Marius Borg Høiby, the firstborn of Queen Mette-Marit and the result of a relationship prior to her marriage to King Haakon of Norway, has been a headache for the royal family for years. In 2024, his arrest became known after being accused of assaulting his then partner. Two years and 40 charges later, he was sentenced to four years in prison last June for, among other things, two counts of rape. Since then, he has remained at Skaugum Palace, under house arrest and with an electronic bracelet — and will continue so for at least four more weeks. Despite putting the monarchy in check, the acts for the death of King Harald V, last August 28, confirmed that, although he is not his biological grandson, he was an important person to the late monarch. This was demonstrated last Monday, August 31, when he was one of the eight people responsible for carrying his coffin to the chapel of the Royal Palace in Oslo. In the fourth and last row was Marius Borg Høiby, despite the conviction and his current status as a convicted person awaiting appeal, in a protocol decision that surprised Norwegians and the whole world.
It was unknown what role he would have in the state funeral of the monarch this Wednesday, since it was known that his two brothers would participate in the funeral procession. His presence at the farewell was confirmed after the Nordic country’s Justice granted him permission to attend the funeral of someone who, for all intents and purposes, had been like a grandfather to him. After twelve noon, the procession began from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral, but there was no sign of Mette-Marit’s firstborn. Finally, the photographers positioned at the entrance of the temple captured him upon arrival while the live broadcast’s attention was focused on the royal procession. He appeared accompanied by the three daughters and the husband of Marta Luisa of Norway, the shaman Durek Verrett, recently operated on for a lung transplant. With them, he followed the rest of the day’s events.
The next time he was seen was already inside the cathedral, seated in the second row, in front of the coffin, and accompanied again by his cousins. In the first pew was the current royal family: from left to right, Queen Sonia, King Haakon VIII, Queen Mette-Marit, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, and Prince Sverre Magnus. Behind them, Princess Beatrice and Crown Princess Amalia of the Netherlands. Before the start of the religious ceremony, NRK cameras captured one of the details that confirms he is one more of the family and that at this moment, his conviction matters little to them. On one of the flower wreaths, next to the word Taak (in Norwegian means “thank you”), appeared his name along with those of Haakon, Mette-Marit, Ingrid, and Magnus.
Once the ceremony concluded, the mortal remains of King Harald left Oslo Cathedral accompanied by his family: two by two, Queen Sonia and Bishop Sunniva Gylver; Kings Haakon of Norway and Mette-Marit; Princes Ingrid Alexandra and Sverre Magnus; Princess Marta Luisa of Norway and the shaman Durek Verrett; two of the princess’s daughters, and closing the procession, Marius with another of his cousins. The last image of him was taken after the second ceremony, the private one held at Akershus Fortress, where Harald’s remains now rest. Although the day ended around 5:00 p.m. with the greeting from the Royal Palace of Oslo, he was not present alongside his parents, siblings, and Queen Sonia. But in this case, the decision surprised no one.
Despite the charges against him and the subsequent conviction awaiting finalization, King Harald continued to treat him like a grandson. Marius Borg Høiby became part of the family core at barely four years old, when his mother and the then prince married after meeting at a music festival. Since then, he was raised as one more in the palace, with the same privileges as his siblings and enjoying royal life. This is confirmed by the private images that have been published in recent weeks on the royal house’s social media; it is also confirmed by the fact that he was a regular at the Oslo hospital during the monarch’s last admission, for which he also had to obtain permission from the Justice to leave Skaugum Palace. In fact, his presence at the hospital set off all alarms: it was not just another admission… the situation was more serious than it initially seemed, and everything was confirmed when it was announced that King Harald was “very serious.”
This Wednesday Borg Høiby took part in an event of utmost institutional relevance, surrounded by kings, heads of state, foreign leaders, and international representatives. Today he also returned to the stage where his life changed forever: on August 25, 2001, his mother and the then prince married in Oslo Cathedral after their relationship was judged from the start. The future king of Norway was marrying a commoner who was also a single mother and had, according to her own admission, a “wild past.” That day, he came out to greet from the balcony of the Royal Palace. From then on, he became one more: he lived on royal grounds, studied at good schools, had a diplomatic passport, participated in official events, and lived like a prince without being one and without any official commitment to the institution.
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