The disgraced son of Norway’s new queen will be allowed to leave house arrest despite a recent rape conviction to attend the state funeral of King Harald V. Marius Borg Høiby is currently serving a four-year prison sentence under house arrest after being found guilty on two counts of rape. "The public prosecutor deemed that there were grounds to grant the requests for leave submitted by Høiby in connection with the death," police prosecutor Oda Karterud told AFP.
The decision grants the 29-year-old temporary release to attend the funeral service on 9 September. Høiby, who was born from a relationship prior to Queen Mette-Marit’s marriage to the new King Haakon VIII, was convicted of 30 additional charges alongside the two rapes, including domestic violence toward a former partner. He has since appealed against both, and was acquitted on two additional counts of rape during the original trial.
Under Norwegian legal procedure, filing an appeal against a court conviction suspends its final binding status pending a retrial. Because of this, Høiby remains under custodial house arrest with an ankle monitor rather than serving time in prison. He had pled guilty to several lesser charges including aggravated assault, reckless behaviour, and drug-related offences.
Høiby was previously granted special dispensation to visit King Harald in hospital prior to the late monarch's death on Friday at the age of 89. The prosecutor confirmed that leave was also approved for Høiby to participate in Monday evening's procession, when the King's remains were transferred to the palace chapel. The temporary release comes as Norway observes a national period of mourning following King Harald’s passing from complications related to hemolytic anemia.
Tens of thousands of citizens gathered outside the royal palace in Oslo over the weekend, leaving floral tributes, handwritten notes, and candles. The state funeral will take place at 1pm at Oslo Cathedral, led by Olav Fykse Tveit, the presiding bishop of the Church of Norway. King Haakon VIII took his formal oath to the constitution on Tuesday, inheriting a monarchy that is navigating mounting controversy.
The royal household has faced ongoing scrutiny over Queen Mette-Marit's friendship with late American financier Jeffrey Epstein, alongside her son's criminal convictions. The release of the Department of Justice’s “Epstein files” in late 2025 revealed hundreds of email exchanges between the queen and the convicted sex-trafficker. Queen Mette-Marit joined the procession on Monday evening, marking her first public appearance as queen after undergoing a lung transplant in June following a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis.
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