More
women reporting abuse in Norway as member of royal family to go on trial for
rape
Country’s
largest women’s health organisation says case of Marius Borg Høiby encouraging
people to seek help
Miranda
Bryant Nordic correspondent
Thu 1 Jan
2026 11.05 GMT
Staff at
Norway’s largest women’s health organisation have seen a rise in the number of
women reporting abuse and sexual assault at the hands of their partners ahead
of the rape trial of a member of the royal family, saying they hope the case
helps to “break taboos”.
Marius
Borg Høiby, the 28-year-old son of the Norwegian crown princess, is due to
stand trial in February on 32 charges including four counts of rape, the
domestic abuse of a former partner and the illegal filming of a number of women
without their knowledge or consent.
His
lawyer, Petar Sekulic, has said that Høiby “denies all charges of sexual abuse,
as well as the majority of the charges regarding violence”. His client would
“present a detailed account of his version of events before the court”, he
added.
Høiby,
whose mother is the crown princess, Mette-Marit, and whose stepfather is the
crown prince, Haakon, Norway’s future king, could face 10 years in prison if he
is found guilty of the most serious charges.
May Britt
Buhaug, the secretary general of the women’s public health organisation
Sanitetskvinnene, said her staff had recorded a rise in the number of women
reporting experiences of domestic violence and sexual assault, which they
expected to increase further when the trial started.
“Staff at
our women’s health centres have seen an increase in women who make contact to
ask for help and advice after experiences of violence and sexual assault. Media
coverage of cases such as Høiby’s lower the threshold to ask for help. That
women ask for help more easily is a positive effect. Openness breaks taboos,”
said Buhaug.
According
to statistics from the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress
Studies (NKVTS), one in 10 women in Norway have experienced serious violence
from an intimate partner.
Buhaug
said: “Although tragic, it seems that this case can contribute to break the
silence around intimate partner violence and rape.”
Meanwhile,
an explosive new book, which Høiby unsuccessfully tried to prevent from being
published, claims he has personally sold drugs on the streets of Oslo. Høiby
has denied the allegations.
The
negative headlines appear to have energised republicans. The king is Harald V,
who has been the monarch since 1991 and is now 88. Because of the law of
primogeniture used until 1990, it is his second child, Haakon, who is heir to
the throne and not his elder child, Märtha Louise.
Craig
Aaen-Stockdale, the leader of the group Norge som republikk (Norway as a
republic), said its membership had more than tripled in the last two years –
largely, he said because of the accusations against Høiby.
“In an
otherwise democratic, egalitarian and liberal country the Norwegian royal
family occupies a bit of a blind spot and has traditionally seen high levels of
support. However, many Norwegians are now reconsidering their position on the
royal family, who were previously viewed as a relatively harmless bunch,” he
said.
“The
ongoing omniscandal has really tarnished the reputation of the younger royals,
including the future heir. In a few years we may be in a situation where the
head of state has a chronically ill wife [Mette-Marit recently said she would
have to have a lung transplant] and a son in prison. That is not fair on
anybody.”
But
Torgeir Pedersen Krokfjord, a co-author of the book White Lines, Black Sheep,
which published the drug allegations, said the royal family remained popular
among most Norwegians and had emerged relatively unscathed.
“One can
only imagine how it must have been for them to deal with all this through the
years, while battling health issues at the same time,” he said.
The royal
palace and Høiby’s lawyer have been contacted for comment.
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