Feb. 22, 2026

"I Am a Father, Plain and Simple" - The week in Norwegian royal news with Mark Francis

"I Am a Father, Plain and Simple" - The week in Norwegian royal news with Mark Francis
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player icon

Father of victim testifies: "Anger. A lot of anger from me toward Marius Borg Høiby. I am a father, plain and simple. It is biology — we are born with a protective instinct." Daughter told him she met "the prince," then police showed her videos: "She was in shock." Hotel victim testimony: 27 videos recovered, "He would never finish. He wouldn't stop. I was afraid." Videos stored at Royal Palace address Slottsplassen 1.

Høiby activated Private Photo Vault subscription 2 hours after alleged assault. Høiby confirms filming 27 videos: "I simply like recording sexual encounters, watch material later instead of pornography." Claims woman was aware despite not asking permission. Sleep researcher: pulse data "compatible with her initially being asleep, unable to resist." Nora Haukland emotional testimony: choking, slapping, "black out." "I feel Marius has two faces. One very sweet and charming, one determined and angry." Video shows security guard saw choking. Høiby: "Yes, that's fine." Haukland: "I really wanted to save him. I feel very sorry for him."

Mette-Marit's German reputation "completely destroyed." Crown Princess alone at Skaugum while family at Olympics. Defence attacks police arrest operation. Opinion piece: media pressure could justify reduced sentence. Theatre play "The Son" in development.

Get episodes of Palace Intrigue by becommming a paid subscriber on Apple Podcasts. Click the button that says uninterrupted listening.  Just $5 a month, and that includes many ofther shows on the Caloroga Shark network.

Royal Books:

William and Catherine: The Monarchy's New Era: The Inside Story

The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:10.240
Ah Calorogus Shark media at low and Welcome to Crown

2
00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:14.919
and Controversy Norway. This is the weekly addition clearly summarize

3
00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:17.440
what happened in the past week. If you'd like to

4
00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:20.960
see what happened each day, please check out the daily additions.

5
00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:24.239
The trial against Marius Borghoeibi brought one of the most

6
00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:27.559
emotionally changed moments so far, as the father of one

7
00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:30.559
of the alleged victims took the stand in Oslo District

8
00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:32.600
Court and came face to face with a man accused

9
00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:36.200
of attacking his daughter. Observers in the courtroom described a

10
00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:40.079
visibly affected witness who repeatedly looked directly at Weby. While

11
00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:42.039
recounting the moment, he learned that his daughter had been

12
00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:45.079
named as an injured party in the case. He summed

13
00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:47.799
the feeling up in stark words, anger, a lot of

14
00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:52.079
anger from me toward Marius Borghoebi. He told the court

15
00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:54.679
that when she first met Weiby over Easter twenty twenty four,

16
00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:57.039
she had described the evening as pleasant and said she

17
00:00:57.079 --> 00:00:59.520
had met the Prince, the nickname she used for him

18
00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:02.200
at the time. But days later, after being called in

19
00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:06.000
for police questioning and showing the videos investigators had found,

20
00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:09.599
her tone changed completely. She called me like she often does,

21
00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:12.280
but now it was more serious. I understood something had happened.

22
00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:15.519
She was in shock. When asked by the prosecutor why

23
00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:17.599
he felt that anger, he answered in one of the

24
00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:20.159
most direct lines of the day, I am a father,

25
00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:23.079
plain and simple. It is biology. We are born with

26
00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:26.000
a protective instinct that as civilized people we managed to

27
00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.159
hold in check. If Marius becomes a father one day,

28
00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:31.920
he will probably feel the same toward his own children.

29
00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:36.359
The court heard detailed testimony about the impact the cases

30
00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:38.879
had on the complainant's life. The father said she has

31
00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:41.560
spent long periods living at home with him and struggling

32
00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:45.439
with sleep. She wakes very easily. She becomes afraid, exhausted,

33
00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:48.439
and cries a lot. He described the moment the indictment

34
00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:51.120
became public as a new trauma. Her name and address

35
00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:53.159
were laid out in the indictment. It did not take

36
00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.040
long before this was known to everyone. She received friend

37
00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:59.480
requests from strangers. She saw unknown men with cameras outside

38
00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:03.439
her apartment. It was painful for her. She was properly traumatized.

