The criminal scandal surrounding the Norwegian royal family received formal judicial confirmation on Monday, when an indictment was filed against Marius Borg Høiby, the twenty-eight-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, charging him with four counts of rape, along with violent assaults and a range of other offenses.

The indictment contains a total of thirty-two charges, and if convicted on the most serious counts, he could face up to ten years in prison.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit is married to Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne.

Marius is her eldest son from a previous relationship, prior to her marriage to Haakon in 2001.

As such, Marius is the stepson of the future king but holds no royal title and is not part of the line of succession.

After their marriage, the couple had two children together, who are Marius’s half-siblings: Princess Ingrid Alexandra, now twenty-one, and Prince Sverre Magnus, aged eighteen.

Marius was first arrested in August last year and was held in custody for a week during the investigation.

Police reported at the time that he was suspected of assaulting a woman with whom he was in a relationship.

Høiby admitted in a statement to the media that he had physically harmed the woman while under the influence of cocaine and alcohol and that he had damaged her apartment.

He expressed regret for his actions, saying he was struggling with mental health issues and substance abuse.

After nearly a year of investigation, prosecutors filed the indictment yesterday, accusing him of thirty-two criminal offenses, including four rapes.

According to the indictment, the incidents occurred in 2018, 2023, and 2024, with the most recent taking place after the police investigation had already begun.

He is also accused of several acts of violence and assault, as well as other offenses committed within relationships, threats of murder, vandalism, and traffic violations.

Additional charges include violating restraining orders issued to protect a former partner and secretly photographing the intimate parts of several women.

Some of the assaults were committed against multiple women, and some incidents were documented on his phone.

Norwegian prosecutors stated that Høiby’s actions were "extremely serious, capable of leaving scars for years and destroying lives." The prosecutor in the case, Sturla Henriksbø, emphasized that the fact that Marius Borg Høiby is related to the royal family "does not mean, of course, that he should receive either lighter or harsher treatment than any other person who might have committed these acts."

Høiby’s lawyer said on Monday that his client denies the allegations of rape and violent assault but intends to admit to the lesser charges.

Following the indictment, the Norwegian royal family issued a statement saying, "It is the role of the courts to examine the case and reach a decision." The trial is scheduled to open in January and is expected to last about six weeks.

Until then, Marius Borg Høiby will remain free.