Episodes

Crown Princess Mette-Marit has made a striking return to royal duty while using oxygen support in public for the first time, underscoring the seriousness of her health challenges. We also look at the full Crown Prince family appearing together amid mounting scrutiny, and Nora Haukland’s new interview about her relationship with Marius Borg Høiby as the case moves closer to a verdict Portions of this program were assembled with the assistance of AI, including help with translation, summarisation...

Norway’s Supreme Court has issued a significant ruling that could matter a great deal in the Marius Borg Høiby case, particularly on the sexual assault charges involving women prosecutors say were asleep or otherwise unable to resist. The decision does not affect the question of guilt or innocence, but it could influence sentencing if Høiby is convicted on any of those counts. We break down what the ruling means, why both the defense and prosecution believe it helps their side, and how the legal...

Sunday prison visit: Haakon, Mette-Marit, and Sverre Magnus photographed arriving at Oslo Prison to see Marius. Appeals court rules Marius remains in detention until June verdict, rejects release request. Court cites "strong probability" of reoffending, points to Valentine's Day restraining order breach while in custody (flowers and letter to Frogner woman through third party). Defense argued media attention reduced risk, court rejected: coverage "has not prevented accused from being suspected o...

Marius Borg Høiby will remain in custody after losing his appeal, while a major Supreme Court ruling on so-called sleep rape cases has opened a new legal front ahead of the expected June verdict. There is also growing backlash over how the Norwegian media covered the trial. Portions of this program were assembled with the assistance of AI, including help with translation, summarisation, and news gathering from publicly available sources. While we have taken care to reflect the reporting accurat...

Crown Princess Mette-Marit returned to public duties during the Belgian state visit, but the fallout from her Epstein interview continues. New criticism of the Palace’s media strategy, questions about how the NRK interview was handled, and a wave of opinion pieces suggest the story is far from settled. Portions of this program were assembled with the assistance of AI, including help with translation, summarisation, and news gathering from publicly available sources. While we have taken care to ...

An appeals court has ruled that Marius Borg Høiby will remain in pre-trial detention, rejecting his request for release ahead of a verdict expected in early June. The court cited a “strong probability” of reoffending, pointing in part to a restraining order breach during the trial, when Høiby arranged to send flowers and a letter to the Frogner woman.His defense argued that intense media scrutiny had already limited his circumstances, but the court dismissed that claim, concluding detention rema...

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were seen arriving at Oslo Prison alongside Prince Sverre Magnus, just days after the trial of Marius Borg Høiby concluded. While prison visits are routine, the timing and visibility of this one have drawn significant attention, reading as a clear show of support as the family awaits a verdict expected in early June. We break down where the case stands now, including the charges, the prosecution’s sentencing request, and the growing debate over...

Trial paused Tuesday (judge ill), resumed Wednesday. Prosecution closing arguments: Henriksbø says Marius "not monster... but must be held accountable." Four "sleep rape" allegations detailed. Skaugum woman videos: "appears to be sleeping, absence of sound." Lofoten woman's pulse watch data: woke from deep sleep twice, "just after defendant filmed her genital area." Nachspiel woman: sleeping tablets, "sensed flashes of light." Oslo hotel: "woke from hard blow to genital area." Pattern: "parties,...

Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has spoken publicly for the first time about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, saying she was “manipulated and deceived” and taking responsibility for not investigating him more thoroughly. In a highly personal interview with NRK, conducted alongside Crown Prince Haakon, she acknowledged spending time at Epstein’s Palm Beach property, described a moment that left her feeling unsafe, and admitted, “I should have warned more people.” But while the intervi...

The trial of Marius Borg Høiby has officially concluded after more than six weeks in court, with the case now in the hands of judges and a verdict expected in early June. On the final day, the defense pushed for acquittal on the most serious charges, including four alleged rapes and abuse in a close relationship, arguing there is not enough evidence to meet the legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. We break down the defense’s key arguments, from challenges to digital evidence and ...

The trial of Marius Borg Høiby is entering its final phase, with prosecutors now calling for a sentence of seven years and seven months in prison. The recommendation follows a request for conviction on 39 of 40 charges, including multiple rape allegations, domestic abuse, violence, threats, and drug offenses. We break down the prosecution’s case, including claims that the women’s accounts are supported by messages, images, and video, and arguments that Høiby’s repeated statements that he canno...

The situation surrounding Norway’s Royal Family is showing no signs of easing, with new developments suggesting the pressure is widening rather than stabilising. Crown Princess Mette-Marit has made a rare public appearance after more than five weeks out of view, visiting Oslo prison with Crown Prince Haakon, where her son remains in custody. The visit, which lasted about an hour and included a police escort, drew significant attention — particularly as it marked one of her first appearances sin...

