AN OSLO COURT has convicted Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son of two counts of rape, sentencing him to four years in prison in a high-profile scandal that has rocked the monarchy.

Marius Borg Høiby, 29, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship prior to her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, was accused of 40 charges, carrying a maximum possible sentence of 16 years in prison.

He was acquitted of two other counts of rape and convicted of domestic abuse against an ex-girlfriend, issuing threats and traffic violations.

Høiby pleaded guilty to several relatively minor offences but denied the alleged rapes, which the prosecution said took place while the women were asleep or passed out.

Central to the case was whether the women were in a condition to consent to having sex.

The scandal – which has seriously damaged the Norwegian monarchy’s image – erupted on 4 August 2024, when police arrested Høiby on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend the night before.

The investigation into that incident uncovered a number of other suspected offences, as video footage and pictures on his phone and laptop depicted what police believed could be rapes.

Until they were called in for questioning by police, the four alleged victims said they had been unaware of what had happened to them or that the actions could – according to the prosecution – be considered criminal.

The alleged rapes all took place after nights of partying, during which Høiby had consumed alcohol and drugs, and following consensual sex.

One of them allegedly took place in the basement of the residence of the crown prince couple, while they were home.

In his closing arguments, Henriksbo painted a picture of the accused as a person “who thinks he can do whatever he wants” and who cared little about checking with his sex partners “when they were asleep and he wanted more”.

Throughout the trial – in which Høiby testified he had repeated blackouts about the nights in question – the accused insisted that all the sex had been consensual and that he was not in the habit of having sex with people who were asleep.

Additional reporting by AFP