Son of Norway’s crown princess ‘often’ grabbed former partner by throat, court told

FILE - Norway's Marius Borg Hoiby and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Oslo, June 16, 2022. (Lise Aserud/NTB via AP, File)

The former partner of Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norway’s crown princess, has told a court he punched her in the face during their relationship and “often” grabbed her by the throat.

Høiby, 29, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, is on trial accused of 38 crimes, including four rapes and assaults.

He has pleaded not guilty to the most serious offences, including the alleged rapes. He faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted.

The trial comes at a time of intense scrutiny of the Norwegian royal family after files released by the US justice department revealed Mette-Marit’s ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Nora Haukland, an influencer and TV personality who was in a relationship with Høiby between 2022 and 2023, is the only named alleged victim to give evidence in the trial at Oslo district court.

Høiby is charged with abuse in close relationships against Haukland. He denies the charges.

Taking the stand on Tuesday, Haukland, 28, described an incident in which she said Høiby hit her in the jaw and the lip. 

“I just remember falling to the ground and curling up, then he kicked me in the back and kept shouting,” she added.

When an audio recording from that day was played in court, in which Høiby is heard calling her a “fucking lying whore”, Haukland broke down in tears.

Asked about an alleged incident in April 2023 when the prosecutor said she was held by the neck and pushed against a refrigerator, she said she did not recall the incident, described to police by a witness. “That he grabbed me by the throat. It happened very often,” said Haukland.

Describing their relationship, she said: “He didn’t really want me to do anything. I think he wanted to keep me down to a level where I was more powerless.” 

She said he tried to control her career choices and what she wore. When she was filming the reality show Girls of Oslo he “got really angry” when they wore bikinis in Ibiza. 

“It was all about control. I was very afraid of not following what he said. I changed my style completely,” she said.

After they split up, Haukland said she tried to help him. Describing an incident when Mette-Marit called her because she had not been able to get hold of her son for several days, she agreed to help find him. When they got back to Skaugum, the official royal residence of Mette-Marit and Haakon, she said she pleaded with them to send him to rehab but they did not.

“Marius goes in the shower and I’m standing there with his mother and Haakon and I just break down and say ‘now you have to help him, don’t you see that he needs help?’” 

Taking the stand later on Tuesday, Høiby said he was “no angel” in the relationship.

Høiby is due to continue his testimony on Wednesday.

The Guardian