Marius Borg Hoiby, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, denies ever drugging anyone as he faces 38 charges including four counts of rape in a landmark trial.
OSLO: The son of Norway’s future queen has denied ever drugging anyone during his high-profile rape trial.
Marius Borg Hoiby made the statement after a woman he is accused of raping told the court she believed she had been drugged.
Hoiby, the 29-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship, is on trial at an Oslo court.
He faces 38 charges, including four counts of rape and multiple assaults, and has pleaded not guilty to the most serious offences.
The first alleged victim testified that she was raped at an after-party in the basement of the royal Skaugum estate.
She told the court she suspects she “probably ingested something without my knowledge” on the night of December 19-20, 2018.
Asked if she believed she had been drugged, she replied “That’s what I believe. 100%.” Hoiby himself has stated his parents were upstairs in the estate at the time of the alleged incident.
Appearing in court in jeans and a blue sweater, Hoiby directly addressed the allegation.
He told the court he had “never drugged anyone, as far as I know” while fidgeting with a silver bracelet and chewing gum.
The alleged victim stated she only fully realised what had happened years later.
Police contacted her after discovering footage and images they described as showing Hoiby raping her while she slept.
The prosecution argues the four alleged rapes all took place after consensual sex.
They claim the acts occurred following evenings of heavy drinking when the women were not in a state to defend themselves.
Hoiby’s defence has argued he “perceived all of the acts as perfectly normal and consensual sexual relations”.
He faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charges.
The scandal is described by experts as the biggest in the history of the Norwegian monarchy.
It has tarnished the royal family’s image and plunged it into turmoil, drawing massive media attention.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon do not plan to attend the seven-week trial.
