Norway's royal family is facing what many commentators have described as the most serious crisis of King Harald's reign, as Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has been sentenced to four years in prison.
The 29-year-old, who is the stepson of Crown Prince Haakon, was convicted by Oslo District Court of two counts of rape, abuse in a close relationship and several other offences following a high-profile trial that has dominated headlines in Norway.
He was acquitted of two additional rape charges and is expected to appeal the verdict.
The case has placed unprecedented scrutiny on Norway's monarchy, which has already weathered years of controversy involving Princess Märtha Louise, her eccentric husband Durek Verrett and past questions over the royal family's links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
While King Harald and Queen Sonja have largely avoided scandal themselves, their children and extended family have frequently found themselves at the centre of public debate.
Here are the seven darkest scandals to hit Norway's royal family in recent decades.
2000: Prince Haakon's engagement to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby
When King Harald and Queen Sonja's son, Prince Haakon, announced his engagement to renowned former party girl and single mother, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, the monarchy's approval rating in Norway slumped to 58% (when it typically would be at least 75%).
The public were later won over when Mette-Marit held a tearful press conference, just days before her wedding in 2001, and came clean about her "youthful rebellion".
"We stepped over limits, and I'm very sorry about that," she told gathered press. "It was important for me to live in defiance of what was accepted [...] I would like to take this opportunity to condemn drugs. I hope that I can now avoid talking more about my past and that the press will respect this wish."
2005: Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby's father makes headlines
After navigating her own media storm, Mette-Marit's father, Sven O. Høiby, caused his own uproar after not only giving paid interviews and photos to the press of/about his daughter and grandson, Marius, but when he married a former stripper, Renate Barsgård, in 2005. The relationship broke down three months later.
2007: Princess Märtha Louise sets up her 'angel school'
A story that saw the royals met with nationwide ridicule, Princess Märtha Louise announced she would be launching her alternative education centre, Astarte Education, and claimed she could speak not only to angels but to animals too.
The centre was speedily nicknamed 'angel school' by Norway's press and some called for King Harald and Queen Sonja's eldest child and only daughter to renounce her title (something she actually did do many years down the line...).
2019: Crown Princess Mette-Marit apologises for ties to Jeffrey Epstein
Prince Andrew isn't the only royal to be embroiled in a scandal relating to convicted sex offender and disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein. Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit was also forced to apologised for meeting with him on multiple occasions between 2011 and 2013 – several years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute.
In a written statement, the Princess said, "I would never have had anything to do with Epstein if I had been aware of the seriousness of his criminal acts. I should have examined Epstein's past more closely, and I regret that I did not."
2019: Princess Märtha Louise's relationship with Durek Verrett
Prior to announcing her relationship with Durek in 2019, Märtha Louise was already far from your standard Princess, with her love of clairvoyance already well known (she ran an 'angel school' between 2007 and 2018). Her relationship with so-called shaman Durek, documented in the 2025 Netflix programme, Royal Rebels, however, provoked quite the response – not least because of his prior prison stint (a result of an arson charge in 1991) and love of promoting conspiracy theories along with disinformation.
During the pandemic, Durek reportedly sold necklaces to 'ward off the virus' and in his 2019 book, Spirit Hacking, which was later banned, he falsely claims that cancer is a 'choice' and stems from emotional unhappiness.
A poll later found 17% of Norwegians had a lower opinion of the royals overall following Märtha Louise's relationship with Durek Verrett.
This same year, Märtha Louise came under fire for using her Princess title to promote a spiritual lecture tour, The Princess and the Shaman, and was forced to apologise: "It was a mistake and I understand that it provoked (people) when the princess-title was used in that manner," she said.
2022: Princess Märtha Louise quits her royal duties
Explaining her decision to renounce her title was borne of a desire to focus on alternative medicine and spirituality work with her fiancé, others saw Princess Märtha Louise's choice to give up her patronages as the royal family's attempt to claw back some popularity points.
2024–2026: Marius Borg Høiby convicted of rape and abuse
The most serious scandal to engulf Norway's royal family centres on Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon.
The controversy began in 2024 after Høiby was arrested following allegations made by a former girlfriend, later admitting to assault and acknowledging problems with drug and alcohol misuse. In August 2025, Norwegian prosecutors announced that Høiby had been charged with multiple offences, including four counts of rape, abuse in close relationships and a number of other alleged crimes.
Following a closely watched trial, Oslo District Court sentenced Høiby to four years in prison in June 2026 after finding him guilty of two counts of rape, abuse in a close relationship and several other offences. He was acquitted of two further rape charges. The court also ordered him to pay compensation to multiple victims. Høiby, who is not a working royal and does not hold a title, has denied the rape allegations and is expected to appeal the verdict.
The case has generated intense media attention in Norway and prompted renewed debate about the future of the monarchy."This is the biggest crisis [the monarchy has experienced] since 1905 and the country's independence," reporter Caroline Vagle previously said as the investigation unfolded.
