The trial of Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norway's Crown Princess, has heard the first account from a woman he is alleged to have raped at a party in 2018.
The woman told the court in tears she had no recollection of what had happened, after an earlier sexual encounter that lasted a matter of seconds. Facing 38 charges against him, Høiby pleaded not guilty to raping four women and other serious offences but admitted breaking a restraining order, transporting marijuana and speeding while partly admitting threats and aggravated assault.
He is due to take the stand for the first time in the trial on Wednesday afternoon. Although he has grown up as Crown Prince Haakon's stepson, Høiby is not a member of the royal family or a public figure. However, the first count of rape is alleged to have taken place in his parents' basement on their Skaugum estate outside Oslo.
As the trial began at Oslo district court on Tuesday, the palace came under increasing pressure to explain his mother's three-year exchange of messages with the late sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014. Crown Princess Mette-Marit has already admitted to poor judgement, after details emerged of a four-day stay at his home in Palm Beach, Miami.
No photos were allowed as her son entered courtroom 250 at Oslo district court at the start of a seven-week trial, wearing thick-rimmed glasses, fiddling with a bracelet, and speaking very quietly as he pleaded not guilty to raping four women.
Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø stated that Høiby would be treated no differently than any other Norwegian, while defence counsel Ellen Holager Andenæs asserted that he had been subjected to media bias. Heavy court restrictions have been imposed on the trial, with a ban on photos of the defendant or the women he is alleged to have raped inside or outside court.
The first woman's testimony revealed her deep distress about being drawn into the criminal case, describing it as surreal and overwhelming. She stated that after a brief consensual encounter, there was a memory void, adamantly denying that she had fallen asleep. All four women involved were reportedly incapacitated during the times of the alleged offenses, which occurred after consensual encounters.
The case is particularly poignant for the royal family amidst the Epstein scandal, with Mette-Marit's unpopularity seemingly increasing in certain public polls. The trial, presided over by three judges, poses the risk of a lengthy prison sentence for Høiby, should he be convicted.
