Norway crown princess's son admits to excesses, 'need for recognition'

The son of Norway's crown princess, on trial accused of raping four women, admitted to a life of excess due to "an extreme need for recognition" when he took the stand Wednesday.

Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit's 29-year-old son from a relationship before her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, broke down in tears as he addressed the Oslo district court.

He is accused of 38 crimes, including the rapes of four women and assaults on ex-girlfriends, and faces up to 16 years in prison.

Hoiby has pleaded guilty to several of the more minor offences and rejected the most serious allegations against him.

He began his testimony by lashing out at the media, saying the press had "hassled" him since the age of three when the relationship between his mother and the prince became public.

"I'm mostly known as my mother's son, not anything else. So I've had an extreme need for recognition my whole life," he told the court.

"And that manifested itself in a lot of sex, a lot of drugs, and a lot of alcohol," he said, dressed in jeans, shirt and a sweater.

The four alleged rapes all took place after consensual sex, often following evenings of heavy drinking when the women were not in a state to defend themselves, the prosecution claimed Tuesday.

The acts in question came to light during a police investigation launched after Hoiby's August 4, 2024 arrest on suspicion of assaulting his then-girlfriend the night before.

Before Hoiby took the stand, one of the alleged victims testified about the circumstances under which she claims he raped her at an after-party at his parents' royal Skaugum estate outside Oslo in 2018.

She said they had a brief, consensual sexual encounter, which she cut off.

Police then contacted her years later when they discovered footage and images showing what they described as Hoiby raping her while she slept -- events she had no recollection of, describing "a big black hole".

She told the court she believed "100 percent" that she had been drugged.

Hoiby meanwhile testified that he did not recall the exact events of that night but said the sexual relations with her had been consensual.

"I don't remember taking them (the pictures), but, like, we had sex fully awake and willingly. I don't remember very much about the sex either," he added.