Crown Princess's son tearfully testifies in Norway rape trial

In Oslo, Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, tearfully began testifying in a high-profile rape case in which he faces four rape charges among 38 counts. The first alleged victim testified she believed she had been drugged after an after-party at his parents’ basement in 2018, and police showed videos she says depicted him assaulting her after a brief consensual encounter. Høiby denies the rape allegations, saying the interactions were consensual and that he has struggled with validation and media scrutiny. Media are barred from identifying victims or showing photos of him, and he had been briefly remanded after a separate assault-with-a-knife arrest in August 2024 before appearing to testify. The trial coincides with renewed scrutiny of the royal family following Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s involvement in Epstein-related messages.