By Pierre-Henry Deshayes for AFP
Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, in 2022.
An Oslo court will soon deliver its verdict in the trial of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit's son, accused of raping four women and other acts of violence in a high-profile scandal that has rocked the monarchy.
Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, Mette-Marit's son from a relationship prior to her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, stood trial from February 3 to March 19 on 40 charges carrying a maximum possible sentence of 16 years in prison.
Hoiby, who is not formally part of the royal household and has no steady job, has denied the most serious allegations, including rape charges the prosecution says took place while the women were asleep or unconscious, and claims of domestic abuse against an ex-girlfriend.