39
00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.239
The woman who prosecutors say was assaulted at a Foraunham

40
00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:11.520
apartment hotel in Oslo in November twenty twenty four, described

41
00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:13.840
a knight that began with what she called a firtatious

42
00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:17.960
atmosphere and ended, in her words, in fear, confusion, and panic.

43
00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:20.840
She told the court she had been open to consensual

44
00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:23.599
sex and that they did have sex shortly after arriving,

45
00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:26.000
but that she quickly became exhausted and told him she

46
00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:28.919
wanted to sleep. She said she woke repeatedly to what

47
00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:31.639
she believed was in touching her while she slept. At

48
00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:33.840
one point, she told the court she felt what she

49
00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:36.280
described as a blow to her genitals, woke up and

50
00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:38.879
saw what she believed was a camera flash before he

51
00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:43.319
lowered his phone. Asked how she felt, she answered, very uncomfortable.

52
00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:46.439
I was afraid. When the prosecutor asked whether she believed

53
00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:48.759
he had heard it say she wanted to sleep, she replied,

54
00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:52.199
he heard it. He would never finish, he wouldn't stop,

55
00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:55.639
she said. The court was told that investigators had recovered

56
00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:58.120
twenty seven videos and four still images connected to the

57
00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:02.000
hotel incident. According to the execution, some show her apparently

58
00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:06.039
awake from participating, while others show her lying motionless. The

59
00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:08.120
woman told the court she had believed at most a

60
00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:10.960
couple of recordings existed and went into shock when she

61
00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:16.039
saw how many there were. During her police interview, investigators

62
00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:19.719
presented evidence that less than two hours after the alleged assault,

63
00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:24.199
Webee activated a premium subscription to the file hiding application

64
00:03:24.360 --> 00:03:28.039
Private Photo Vault. The purchase was confirmed by an email

65
00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:30.719
from Apple, and by ten or two that same morning,

66
00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:33.680
eight files had been moved into the password protected app.

67
00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.639
The electronic receipt for the subscription listed the billing address

68
00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:43.080
as slotsplasm Ion the Royal Palace. Defense lawyer Peter Secular responded,

69
00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:45.120
I can't say much about that. I wonder if it

70
00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:48.080
appears automatically when he enters his name, but I'm not certain.

71
00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.840
Defense lawyer Allen Holliger and Deis added, I understand he

72
00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:55.840
was told that all posts and similar correspondents should go there,

73
00:03:56.120 --> 00:03:59.159
so I don't think there is anything particularly unusual about it.

74
00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:02.719
From his side, Hoiby took the stand and gave his

75
00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:05.680
own detailed account of the hotel encounter. He told the

76
00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:08.439
court he had been avoiding public nightlife at the time

77
00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:12.159
because he felt like Norway's most hated man, but ended

78
00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:15.080
up at the after party anyway, where he confirmed there

79
00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:19.000
was alcohol, cocaine and drinking games. Hoiby confirmed that he

80
00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:21.040
was the person who filmed the twenty seven videos on

81
00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:23.560
his phone from that night. He acknowledged that he did

82
00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:26.879
not explicitly ask for permission to record, but claimed there

83
00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:28.959
was no doubt the woman was aware he was doing so.

84
00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:32.000
Asked why he filmed, he said he simply likes recording

85
00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:35.600
sexual encounters and watches the material later instead of pornography,

86
00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:39.480
adding that he has never shared the videos with anyone.

87
00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:43.839
Sleep researcher Starley Pallis An analyzed garment pulse watch data

88
00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:46.720
and gave a detailed explanation of how sleep and consciousness

89
00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.600
may have shifted during the recorded period. He testified the

90
00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:55.079
complainant's explanation was consistent with the biometric readings. The explanation

91
00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:57.759
of the complainant in both of these instances is compatible

92
00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:01.079
with her initially being asleep and thus unable at least

93
00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:05.360
until she woke up to resist the sexual act. More

94
00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:12.399
crown and controversy in just a moment. Norwegian influencer Nora

95
00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:15.519
Hauckland took the stand Friday, giving an emotional account of

96
00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:19.399
her relationship with Marius Borghebi Hoeby is charged with domestic

97
00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:23.759
abuse against Halcland. He denies criminal guilt. Halcland described what

98
00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:26.279
she said became a pattern over the course of their relationship,

99
00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:28.680
which lasted a little over a year from around April

100
00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:33.240
twenty two to July twenty three. Prosecutors argue she lived

101
00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:36.680
under what they called a regime of fear. At one point.

