Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway Addresses Royal Family’s ‘Challenging’ Year, Admitting They’ve Sought Help as a Family

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway called 2024 “challenging” following a year that saw her eldest son accused of rape, among other crimes.

Marius Borg Høiby, 27 — Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship before she married future king Crown Prince Haakon in 2001 — has been embroiled in numerous scandals this year, including an arrest on Aug. 4 in Oslo for allegedly assaulting an ex-girlfriend and threatening to set her clothes on fire and an additional arrest in November on suspicion of rape.

Speaking to NRK — Norway’s public broadcasting group — on Christmas Day, Mette-Marit said, “If I had to choose one word for this year, it would be ‘challenging.’ ”

“It has been a demanding year and a demanding autumn for us,” she added, per The Daily Mail.

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Following his initial arrest, The Daily Mail reported that Marius became the first member of the Norwegian royal family to be charged with a crime. Per the outlet, he admitted to being “under the influence of alcohol and cocaine” and said he suffered from “mental troubles” and has struggled “for a long time with substance abuse.”

“I want to take responsibility for what I did,” Marius said in a statement to NRK, per The Daily Mail. Marius also apologized to his family for actions that have “greatly affected you.”

In the NRK program The Year of the Royal Family 2024, Mette-Marit said her eldest son had a right to privacy, telling the show they had been seeking “professional help” and that they had been doing so “for a long time.”

“I don’t think we would have been able to be in a situation like this without having that help, together as a family, and at the same time fulfill our obligations to the Norwegian people,” Crown Princess Mette-Marit added.

The family declined to comment on Marius specifically, with Crown Prince Haakon adding that they “would like him to have space to find his own way.”

Queen Sonja said the situation was “taking its toll,” and her husband King Harald — Mette-Marit’s father-in-law — said it was difficult for a family member to go through an experience like this, but they now had to “let the legal system work as it should.”

In addition to controversy surrounding Marius, it has been a headline-making year for the Norwegian royals: King Harald, 87, fell ill after a February trip to Malaysia, and has since had a pacemaker installed and permanently reduced his royal duties. Mette-Marit has had her own health issues this year, pausing royal duty in October following side effects from a medication taken for her chronic lung disease.

On Aug. 31, Princess Märtha Louise — Haakon’s sister — wed Durek Verrett in Norway in front of 350 guests. Though her happiness is surely a bright spot for the family in a difficult year, the couple has stirred controversy in the past, with the princess eventually stepping back from royal duties in 2022 to pursue interests away from the monarchy.

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Ample controversy has emerged from headlines regarding Marius’ arrests, and Haakon said after his stepson’s August arrest, “It is a serious matter when the police are involved in the way they are, but at the same time, it is not right for me to go into the details of the case.”

Haakon, 51, addressed the matter from Paris, where he was in town for the Summer Olympics on Aug. 6. Mette-Meritt, also 51, was scheduled to join him for the trip, but stayed behind in Norway after Marius’ arrest.

“In our family, as in all families, it is sometimes important to be there,” Haakon said. “This time it was me who went while she stayed at home.”

Marius isn’t in the line of succession to the Norwegian throne and doesn't have a public role. In 2017, a few days before his 20th birthday, the Royal House of Norway announced that Marius was leaving public life and enrolling in college in California.

After the news was announced, Mette-Marit penned an open letter asking the press to respect his decision, writing in 2020 that “Marius has always had a role that has been difficult to define in the public sphere. He is and will be an exceptionally important part of our family. Marius became a symbol of the unusual choice we made when we got married, at the same time, he will not carry public duties like his siblings,” referring to Haakon and Mette-Marit’s children Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, who follows her father in the line of succession to the throne, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 19.

“He should not have a public role and is not a public figure,” Mette-Marit continued of Marius.

After Marius’ November arrest, Haakon spoke to NRK during a working trip in Jamaica on Nov. 19, describing Marius’ arrest on suspicion of rape as “a serious accusation.”

“It is a serious accusation that Marius faces. Today, of course, we are thinking of all those affected,” Haakon said in a video translated into English by NBC News. “The police must also be allowed to do their job, and the judiciary must be allowed to do their job.”

“I have confidence that they will do that in a good way,” the future king added. “It is also true of course that this affects, to a large extent, all of us who are around.”

“Perhaps I will be allowed to add that I would like to be at home with Mette today,” Crown Prince Haakon continued. “I miss her.”

Speaking to NRK from Jamaica again on Nov. 20, the outlet reported that Crown Prince Haakon said, “We as a family and as parents have, of course, been very concerned that Marius should get help.”

In a statement issued on Nov. 19 that was translated into English, authorities said that Marius was arrested on suspicion of violating the criminal code “which concerns sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious or for other reasons unable to resist the act.”

“What police can say about the rape is that it concerns a sexual act without intercourse. The victim is said to have been unable to resist the act,” it continued.

Marius has since been charged with multiple sex crimes, and according to NRK, there are allegedly six victims involved in the criminal case against Marius.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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