王室继子沦为阶下囚，39项罪名砸碎挪威王冠

·Marius Borg Hoiby. (Visual China)

Although he has no prince title,

he is still always regarded by the outside world as “part of the Norwegian royal family.”

Author: Wang Shuhan Chu Jiaqing

Local time on March 18, the Norwegian capital Oslo. Inside the courtroom, the air seemed to freeze, and the prosecutor’s announcement—like a sledgehammer—fell: requesting that Marius Borg Hoiby be sentenced to 7 years and 7 months in prison with a fixed term.

The Hoiby in the defendant’s dock is the stepson of Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, born to Crown Princess Mette Marit before her marriage. He has no prince title, yet he has always been viewed by the public as “part of the Norwegian royal family.”

·Local time February 5, 2026, a sketch of Hoiby appearing in court in Oslo. (Visual China)

However, today the label on Hoiby is no longer a royal relative, but 39 criminal charges: rape, domestic violence, drug-related crimes… As the ongoing 6-week trial draws to a close, the testimonies of nearly 70 witnesses and the increasingly exposed audiovisual evidence piece together the story of a soul that gradually lost itself under the glow of privilege.

A résumé full of absurdity

Although Hoiby is an “unofficial” member of the Norwegian royal family, he grew up from childhood in the Crown Prince’s special favor.

In 1997, Hoiby was born in Oslo. His biological father was imprisoned for drug and violent crimes, and his mother, Mette, was a single mother struggling in the mud of everyday life. The first half of Mette’s life was also filled with turmoil—her father drank heavily, her parents divorced, and when she was young she was rebellious for a time, often frequenting nightclubs.

In 1999, when Hoiby was two years old, Mette was working as a server at a music festival and met the person who would change her life—Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon. They fell in love at first sight, quickly embarked on a romance, and publicly announced their relationship the following year.

The news sparked an uproar across Norwegian society. King Harald V once delivered harsh words to Haakon: “If you insist on being with her, I won’t recognize you as my son!” But Haakon has long been repelled by pomp and ceremony. After meeting Mette, that rebellious streak was completely ignited. Even when his father pressured him with the claim to the throne’s succession rights, Haakon did not give up. In the end, the royal family compromised and accepted Mette.

Facing criticism, Mette also proactively responded. In 2001, she held a live-streamed press conference, apologized for the lifestyle she had lived in the past, and tried to draw a clean line cutting herself off from those disgraceful years. This public statement gradually changed some people’s impressions of Mette. That same year, the royal family held a grand wedding, and the love story between the Crown Prince and “Cinderella” was ultimately shaped into a model for the modern royal family to break class barriers and grow close to ordinary people.

·On the wedding day in 2001, Mette (third from left) appeared on the balcony holding Hoiby (fourth from left). (Getty Images)

Even 4-year-old Hoiby was gently accepted by the royal family. Although Hoiby has no royal title and is not in the line of succession, the resources, protection, and dignity provided to him by the King and the Crown Prince are no less than those given to other royal children. Perhaps it was affection for Mette that carried over to him as well—Haakon especially cared about Hoiby, doing his utmost to have him appear in public in the posture of a “family member,” and working to pave him a sufficiently secure path in life.

After Haakon and Mette married, they had a son and a daughter. Since 1990, the Norwegian royal family has practiced primogeniture of the eldest child. Haakon and Mette’s eldest daughter, Princess Ingrid, naturally became the future reigning monarch of Norway. With this, Mette completed her transition in identity—from a single mother to an almost-queen. Hoiby, who was brought into royal life along with her, also grew up gradually under the halo.

·Local time June 23, 2016, Mette and Hoiby attended a garden party. (Visual China)

However, despite being raised with every available resource from the royal family, Hoiby’s résumé after reaching adulthood remained appalling: he dropped out of business school in the United States, quit a well-known design firm, and failed at everything. He was also fined for carrying cocaine, held parties in the palace with gang members, and let close friends casually steal valuable items from the royal family.

Finally, Hoiby caused a major disaster and was put on the defendant’s bench.

In court, he covered his face and cried

Hoiby was first arrested in August 2024.

That night, the police received a report and rushed to an upscale apartment in the suburbs of Oslo. The scene was a mess: the chandelier was shattered, the phone was broken, and there was also a knife stuck in the wall. The caller was Hoiby’s former girlfriend, and her head was also injured. A few hours later, Hoiby was arrested by the police. Ten days later, he issued a statement, admitting to violence against women and apologizing for it, while also saying that due to “too much stress,” he had long suffered from drug abuse issues.

But this was only the first domino to fall. As the investigation progressed, more and more evidence and witnesses emerged, and the number of cases involving Hoiby kept increasing. In August 2025, the prosecution brought formal charges against Hoiby, accusing him of 32 criminal counts, including four counts of sexual assault. In January of this year, the prosecution added new charges, including possession and transporting cannabis and more. In response, Hoiby admitted to lesser offenses such as violent assaults and drug abuse, but fully denied the rape charges involving heavier penalties.

