Crown Prince reacts to stepson's latest arrest: 'There are serious charges that Marius is now facing'

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway's son Marius Borg Høiby was arrested again on Monday. The Oslo Police District announced on Tuesday that the charges against Crown Prince Haakon's stepson had been expanded.

"The charge has been extended to also apply to a violation of Section 291 letter b of the Penal Code, which applies to sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious or for other reasons unable to resist the act," Andreas Kruszewski, the police attorney for the Oslo Police District, said in a statement (translated to English). "The police created a report on the basis of information that has emerged during the ongoing investigation. The prosecution decided to investigate the matter on 6 November 2024."

Andreas noted that the alleged rape "concerns sexual intercourse without intercourse" and that the "victim must have been unable to resist the act."  The police attorney also stated, "The part of the charge that applies to the victim from the Frogner incident has now been extended to apply to violation of section 282 of the Criminal Code, which includes abuse in close relationships. Furthermore, the charge relates to another violation of a restraining order against the same victim. In addition, a report has been filed for violation of a restraining order and driving without a valid driver's license."

NRK reported on Nov. 19 that Marius' stepfather said (translated to English), "There are serious charges that Marius is now facing. Today, of course, we are thinking of all those affected." The Crown Prince, who is in Jamaica with UNDP (the United Nations Development Programme) this week, revealed to the outlet that the royal family was not notified of Marius' latest arrest in advance. Haakon said, "I would have liked to be at home with Mette today. I miss her."

Marius, 27, is Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship. The Crown Princess is also a mother to 20-year-old daughter Princess Ingrid Alexandra and 18-year-old son Prince Sverre Magnus, whom she shares with Crown Prince Haakon.

The Crown Princess' firstborn was arrested in August after police received a "report of a violent incident carried out in an apartment" in Oslo and was charged with bodily harm and damage. After his arrest, Marius admitted in a statement (via Se og Hør) that he had "committed bodily harm and destroyed objects in an apartment in the intoxication of alcohol and cocaine after an argument."

"I have several mental disorders which mean that throughout my upbringing and adult life, I have had, and still have, challenges. I have struggled with substance abuse for a long time, something I have been in treatment for in the past. I will now resume this treatment and take it very seriously," Marius added. "The drug use and my diagnoses do not excuse what happened in the apartment at Frogner on the night of Sunday last weekend. I want to be responsible for what I have done, and I want to explain myself truthfully to the police."

Marius was arrested again in September. Police Attorney Andreas said in a statement at the time that "recently, the police received information that Høiby had broken the restraining order. It was decided that he should be arrested on the basis of the risk of recidivism." Last month, it was reported that Marius had lost access to his mom and his stepfather's residence at Skaugum.

As of Tuesday, the Crown Princess' older son was in central detention in Greenland.