OSLO, NORWAY:

In the biggest scandal to rock Norway’s monarchy, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit goes on trial Tuesday accused of raping four women, as well as drug and assault offences.

Marius Borg Hoiby, Mette-Marit’s 29-year-old son from a relationship before she married Crown Prince Haakon, has been charged with a total of 38 counts, some of which date back to 2018.

He faces up to 16 years in prison if the Oslo district court finds him guilty. The trial, scheduled to last until March 19, is expected to attract intense media coverage.

“When it comes to the Norwegian royal family, it is without a doubt the biggest scandal” in its 120-year history, Trond Noren Isaksen, a historian and expert on Norway’s monarchy, told AFP.

“There have been controversies surrounding the choice of spouses, about renovations of the palace and these kinds of things, but never any real scandals involving criminal offences, let alone so many,” he said.

The most serious charges against Hoiby are the four rapes and the physical and psychological abuse of several ex-girlfriends.

A tall strapping blond who cultivates a “bad boy” look with slicked back hair, earrings, rings and tattoos, Hoiby was arrested on August 4, 2024 suspected of assaulting his girlfriend the night before.

Several days later, he admitted he had acted “under the influence of alcohol and cocaine after an argument”, having suffered from “mental troubles” and struggling “for a long time with substance abuse”.

The investigation into that incident uncovered a slew of other suspected offences, including the rapes of four women while they were sleeping or passed out drunk, some of which he filmed.