"Was on drugs." Son of Norway's Crown Princess pleads guilty to abusing his girlfriend

A high-profile scandal involving a member of Norway's royal family continues. Today, the son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 27-year-old Marius Borg Høiby, spoke out for the first time since his arrest for assaulting a 20-year-old woman he was dating.

In a statement he wrote with his lawyer Øyvind Breitlin and gave to Norwegian television channel NRK, he admitted to using drugs and apologised to his family and girlfriend: "Last weekend, something happened that should never have happened. I caused bodily harm and broke things in the apartment while intoxicated with alcohol and cocaine after an argument." He also noted that he had been diagnosed with several mental disorders and had undergone treatment for drug addiction, which he intended to resume: "Drug use and my diagnoses do not justify what happened in the apartment in Frogner on Sunday night last weekend. I want to be responsible for my actions and will be honest with the police."

He added that the most important thing for him now is to apologize to the girl: "She did not deserve what happened that evening, nor the extreme pressure from the Norwegian and foreign press afterwards. The persecution of photographers and journalists at such a time, I know, was not easy to endure." In addition, he apologized to his family, once again saying that this should not have happened. At the same time, his lawyer said that this apology should be seen as an admission of guilt by Marius, although he has not yet been questioned.

It should be noted that the scandal began on August 4, when the eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, Marius Borg Høiby, was arrested for attacking a girl. This was reported by the local publication Se og Hør. The press wrote that she suffered both physically and emotionally, but was able to fight back: she threw him out of the apartment and called the police. She was hospitalized and diagnosed with a concussion, but was discharged the next day.

Marius was arrested shortly after the incident, placed in solitary confinement, and had his blood tested for alcohol and drugs. He was released 30 hours later, and the media reported that the Oslo police did not register the incident and did not assign him a lawyer from the state. According to the source, after leaving the police station, Marius went to Skaugum, the official residence of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, in the suburbs of Oslo. The Norwegian magazine Se og Hør published a photo of the scene. The pictures show a broken chandelier and a knife stuck in the wall. In addition, the press reported that the police have an audio recording of a phone call Høiby made after the attack. He called the injured girl from the royal residence and threatened to burn her property if she did not do as he said.

The incident caused the Crown Princess to miss the Olympics, as she was due to join her husband in Versailles to watch the diving finals. However, she did return to France later to watch the track and field and handball competitions with Crown Prince Haakon.

Marius faces a fine or up to one year in prison for the attack, but if the injuries are serious, the sentence will increase to six years.

Marius Borg Høiby is the eldest son of 50-year-old former waitress Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby from a previous relationship. He was born before she married the son of the King of Norway, Harald V, Haakon (they married in 2001). After the wedding, Mette-Marit received the title "Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Norway". But her son Marius does not have royal privileges and titles: he is not a contender for the throne. Mette-Marit and Haakon have two children together: 10-year-old Princess Ingrid and 8-year-old Prince Sverre Magnus.

This is not the first scandal associated with Marius: in 2012, he posted a photo on Instagram* that could be used to identify the location of the royal family, which jeopardized their safety. In 2017, the royal family's press service announced that Marius had enrolled in a California college and would not perform public royal duties.