Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, is currently being held at Oslo Prison as he awaits trial on multiple charges, including rape. The high-profile case has drawn significant attention in Norway and beyond.
Høiby will remain in custody until March 2, with the first of seven weeks of the trial now complete.
Ellen Holager Andenæs, Høiby’s attorney, confirmed to Nettavisen that Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit have visited him in prison.
“We see perfectly natural for him to receive visits from his family, but I do not wish to comment on this,” Andenæs told Nettavisen. “I assume that it is important for him, like anyone else in prison, to receive family visits.”
“This is no different for him than for anyone else,” she added.
VG first reported the visits.
Nettavisen reported that the Crown Princess and Crown Prince visited Høiby on Thursday outside of regular visiting hours, around 7:30 p.m. A second visit occurred on Saturday with only Crown Prince Haakon, around 3:30 p.m.
Se og hør also reported on the Thursday visit, in addition to VG’s coverage.
According to the Oslo Prison website, inmates without children are typically limited to one visit per week. Despite this, Høiby has received two visits in a single week.
“I am bound by a legal duty of confidentiality, but I choose to say that the relatives here have made it crystal clear that they do not want special treatment, and they have not received it,” Oslo Prison Governor Nils Leyell Finstad told VG.
“It is our duty to continuously assess whether You’ll see special circumstances related to all visits, in relation to the inmate, relatives, security and total capacity,” he added.
