A second woman testified at a court in Oslo on Tuesday, accusing the son of Norway’s crown princess of raping her while she slept, describing it as her “worst nightmare.”
Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s 29-year-old son from a relationship before her 2001 marriage to heir apparent Crown Prince Haakon, is on trial facing 38 charges, including raping four women and assaults against ex-girlfriends.
He has pleaded not guilty to the most serious offenses. He faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted.
On Tuesday, a second alleged victim testified about a rape that the prosecution said took place on Oct. 8, 2023, following an after-party in an apartment in Norway’s Lofoten Islands that Hoiby and his stepfather were visiting on a surfing trip.
After consensual sex, the alleged victim — a young woman he met on Tinder — said she woke up after Hoiby had resumed sexual relations with her that were not consensual.
“That’s always been my worst nightmare,” she told the court, recalling how she closed her eyes “so I wouldn’t have to take part in my own assault”.
“I remember waking up when he was already underway. I thought, ‘I don’t understand how someone can have sex with someone who’s sleeping’,” she said.
“Then, I mostly had the feeling I was dissociating, leaving my own body,” she added.
“It was painful. My body wasn’t ready for it.”
Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB/AFP via Getty Images
In a bid to prove that the sex occurred when she was not in a state to reject it, the prosecution submitted as evidence a video that Hoiby had allegedly filmed of the events with his own phone, which police later found.
Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo said the five-second video showed the young woman asleep at the time.
The alleged victim also spoke out against the images, which she said were filmed without her knowledge — for which Hoiby has also been charged.
The prosecution also presented data from her fitness watch to prove that she was asleep at the time.
“According to the prosecution, the change in heart rate is the most decisive factor,” Henriksbo told the court.
Hoiby — who appeared pale at the start of Tuesday’s court proceedings, his hands trembling — was to take the stand later Tuesday.
Last week, the court heard testimony from another young woman who claimed Hoiby raped her at another after-party in the basement of his parents’ royal estate outside Oslo in December 2018.
The defense has rejected all the rape accusations, arguing last week that they were “perfectly normal and consensual sexual relations.”
Just days before the trial, Hoiby was arrested on new charges alleging assault, threats with a knife and violation of a restraining order.
The case has deeply embarrassed the royal family, especially his mother, who suffers from an incurable lung illness and who is torn between her role as mother and future queen.
Crown Prince Haakon released a statement in late January saying neither he nor Mette-Marit would attend the trial.
Hoiby was raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Unlike them, he has no official public role.
In his statement, Haakon alluded to Hoiby’s “autonomous” status.
“Marius Borg Hoiby is not a member of the Royal House of Norway and is therefore autonomous. We care about him, and he is an important member of our family. He is a citizen of Norway and, as such, has the same responsibilities as everyone else — as well as the same rights,” Haakon said.