102
00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:40.480
Halkland described a confrontation at Skalgum in late twenty twenty

103
00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:43.000
two in court. She said, and then he says I

104
00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:44.560
hate you. When he gets right up in my face,

105
00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:46.480
he says I'm ruining his life, and he pushes me

106
00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:49.399
down on the sofa. He has both hands placed around

107
00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:51.279
my neck. His arms are straight and I can see

108
00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:53.920
I can't get through to him. I remember again that

109
00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:56.079
I start to black out and I can see his eyes,

110
00:05:56.120 --> 00:05:59.480
and there I see only hatred. How Colinn said, the

111
00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:02.279
incident continued and then he slaps me and I come too,

112
00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:04.959
and then he starts smashing things around, she told the court,

113
00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:08.519
describing what she says happened next as he broke objects

114
00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:11.319
and through things. I can remember he threw cutlery at me.

115
00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:12.959
In a door and then he screams how much he

116
00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:16.360
hates me. He was so angry. She described what she

117
00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:20.240
called repeated denial and manipulation in court. She explained, it's

118
00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:22.639
when you've experienced an incident and you know how you

119
00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:25.079
experienced it, but then someone wants to tell you that

120
00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:27.680
everything you think is wrong and that you were crazy.

121
00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:30.240
What happened didn't happen. In the end, you start to

122
00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:35.120
believe it and you become uncertain. Prosecutor Sterler Henrix Bow

123
00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:38.680
pressed her on why she stayed. He asked, why didn't

124
00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:41.160
you leave him? Halkerim responded, you had a lot of

125
00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:43.439
hope that it would get better. There was something so

126
00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:45.959
beautiful in the good parts too, and it was very intense,

127
00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:49.399
and I cared about him so own, incredibly much. She

128
00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:51.720
described a split in the person she felt she was

129
00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:54.439
dealing with. I felt Marius has two faces, one that

130
00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:56.639
is very sweet and charming and one that is determined

131
00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:01.439
and angry, hard in his grip, different everything she described.

132
00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:03.800
She told the court she continued to feel protective of him.

133
00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:06.480
I really wanted to save him. I have always been

134
00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:09.560
and still am, very fond of Marius, she said, wiping tears.

135
00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:11.879
He has a lot of good qualities that I wish

136
00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:14.360
he would feed. That is the Marius I was very

137
00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:16.319
in love with and fond of, and I feel very

138
00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:20.839
sorry for him. Prosecutors also played or referenced material from

139
00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:23.639
that period. In one sequence of video filmed in a taxi,

140
00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.680
showed a phone call discussing an incident with a person saying,

141
00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:28.680
but I saw in the hall that she grabbed her

142
00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:32.560
by the throat. The reporting says Hoyby replied, yes, that's fine,

143
00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.319
before the video ended. Halcln identified the caller as a witness,

144
00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:38.920
saying it was the security guard who saw that Marius

145
00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:42.920
choked me. Crown Princess Meta Marite iss facing what observers

146
00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:45.000
describe as one of the most serious crises of a

147
00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:49.800
public life as international coverage continues to damage her reputation abroad.

148
00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:54.399
According to reporting citing by the Danish outlet Dargans, Berlin

149
00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:59.000
based journalist Asbiance Farstard said the Crown princesses standing in

150
00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:02.720
Germany has particularly hard hit. He said, I'm afraid it's over.

151
00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:07.000
The reputation is completely destroyed. For many years, Metamurit enjoyed

152
00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:09.560
its strong popularity in Germany, where she was widely viewed

153
00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:12.560
as a modern and relatable member of the Norwegian royal family.

154
00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:16.600
That image has shifted dramatically in recent months. While the

155
00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:19.000
trial continues in Oslo, the rest of the Norwegian royal

156
00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:22.000
family has traveled abroad. King Harold and Queen Sonja have

157
00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:24.480
been in Milan for the Winter Olympics, and Crown Prince

158
00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:27.560
Harken is also in Italy. That leaves the Crown Princess

159
00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:32.720
at Skaugen Royal household. Commentator Tovey Tulsen told Netavision that

160
00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:35.480
the decision for the others to continue with their plans

161
00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:38.320
was both expected and appropriate, but added, I think it

162
00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:41.279
is the consequence of the situation she has put herself in.

