Son of Norwegian princess Marius Borg Høiby arrested on suspicion of rape

By Flaminia Luck

The eldest son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been arrested again, this time on suspicion of rape, police have said.

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Marius Borg Høiby is the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon, and the son of Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship. He has no royal title or official duties.

Borg Høiby was arrested late on Monday in Oslo on a preliminary charge of having had "sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious or for other reasons unable to resist the act".

A preliminary charge comes before a formal charge and allows authorities to detain suspects during an investigation.

Police did not say when the alleged rape occurred, only that "the victim must have been unable to resist the act".

Norwegian media said Borg Høiby denied the accusation.

Hege Salomon, the lawyer for the woman who was allegedly raped, said "she is having a hard time".

She told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that police, not the woman, had brought the case. The woman was not identified.

The royal palace had no comment, the news agency NTB said.

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Høiby was previously arrested over the summer and charged with assaulting a woman and allegedly detained for 30 hours.

It followed an alleged altercation in an apartment near Oslo city centre.

The woman was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a concussion before she was discharged early on Monday.

Local reports said she had allegedly been "psychologically and physically attacked" by Borg Høiby.

The 27-year-old royal was thrown in solitary confinement and subjected to a blood test for drugs, Se og Hør reported.

He faced preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage and was released.

Details were unclear but police said there was "a relationship between the suspect and the victim".

More preliminary charges have since been filed against Borg Høiby, including violating several restraining orders and driving without a valid driver's licence. In all, the cases involve four women and one man.

The case was top news in Norway, where the royals are popular.

Borg Høiby, 27, lives with the royal couple and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.

Norway's future queen made headlines in 2001 when she married Prince Haakon because she was a single mother who had lived a freewheeling life with a companion who had been convicted on drug charges.