The final phase of the trial of Marius Borg Høiby has begun in Oslo District Court after six weeks of testimony and evidence. State prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø opened closing arguments by telling the court that while Høiby should not be demonized, he must be held accountable for his actions. Prosecutors walked the court through four allegations of what Norwegian law calls “sleep rape,” describing incidents involving women who were allegedly asleep or otherwise unable to resist. The prosecution ...

After more than six weeks of testimony, digital evidence and hundreds of pages of private messages read aloud in court, the trial of Marius Borg Høiby has now reached its final stage. Prosecutors began delivering their closing arguments in Oslo District Court, outlining how they believe the evidence presented over the past several weeks supports the charges against him. The prosecution is expected to argue that testimony from several women, the alleged violent incident involving the Frogner wom...

This week on Palace Intrigue: Norway, the trial of Marius Borg Høiby entered its sixth week and showed no signs of losing its power to shock. The court heard from friends of the Frogner woman who described the violent aftermath of August 4, 2024, in vivid and heartbreaking detail — including one witness who recalled the victim saying she could "handle being hit" as long as Høiby was alright. The defense's request for pre-trial release was denied. Prosecutors returned repeatedly to the question o...

As the trial of Marius Borg Høiby enters its final phase, one of the most revealing pieces of evidence has been the massive archive of private messages exchanged between Høiby and influencer Nora Haukland. The conversations — spanning more than 800 pages — have been read aloud in court over several days and paint a complex portrait of a relationship that moved repeatedly between affection, jealousy and confrontation. Early exchanges show warmth and encouragement, but later messages reveal argum...

The trial of Marius Borg Høiby moved closer to its final phase as Oslo District Court continued reviewing one of the largest pieces of evidence in the case — more than 800 pages of private messages between Høiby and influencer Nora Haukland. Some of the exchanges showed affection and support, including messages where Høiby encouraged Haukland after she was eliminated from the reality series Kompani Lauritzen. But others revealed escalating jealousy and arguments about social media, television a...

The trial of Marius Borg Høiby continued in Oslo as new witnesses described the chaotic aftermath of the violent night at the center of the case. A friend of the woman known in court as the Frogner woman testified that she received a late-night call for help around 2:30 a.m., saying, “Marius has trashed my apartment and beaten me,” before the shaken woman arrived at her home with visible injuries. Another witness told the court the complainant appeared emotionally shattered and said friends of H...

There was no court session Monday in the trial of Marius Borg Høiby, but the case still produced major developments as the proceedings enter their sixth week. Høiby’s defense team has formally asked Oslo District Court to release him from custody after five weeks of detention. His lawyer, Ellen Holager Andenæs, confirmed that a petition requesting his release has been submitted. Prosecutors oppose the move. Police prosecutor Andreas Kruszewski said authorities have reviewed the request and wil...

As the trial of Marius Borg Høiby continues to dominate headlines in Norway, attention is increasingly turning to the wider implications for the royal family — particularly Crown Princess Mette-Marit. A regional scouting organization has now called for her suspension as patron, arguing that institutions connected to the monarchy must reconsider their ties while the case involving her son unfolds. At the same time, renewed scrutiny has fallen on the timing of a December press conference announci...

Trial week 5: Frogner woman testifies for first time. New Feb 1 indictment (reckless conduct, restraining order breach during trial). Witness possibly tried to influence her, police investigation opened. Sophie Elise: "pose photo" not intentional. Oslo Scene witness: "no doubt he went for a chokehold." Messages: "You have to choose. Me or Farmen." NRK faces 400,000 kroner fine. Frogner woman: "didn't start with violence," "jet-set guy who partied every weekend, used drugs, had criminal friends....

The fifth week of the trial of Marius Borg Høiby ended with dramatic testimony about the violent confrontation on August 4, 2024 — the incident that triggered the police investigation and the sweeping indictment now before the Oslo court. Taking the stand, Høiby disputed parts of the Frogner woman’s account but admitted key elements of the fight. “I remember that I slapped her,” he told the court. “And I remember that I took her by the throat.” He acknowledged shouting insults, smashing items i...

A pivotal day in Oslo District Court as Marius Borg Høiby took the stand to respond directly to the testimony of the woman known as the “Frogner woman,” who is connected to many of the charges against him. Høiby told the court he did not recognize much of her account, saying, “I felt that a lot was exaggerated, and some of it simply wasn’t true.” During hours of testimony he acknowledged several incidents, including spitting in her face during an argument, breaking her laptop — “I took the lapt...

One of the most consequential phases of the Marius Borg Høiby trial is now underway as the woman known in Norwegian media as the “Frogner woman” begins two days of testimony. She is connected to twenty of the forty criminal counts in the case. In emotional evidence, she told the court the relationship did not begin with violence but gradually escalated from jealousy, drugs and insecurity. She described arguments in Berlin and Norway where objects were smashed, alleged incidents of filming witho...