·Hoiby. (AFP)

The most shocking charge can be traced back to 2018. Prosecutors found a video on Hoiby’s phone: a woman was lying on a white sofa resting, and a tattooed hand was “moving around” on the woman’s body. The prosecution determined that the hand belonged to Hoiby and therefore believed that the act constituted sexual assault committed while the victim was in an unconscious state.

Around this video, the prosecution and the defense engaged in intense clashes. Hoiby denied the related charges, saying the acts were consensual between both parties, and stating that he had never engaged in sexual activity with someone who was unconscious. But the prosecution insisted that the video itself was the key evidence. One prosecutor pointed out in court that the woman in the footage “had no awareness, so she simply could not express consent.”

In the witness stand at the Oslo court, another former girlfriend of Hoiby, Norwegian influencer Nora Haukland, played a recording during testimony. In the recording, Hoiby used coarse profanity to insult her, and Haukland broke down crying without a voice. She recalled that during their relationship, Hoiby had punched her in the jaw; she immediately fell to the ground, her body curled up, but the other person kept kicking and insulting her. Haukland also said, “Things like Hoiby choking me happen quite often.”

In addition, Hoiby interfered with her career choices and her clothing style. Haukland once filmed a reality show and wore a bikini, and Hoiby was “very angry” about it. Haukland said, “I was terrified, and I had to do every single thing the way he told me to.”

Haukland also mentioned a detail: after breaking up with Hoiby, Haakon and Mette had been searching everywhere for their son “missing,” and eventually found her. Haukland contacted Hoiby, and after bringing him back to the Crown Prince’s residence, she cried while begging Haakon and Mette: “I ask you to help Hoiby. I ask you to send him to rehab for drug addiction.”

During the trial, Hoiby once lost control emotionally and covered his face while crying. He said, “Speaking in front of so many people is very difficult for me. Since I was 3 years old, the media have been surrounding me, and very few people can understand my life.” But this statement did not win sympathy for Hoiby. In the public’s view, it was precisely the royal halo that gave him special protection. Now Hoiby is detained in a high-security prison in Oslo, and the detention period has been extended multiple times due to the severity of the case. What awaits him will be a verdict sentencing him to a long prison term.

A runaway royal image

While Hoiby’s case has not yet been ruled on, Mette has fallen into another public opinion storm.

In January 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice released a batch of declassified documents related to the Epstein case, and Mette’s name was mentioned more than 1,000 times. The documents show that between 2011 and 2014, she had “ongoing private contact” with Epstein, including email exchanges and in-person meetings, and their relationship appeared to be very close.

Mette said she did not know of Epstein’s crimes at the time, but in an email written in 2011, she had written: I searched for your name on Google; it doesn’t look too good—this made Mette’s defense sound especially weak. With two scandals hitting one after another, the target of public anger shifted from certain individual royal members to the entire Norwegian royal family.

·Local time February 2, 2026, Norwegian newspapers’ reports on Hoiby’s case and Mette’s involvement in the Epstein case. (Visual China)

“For the Norwegian public, although Hoiby has no ‘prince’ title, objectively he enjoys a public image and social resources deeply tied to the Norwegian royal family. Therefore, when the ‘royal stepson’ enters the legal process, it is absolutely not just a simple family scandal. Especially Hoiby’s ‘partial guilty plea’ to some of the charges has been interpreted by public opinion as an ‘appearance strategy,’ which also turns the trial into a public interrogation about privilege and the rule of law. Add to that Mette’s involvement in the Epstein case—there is already doubt about the legitimacy of the monarchy among some Norwegians, and this is what drives it into an enormous crisis.” Li Jingjing, a Norwegian-language teacher at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told a Global Times reporter. “This is also reflected in polling data. In September 2024—one month after Hoiby was first arrested—support for the monarchy fell to 62%; during Hoiby’s trial in February 2026, support slipped further to 60%, reaching a historic low.”

“Controversies about the monarchy have been discussed frequently in recent years. Some people who oppose the monarchy believe that this system does not align with modern democratic principles, and that the head of state should be elected rather than produced through hereditary succession. What angers the public even more is that the monarchy emphasizes the privileges and status of the royal family. Norwegians believe that Hoiby grew up precisely under those privileges.” Li Jingjing said.

·Local time December 14, 2015, a Christmas family photo of members of the Norwegian royal family. (Hoiby is first from left in the back row; Mette is first from left in the front row). (Visual China)

In recent years, European royal families have had their share of handling issues like “member scandals.” In 2019, the Swedish royal family carried out “downsizing” reforms, moving five grandchildren out of the roster of royal family members. This means they no longer take on official duties and no longer receive money from taxpayers, transforming from “royal relatives” into ordinary family members. After scandals involving Andrew, the king’s brother, grew, the British royal family chose to cut ties with him decisively—stripping him of his military titles and his status as patron of charities, and no longer allowing him to carry out official duties under the title of “His/Her Highness.” And in dealing with Hoiby’s case and the Mette scandal, the Norwegian royal family’s “inaction” has left many Norwegians disappointed.

The test Hoiby’s case poses for the Norwegian royal family will not end with the court’s ruling. How to regulate members’ conduct and improve public approval ratings will undoubtedly be the most important issue for the Norwegian royal family for a long time to come.

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