linked to the hotel case, the Lofoten case and the abuse allegations involving Haukland.
What Høiby has admitted and what he still denies
Høiby denies criminal liability for all four alleged rapes and for the abuse allegations linked to Haukland. His defence has argued that the sexual encounters before the alleged assaults were consensual. He has repeatedly told the court that he does not have sex with women who are asleep.
At the same time, he has fully or partly admitted guilt for several of the lesser charges, including some violent incidents involving another woman, speeding, driving without a valid licence and parts of the drug-related case.
What comes next for the Marius Borg Høiby trial
The defence closing arguments are still to come, and the trial is expected to continue through Thursday. The case has become one of the most closely followed criminal proceedings in Norway in recent years, not only because of the gravity of the allegations but also because it has raised broader questions about accountability, celebrity, and the pressure placed on the monarchy by a long and highly public legal process.
Whatever the court decides, the verdict is likely to have consequences well beyond Høiby himself, including for the public standing of Norway’s royal family and for the wider debate about how the justice system handles high-profile defendants.
