Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, denied bail after asking to be released onto royal estate, speaks about mother’s lung condition

The son of The Norwegian Crown Princess has been denied bail after pleading with a judge to be released so he can spend more time with his mother, who suffers from a chronic lung condition.

Marius Borg Høiby appeared in court in Oslo on Wednesday and spent an hour describing prison conditions as he awaited the outcome of a criminal trial after he was convicted accused of rape, assault and other crimes.

That sentence is expected to be handed down in early June, with prosecutors seeking seven years. The maximum sentence is 10 years.

Høiby had requested bail because he wanted to be released to a house on the royal estate in Skaugum west of Oslo, where his mother Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepfather Crown Prince Haakon live, with an ankle monitor to track his movements.

The 29-year-old told judge Hans Nikolai Førde: “I am in solitary confinement in Oslo prison.”

“I have very little human contact, only two to three visits a week. It’s quite difficult not to have social contact for so long.

“I feel that the isolation is damaging me. I am socially passive, I have major sleep and appetite problems. During the day I really have trouble with my memory. It is a hard life in Oslo prison.”

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Asked by the judge if he understood the implications if he violated the terms of his potential freedom, Høiby replied: “I have received a very clear message: there is no second chance.”

An earlier report by Norwegian prison authorities had deemed Høiby suitable for an ankle monitor and had approved his rental house on the royal estate as a suitable location for his provisional release.

Høiby then asked the judge for bail so he could spend more time with his mother.

‘I have someone in my immediate family who has an illness that makes visitation impossible [me] in Oslo prison a little bit harder than when I was at home,” he said.

“The air quality there is… It’s an old building with a lot of mold. It would have made a big difference if we could have been somewhere else.”

The judge asked him, “Do you mean your mother?”

Høiby replied: “Yes.”

Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon, together with their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, have been visiting Høiby in prison since February.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra was back in Norway around Easter, but has since returned to Australia, where she is now follow a three-year course at the University of Sydney.

The Crown Princess, 54, was recently spotted out and about wearing a nasal cannula to help with the flow of oxygen during a battle in the Royal Palace.

It was the first time the royal family had worn the medical device. An assistant was seen behind her with what appeared to be a portable oxygen machine.

Mette-Marit does largely absent from public duties this year due to her deteriorating health.

Late last year, the royal family’s medical team said they had begun preparations to assess the disease princess for a lung transplant after her health recently deteriorated.

Mette-Marit was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, which causes scarring in the lungs and leads to reduced oxygen uptake.

In March, the Crown Princess did an interview with Norwegian national broadcaster NRK, which had to be limited to 20 minutes because she was unable to talk for an extended period of time.

During his court appearance, Høiby also spoke about his past drug use.

‘I don’t see any problems there. I’m doing everything I can to get out of this cell, plain and simple. And also everything I can to avoid getting into that again.’

But the judge decided not to release Høiby on bail, citing his potential to reoffend: “The risk of reoffending is significant.”

Høiby has previously ignored other restraining orders, with prosecutors claiming there was still a high risk he would violate them again.

Lawyer Rene Ibsen had insisted that Høiby would adhere to the bail conditions and that his confinement on the royal estate, and an ankle monitor, would ensure compliance.

Ibsen called the court’s ruling “surprising and disappointing.”

Høiby will remain behind bars until the court issues a ruling in early June.

Prosecutors have sought a prison sentence of seven years and seven months, arguing that Høiby should be found guilty of 39 of the 40 charges he is accused of.

Høiby denies the most serious charges, including four counts of rape and serious assault.

He has pleaded guilty to some of the lesser offenses, including a drug charge, traffic violations and breaching a restraining order.

The trial started in February and lasted seven weeks.

When the trial started, Crown Princess Mette-Marit was in prison center of headlines about revelations she previously had contact with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Crown Princess’ name was mentioned more than 100 times in the Epstein files released earlier this year.

In March she has told Norwegian television: “It is incredibly important for me to take responsibility for not checking his background more carefully.

“And to take responsibility for being as manipulated and deceived as I am.”

Mette-Marit was absent from Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf’s birthday celebrations in Stockholm last week, but Crown Prince Haakon and the Norwegian King and Queen attended instead.

Høiby was a toddler when his mother married the future king of Norway in 2001.

He is not a member of the Norwegian Royal House or a public figure, but grew up as part of the royal family and attended many events with the King and Queen and the Crown Prince Couple over the years.

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