Marius Borg Høiby (born 13 January 1997) is a relative of the Norwegian royal family, who is accused of being a serial sex offender and charged with violence, abuse and raping several women. He is the son of Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway from her previous brief encounter with convicted felon Morten Borg before she married Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway. Høiby is not a royal himself. While his father was still in prison, he received a lot of media attention as the first step-child in the history of the Norwegian royal family and was widely nicknamed "Little Marius" after a somewhat tragic literary character. He is a commoner and the royal family has stated that "He shall not have a public role and is not a public figure." However, he sometimes participated in family events in the royal family. He has earned a reputation in Norway as entitled and spoiled, with serious behavioral and drug-related problems, and been unfavorably compared to "Lillelord," an entitled literary character. Høiby invited criminal friends to the royal property Skaugum, to what he called "Skaugum festivals", and where drugs were consumed. On 18 November 2024, Høiby was arrested on suspicion of rape and is facing trial. From 20 November 2024, Høiby was a remand prisoner at Hamar Prison. As of 21 November Høiby is accused of raping three women. The Høiby affair, along with scandals involving the King's son-in-law, conspiracy theorist, convicted felon and accused sex offender Durek Verrett, have been cited as reasons for a "decimation of the Norwegian royal family's reputation," leading to debate about democratic constitutional reforms to abolish hereditary positions.

Biography

Høiby was born on 13 January 1997 at Aker University Hospital in Oslo, to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, then a waitress, and Morten Borg, a convicted felon. His grandfather Sven O. Høiby was a convicted felon and unemployed alcoholic, who married a stripper in his second marriage. His parents were never in a relationship, and only had a brief encounter after they were introduced by John Ognby, Høiby's former cohabitant and fiancé, who was also a convicted felon. For two years Mette-Marit was in a relationship with Ognby, a man on welfare who was 15 years her senior, until shortly before Marius' birth. They shared a social housing apartment provided by welfare services in a working-class neighborhood in Lillestrøm, until a breakup occurred after Ognby chased Mette-Marit down the street with a knife around the time she became pregnant with Marius. At the time of Høiby's birth, his father Morten Borg was in prison for drug-related violent crimes, and the two did not meet until Høiby moved to Oslo with his mother. Høiby had resided in a lower working class environment outside Oslo where several of her acquaintances and family members, including her child's father, had served time in prison. After her son was born, she relocated to her childhood home of Kristiansand, where Marius Høiby was raised by his mother and her then-partner, a local disk jockey, until the couple split in early 1999. Later that same year, she met Crown Prince Haakon and in 2000 they moved to Oslo to live with him. The fact that Mette-Marit was a single mother and the circumstances surrounding this, including the background of the child's father as a convicted felon, were considered controversial. TV 2 later wrote that "Merely by existing, Marius Borg Høiby was seen by many as a scandal for the royal family." Jo Moen Bredeveien of Dagsavisen wrote that "in a documentary on TV2, the king's sister (Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen) comes across as almost uncomfortably prophetic. She expressed concern about how things would turn out for Marius, now that the Crown Princess was pregnant with Ingrid Alexandra, the nation's future queen: 'I feel terribly sorry for her son. When they have a child, poor Marius will be nothing. He is six years old, but he will understand that there is a difference. That will cause problems for them. I hope they have thought it through,' the princess said." Mette-Marit remains deeply unpopular in Norway, with only 27% approving of her as a future queen. When his mother entered the public spotlight as the girlfriend of Haakon, Marius Borg Høiby was nicknamed "Little Marius" by the media, and the name stuck. The name was also used by Queen Sonja, who said that "Little Marius is just the world's cutest little bright guy, who is so charming and wonderful, so it's definitely not a problem for me, at least." The nickname is famous as the name of a tragic character in the 1883 novel Poison, who – like Høiby – is illegitimate and a perceived outsider. He graduated from high school in 2016. The following year he began to study "business" at Santa Monica College in California, a community college catering to non-traditional students who may not be accepted at more conventional colleges, but dropped out after a few months without completing a degree. In late 2017, Høiby moved back to Norway briefly, before briefly working as an intern for designer Philipp Plein, after which he was hired as style editor for the UK-based fashion magazine Tempus, until its closure in December 2018. Høiby moved back to Norway in 2019, residing in Tønsberg with then-partner Juliane Snekkestad. After the couple split in 2022, Høiby moved to one of the houses at Skaugum, the official residence of the Crown Prince and Princess. Høiby was convicted of drug possession in 2017. When arrested, he claimed his residence was the royal palace, although he lived in Asker in another municipality. As of 2024, the royal family's website included his half-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, and made no mention of Høiby being part of the household. His maternal grandfather, Sven O. Høiby, frequently spoke publicly about "little Marius" during his childhood, expressing that he believed his grandson should be given the title of Prince to avoid feeling second-class and becoming a target of bullying. He also claimed that he planned to write a book about his grandson. Despite the absence of any formal roles or titles, Høiby has attended several royal events as a guest, including official state visits, dinners and Constitution Day celebrations. Høiby was pictured alongside individuals with criminal records and a controversial alt-right blogger with a history of defending rape, sparking significant public and media backlash.

