Rise in Women Reporting Abuse in Norway Amid Trial of Royal Family Member
Marius Borg Høiby, 28, son of crown princess Mette-Marit and stepson of Crown Prince Haakon, is due to stand trial in February 2026 on 32 charges including four counts of rape, domestic abuse of a former partner, and illegal filming of multiple women without consent.
Høiby denies the sexual abuse and most violence charges and will present his version in court, according to his lawyer Petar Sekulic. If convicted on the most serious charges, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Ahead of the trial, Sanitetskvinnene, Norway’s largest women’s health organisation, reports an increase in women seeking help for domestic violence and sexual assault, expecting further rises as the proceedings begin. The organisation states that media coverage of Høiby’s case lowers the threshold for seeking help and helps break taboos around intimate partner violence.
The Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS) estimates that about one in ten women in Norway have experienced serious violence from an intimate partner.
A new book alleges that Høiby sold drugs on the streets of Oslo, claims which he denies.
Craig Aaen-Stockdale, leader of Norge som republikk (Norway as a republic), reports that membership has more than tripled in two years due to the accusations against Høiby, with some Norwegians reconsidering support for the royal family.
King Harald V, aged 88, has reigned since 1991. Under the pre-1990 primogeniture law, Haakon is heir to the throne instead of his elder sister Märtha Louise.
