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An Oslo court on Monday sentenced Marius Borg Hoiby, the stepson of Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, to four years in prison after convicting him of two counts of rape and one count of domestic violence. The 29-year-old, who joined the royal family in 2001 when his mother Mette-Marit married the Crown Prince, was acquitted on two other counts of rape. Hoiby had pleaded not guilty to the most severe charges while admitting to some lesser offenses, and he retains the right to appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors had asked that Hoiby should be sentenced to seven years and seven months of prison.
The seven-week trial gripped the Nordic country, detailing Hoiby’s drug addiction, self-made videos of sexual encounters and more than 800 electronic messages entered into evidence.
One alleged rape took place in the basement of the crown prince’s family home, the court heard.
Interest in the case was boosted by the contrast between the picture-perfect royal family and Hoiby’s alleged actions as heard in court.
The case, alongside other crises, has contributed to a decline in the popularity of the royal family.
It coincided with Crown Princess Mette-Marit‘s apology for “poor judgment“ in maintaining contact with the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after he was convicted in 2008.
A Norstat survey out on February 21, during the trial, showed a fall in the number of Norwegians favouring keeping the monarchy to a record low of 60%, from 70% in January, and a rise to 27% from 19% in those wanting a different system of governance.
In May, the royal family recovered somewhat in popularity, with 64% polled by Norstat supporting the monarchy and 23% wanting a different system of governance.
The verdict was delivered amid difficult personal circumstances for Mette-Marit, Hoiby’s mother, who this month was placed on the national lung transplant list as her health has severely deteriorated.
She suffers from pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that makes it increasingly difficult to breathe. Without a transplant, she has around a year left to live, her doctors have said.
That is somewhat changing people’s perceptions ahead of the verdict.