Personal life

In adulthood, media reports regarding Høiby became more common, earning him a reputation in Norway as entitled and spoiled due to several minor scandals and controversies surrounding him. Since 2016, Høiby has been in a series of high-profile relationships. Between 2016 and 2017, he was in a relationship with wealthy heir Linn Helena Nilsen. From 2018 to 2022, Høiby was in a relationship with model and actress Juliane Snekkestad, whom he had met while working in Los Angeles. He also briefly dated influencer Nora Haukland. after his relationship with Snekkestad ended, before the couple split in 2023.

Høiby affair

He has been charged with domestic violence. As of mid-November 2024, the police are continuing with their investigations. Authorities said that they did not know when the case possibly could go to the court system. Four women and one man have been victimized, according to the charges (as of 19 November 2024): The authorities notified the Royal Court that Høiby would possibly be arrested. The Royal Court notified the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. She in turn notified her son, and a half hour later she drove him from Skaugum to an adjacent property, to the appointment with the police. The media claims (as of November 2024) that Høiby and his family has received preferential treatment from police. Mette-Marit has been accused of warning her son about his impending arrest and of evidence tampering and witness tampering. A full-time program of drug rehabilitation of Høiby, was supposed to start "within a short time" of mid-October, according to Høiby's lawyer Øvyind Bratlien. Earlier on 25 September, the chief editor of Se og Hør said that Høiby should be forced to move from the royal residence at Skaugum. The media have raised the question of whether the Crown Prince or Crown Princess finance Høiby's drug habit. The media claimed that police interrogation of Høiby revealed that the crown prince "together with the crown princess" took care of his bills. Høiby gets 20,000 kroner each month. The media have also raised questions over the financing of the rest of his lifestyle. Other reactions to the alleged crimes of 2024, include - after the first arrest - royal commentator Johan T. Lindwall describing Høiby's behavior as a "catastrophe" for the monarchy. Royal commentator Sebastian Mattsson said Marius Høiby is viewed as the black sheep among the extended family of the royals due to his many scandals and controversies, but highlighting the 2024 charges as a new low. Newspaper editor Trygve Hegnar described Høiby as "the psycho who brings down the royal family." Ten days after his arrest in August, Høiby released a statement admitting to his crimes and apologizing to the victim, adding that the incidents had taken place in a "haze of alcohol and cocaine" and stating that he has "several mental disorders." On 19 November, it was announced that Høiby was also charged with one count of "abuse in close relationships," violating a restraining order, and driving without a valid driver's license. On 18 November 2024, Høiby was arrested on suspicion of rape. Since 20 November 2024, he has been held in remand at Hamar Prison, and he is held incommunicado. The justice system has autorised that the police can keep him no longer than until 27 November 2024; at that time his one-week detention expired; the prosecutor had asked for two weeks. He was promptly released on that date. On 25 November, it became known that Høiby is accused of raping a woman, even after being arrested by the police. Høiby invited criminal friends to the royal property Skaugum, including members of the Hells Angels criminal gang, to what he called "Skaugum festivals", where drugs were consumed. At these festivals Mette-Marit personally received Marius' criminal friends. Høiby is also charged with raping women at Skaugum. Jan Bøhler wrote that "a member of the royal family has for years vacationed and partied with central figures in drug-related crime. Individuals known for involvement in serious money laundering cases and violent gangs, including the Hells Angels, have also participated in the festivities. These enemies of society have been allowed to roam freely on the Crown Prince couple's properties during events referred to as 'Skaugum festivals'."

Other controversies

Høiby has been at the center of several scandals and controversies after becoming an adult. As an adult, he made headlines in 2016 after posting several luxury items for sale on a Norwegian online trade site using the royal residence as address, which led to criticism of Høiby misusing his proximity to the royal family for monetary gain, something his maternal grandfather had also been criticized for previously. In 2018, Høiby was referred to as a "Prince of Norway" in Tempus Magazine, where he briefly worked as an editor, which again led to criticism from several Norwegian media outlets, until the references were removed from print and the magazine's website. During 2023 and 2024, several outlets reported Høiby posting videos and images to social media showing him speeding and recklessly driving, engaging in heavy partying and other offences, with Dagbladet describing his circuit of friends being one of "wealthy heirs, reality stars and influencers, mixed in with seasoned criminals and drug offenders". This led to many experts criticizing Høiby as a security risk given his proximity to the royal family and residence near them. Several outlets also criticized Høiby's repeated misuse of a false princely title, leading some outlets to refer to him as "the pseudo prince". In 2024, the media said that he had abused a diplomatic passport, a type of passport meant to be used by individuals on official missions representing Norway, even though he is not a diplomat and does not hold any public role. The media reported that he had "abused" the passport multiple times, including to evade the police abroad, even while under the influence of drugs. Høiby was convicted of drug possession in 2017.