The 29-year-old stepson of Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon has been sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty on numerous charges.
Marius Borg Hoiby was found guilty of two counts of rape, one count of domestic violence and other crimes, an Oslo court ruled today (June 15).
He was also acquitted on two other accounts of rape.
Hoiby joined the Norwegian Royal Family when his mother Mette-Marit married Haakon in 2001.
The princess’ son had pleaded not guilty to the most serious accusations made against him, including those of rape, while admitting to some lesser charges.
Prosecutors asked for him to be sentenced to seven years and seven months of prison, but he was given four, though he can appeal the verdict.
The son of the Norwegian Princess has been found guilty. Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Tempus Magazine
Details of charges against Hoiby
The trial lasted seven weeks, with the nation’s eyes firmly on the case, which revealed Hoiby’s drug addiction, self-made videos of sexual encounters, and over 800 electronic messages included in evidence.
It was said that one alleged rape took place in the basement of the crown prince’s family home.
The case highlighted the stark contrast between Hoiby’s alleged behaviors and the seemingly perfect Norwegian Royal Family, according to Ketil Raknes, an associate professor in political communication at the Kristiania University of Applied Sciences.
It is said that this case, alongside other scandalous cases, has contributed to a decline in the popularity of the royal family.
Hoiby’s mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, recently apologized for her “poor judgment” in staying in touch with late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction in 2008.
Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been dealing with some health issues recently. Credit: Ole Hagen/Getty Images
Effects of the scandal on the Norwegian monarchy
A Norstat survey released on February 21 — during the trial — showed a fall in the number of Norwegians favoring keeping the monarchy to a record low of 60%, from 70% in January.
There was also a rise to 27% from 19% for those looking for a different system of governance, report NBC.
There seemed to be a recovery in popularity in May, as 64% of those polled supported the monarchy while just 23% looked for a new system of governance.
Raknes explained: “It was … a perfect crisis for the royal family because they had two crises at the same time. And they had a lot of (criticism) for the way they handled the Epstein files.”
The expert suggested that the personal circumstances surrounding Mette-Marit may have changed people’s perceptions of the verdict.
Hoiby’s mother was placed on the national lung transplant list, as her health isn’t improving following her pulmonary fibrosis diagnosis.
It means that she finds it hard to breathe, and without a transplant, she has around one year left to live.
Raknes went on: “The coverage is much more sober,
“People are seeing: ‘OK, this is a family who’s really struggling and this is not the time for … playing … the moral card as high as we maybe have done earlier in this case’.”