163
00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:44.480
Attention is turning to the way the case itself has

164
00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:47.639
been handled. In reporting first published by Netavisen, one of

165
00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:52.200
Hoyby's lead lawyers, Ellen Holiger Andis, launched a direct attack

166
00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:55.120
on the authorities over the dramatic police operation that led

167
00:08:55.159 --> 00:08:57.200
to his arrest at a mountain cabin in September of

168
00:08:57.240 --> 00:09:00.759
twenty twenty four. Who else but Marius borg hoy experiences

169
00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.600
being arrested by ten to twelve police officers and protective

170
00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:07.080
gear and Balaclavs because of a restraining order breach over

171
00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:10.559
the phone and Naeus asked in court. She described the

172
00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:12.799
arrest as very dramatic and said it left her client

173
00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:15.679
with the impression they were out to get him. An

174
00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:19.679
opinion piece in Finnissavian suggests the extraordinary media pressure of

175
00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:23.679
Marius borg Weeby could justify a reduced sentence if he

176
00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:26.639
is convicted. They write, the media pressure has had a

177
00:09:26.679 --> 00:09:30.039
clear personal cost for Weeby. Over time, tens of thousands

178
00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:33.039
of articles have been published in Norwegian and international media.

179
00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:37.399
This continuous exposure has imposed psychological strains far beyond what

180
00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:41.360
it defended normally has to endure more crown and controversy

181
00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:47.440
in just a second. A striking sign of how deeply

182
00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:51.360
the cases penetrated Norwegian society came from outside the court room.

183
00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:55.080
Actor MARDs Shogard Peterson, who has been sitting through the

184
00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:58.480
proceedings day after day, is now developing a theater production

185
00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:01.919
based on the scandal. The play, titled The Sun, will

186
00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:06.720
premiere at Den nashiernal Scene in Bergen in June. The

187
00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:09.200
story will be told through the eyes of the King's bodyguards,

188
00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:12.000
the people who, in their words see everything, but are

189
00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:15.080
never allowed to speak. The creative team says the goal

190
00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:16.759
is not to pass judgment on the case, but to

191
00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:20.720
add nuance and open a wider conversation. This is the

192
00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:23.679
week a father testified. I am a father, plain and simple.

193
00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:26.360
It is biology. We are born with a protective instinct.

194
00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:29.840
The weak hotel victim described twenty seven videos he would

195
00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:33.720
never finish. He wouldn't stop videos stored at Royal Palace

196
00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:38.039
address slotsplasm Ie Hoiby confirms filming I simply like recording

197
00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:42.799
sexual encounters. Sleep researcher polsetater compatible with her initially being

198
00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:48.120
asleep unable to resist. Norah Haukln testified about choking, slapping, blackout.

199
00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:50.200
I feel Marius has two faces, one that is very

200
00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:53.399
sweet and charming and one that is determined and angry.

201
00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:56.720
Security guards saw him grab her throat. Hoibi replied, yes,

202
00:10:56.799 --> 00:11:01.200
that's fine, meadow Marit's German reputation is completely destroyed. Crownd

203
00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:04.720
princess alone at Skagum while family at Olympics, Defense attack,

204
00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:09.159
police arrest, operation theater, play the Sun in development and

205
00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:13.120
somewhere between courtroom testimony and Royal residences, Norway grapples were

206
00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:16.240
the case that has penetrated every corner of society, from

207
00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:21.679
polse watch data to bodyguards untold stories. Portions of this

208
00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:24.240
program were assembled with the assistance of AI, including help

209
00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:27.840
with translation, summarization, and news gathering from publicly available sources.

210
00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:31.919
Listeners should treat this as an informational overview, not of

211
00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:34.679
the Betam Court record. Nothing in this program should be

212
00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:38.879
considered a factual finding or legal determination. And there you

213
00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:40.679
have it. If you'd like to email us or address

214
00:11:40.679 --> 00:11:43.320
at the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please followus

215
00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:45.600
on Spotify, Apple or the app of your choice. By

216
00:11:45.639 --> 00:11:48.120
Mark Francis My thanks to John McDermott. This is Crown

217
00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:53.639
and Controversy, Norway.