Topics: World News, News, Royal Family, Crime, Australia
Warning: This article contains discussion of rape and domestic violence which some readers may find distressing.
The Princess of Norway is set to break a 600-year-old tradition as her brother has been charged with 32 offences including four counts of rape.
On Monday (18 August), Norwegian officials broke the news that Marius Borg Høiby - the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson to Crown Prince Haakon - had been charged with rape, domestic violence, assault and other crimes following a year-long police investigation.
Høiby, 28, was born in Oslo back in 1997 to Mette-Marit and his birth father, Morten Borg, a convicted felon. His parents were never in a formal relationship.
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He is the maternal half-brother of Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 21, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 19, his mother's other children with Haakon.
While he grew up within the royal household, Høiby holds no royal title and is not in the line of succession.
Alexandra is second-in-line to the Norwegian throne and will someday be the future Queen of Norway - if she becomes queen as expected.
This will make her the first female monarch in 600 years since Margaret I, who reigned over Norway way back in the 1380s.
She's just completed 15 months of military training at the Engineer Battalion at Skjold camp in Måslev and has since moved to Australia last month to kick off a three-year undergraduate degree in international relations and political economy at the University of Sydney.
The royal court released a press release confirming the news back in May, which read: "Her Royal Highness Princess Ingrid Alexandra will begin her studies at the University of Sydney in August, enrolling in a Bachelor of Arts program.
"She has chosen a three-year degree with a focus on international relations and political economy.
"The Princess will be studying full-time and reside in a student residence on campus. Her Royal Highness looks forward to dedicating herself to her studies in the years to come."
The 32 criminal offences include:
These four instances of rape for which Høiby is charged allegedly took place in 2018, 2023, and 2024, the last one after the police investigation began.
In addition to those four counts of rape, other charges include:
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence to the national domestic violence helpline Refuge on 0808 2000 247, available 24/7, or via live chat, available 10am-10pm, Monday to Friday.
