Eldest son of Norway's crown princess to go on trial on multiple charges

The eldest son of Norway's crown princess will go on trial this week on multiple charges including rape. The high-profile case has been an embarrassment for the royal family.

This as it was recently revealed in the Epstein files that the crown princess had a long-standing association with American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Marius Borg Hoiby, the eldest son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit is facing the Oslo district court Tuesday after being indicted in August following a lengthy investigation.

The indictment includes 38 counts, among them rape, abuse in a close relationship against one former partner, acts of violence against another and transporting 3.5 kilos of marijuana.

Hoiby has denied all charges of sexual abuse. Other charges include making death threats and traffic violations.

Prosecutors have said the 29-year-old could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted at the trial which is expected to last until mid-March.

Tove Taalesen, Royal expert for Nettavisen newspaper said: "This has been like a shocking one and a half years for the Norwegian people because we really love our royal family. We respect them and we look at King Harald as like our grandfather. We will see the consequences in the future, but for now polls show that we still believe in King Harold and Queen Sonya and we feel... We are compassionate also for what the royal family are going through."

Hoiby is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon. He has no royal title or official duties.

He has been under scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested in 2024 on various allegations of wrongdoing. He has remained free pending trial.

In a rare statement, Haakon said that he and Mette-Marit do not plan to be in the courtroom for the trial and that royal house does not intend to comment during the proceedings.

Mette-Marit has also been linked with Jeffrey Epstein, her name appearing reportedly over a thousand times in the Epstein files, having first met him in 2011 and remaining in contact with him for several years.