Feb. 15, 2026

Palace Weekly Norway Edition: The week in Norwegian royal news from "Crown and Controversy Norway"

Palace Weekly Norway Edition: The week in Norwegian royal news from "Crown and Controversy Norway"

Princess Ingrid Alexandra Instagram post to 800 followers: "I'm going crazy. When is enough?" Expert: "Family undoubtedly under pressure, but lot of it self-inflicted by her mother and half-brother." Crown Princess Mette-Marit apologizes to "especially the King and Queen"—"some content of messages does not represent person I want to be." Crown Prince Haakon: "I have to make sure to take care of the Crown Princess" who's "not allowed" to speak yet, "needs time to gather herself." Deep Crown: "Ingrid Alexandra posting would simply never happen here.

Mette-Marit's public apologies would also not happen. Norwegians believe transparency equals relatability. What it reveals is lack of institutional discipline." Marius trial: victim testified woke to assault—"I don't understand how someone can have sex with someone who's sleeping. It was painful. My body wasn't ready for it." Sleep researcher: pulse data "compatible with her initially being asleep, unable to resist." Witnesses describe Høiby "authoritarian," victim "wanted to sleep, but he wanted to keep having sex." Høiby: "I've been woken up by being touched myself many times."

Derogatory messages about victim dismissed as "locker-room talk." Crown Prince/Princess visited prison twice in one week despite one-visit limit. Ambassador resigned—Epstein left $10M to her children. Mette-Marit googled Epstein: "didn't look too good :)." 47.6% don't want her as queen. Republican membership surge.

Palace Intrigue is your daily royal family podcast, diving deep into the modern-day drama, power struggles, and scandals shaping the future of the monarchy.
"Crown and Controversy: Norway" is covering the trial of Marius Borg Høiby as the Norwegian Royal Family is faced with multiple scandals of their own.

Check out "Palace Intrigue Presents: King WIlliam" here.

👑 Follow our hit series Crown and Controversy! Seasons 1 through 3 are fully available now for everyone. . GET THE FULL SEASON 4 (coming soon) BEFORE REGULAR LISTENERS as a subscriber! Hit that "UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING" Banner on the top of the Apple player.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:12.199
Calorogus Shark Media. That lo and welcome to Crown and Controversy.

2
00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:16.239
This is the weekly edition where we recap the stories

3
00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:18.120
from the week, and if you'd like to check up

4
00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:20.839
on just the daily editions, those are there in the

5
00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:24.399
feed as well. So let's go over what happened last

6
00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:28.679
week in Norway. I'm your Palace Intrigue host Mark Francis.

7
00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:33.560
Princess Ingrid Alexandra has posted an unusually personal message on

8
00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:37.240
her private Instagram account, speaking out against what she described

9
00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:40.320
as personal attacks and saying she was going crazy. The

10
00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:43.119
twenty two year old, who is studying in Sydney and

11
00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:45.600
his second in line to the throne, shared the message

12
00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:48.479
with her roughly eight hundred followers. In the message, Ingrid

13
00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:51.880
Alexandra wrote that it was not about any issue, not Marius,

14
00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:55.600
not Mum or Dad or Magnus, but instead about personal

15
00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:59.280
attacks that often apply it to us. She added, I

16
00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:03.000
chose to it here because I'm going crazy. When is enough?

17
00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:07.079
Eric Mustard, an expert on the Norwegian royal family, told

18
00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:10.680
Afton postin I find this sad to read. The family

19
00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:13.480
is undoubtedly under a lot of pressure, but at the

20
00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:15.560
same time a lot of it is self inflicted by

21
00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:18.400
her mother and her half brother. When you write to

22
00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:22.239
that many people on Instagram, it's not private. Crown Princess

23
00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:25.840
Madamerie issued a fresh apology on Friday, saying she regretted

24
00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:28.799
the situation she has put the Norwegian royal family in,

25
00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:32.040
especially the King and Queen. Addressing the content of the

26
00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:35.599
Epstein correspondence, the Crown Princess said, some of the content

27
00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:38.200
of the messages between Epstein and me does not represent

28
00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:42.280
the person I want to be. Norway's Crown Prince Harkens

29
00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:44.840
said his priority has been supporting his family. For me,

30
00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:47.760
the most important thing these past few days has been

31
00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:50.480
to take care of the flock. Harkins said, we support

32
00:01:50.519 --> 00:01:53.319
Marius in the situation he is in. We look after

33
00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:55.359
the other children as well. They also need to be

34
00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:57.319
cared for, and I have to make sure to take

35
00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:00.159
care of the Crown Princess. How can acknowledge that there

36
00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:02.719
is strong public interest in hearing directly from his wife,

37
00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:05.359
but said she is not yet ready to speak. She

38
00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:08.240
thinks that is completely natural. She would like to speak,

39
00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:10.639
but right now she can't, and I also tell her

40
00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:13.120
that she is not allowed to. She needs time to

41
00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:17.479
gather herself. Dig Crown tells us what strikes me about

42
00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:20.919
the Norwegian situations, how thoroughly it demonstrates the value of

43
00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:25.840
British royal restraint. Princess Ingrid Alexandra posting to Instagram about

44
00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:30.280
going crazy over personal attacks would simply never happen here ground.

45
00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:32.879
Princess Madamemorie's public apologies to the King and Queen would

46
00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:36.080
also not happen in Britain. Such matters would be handled

47
00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:40.159
with a terse palace statement and strategic withdrawal from public view.

48
00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:44.479
The Norwegians seemed to believe transparency equals relatability, what it

49
00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:48.400
actually reveals as a lack of institutional discipline. Oslo is

50
00:02:48.439 --> 00:02:51.759
learning the hard way what Buckingham Palace has always known.

51
00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:56.439
Some things are better left unsaid. Norway's parliament voted to

52
00:02:56.520 --> 00:03:00.360
reaffirm the constitutional monarchy, with only seventeen of one hundred

53
00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:04.840
and sixty nine lawmakers supporting a proposal to investigate dismantling

54
00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:07.919
the monarchy. However, polling found that fifty four percent of

55
00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:11.800
Norwegian's support remaining a monarchy, while thirty three percent favor

56
00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:16.080
becoming a republic. In testimony given behind closed doors, an

57
00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:19.120
Oslo District Court, a woman described the night she spent

58
00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:22.759
with Marius Borg Hoibi in October of twenty three, alleging

59
00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.080
that she woke to him having sex with her while

60
00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:28.360
she was asleep. The woman told the court that earlier

61
00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:31.520
in the night, she and Hoibi had consensual sex several times.

62
00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:34.120
She says she was very tired and eventually fell asleep.

63
00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:37.599
She testified that she later woke in shock, experiencing pain,

64
00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:41.319
and realized intercourse was already underway. I remember waking up

65
00:03:41.319 --> 00:03:43.919
when he was already under way. I thought, I don't

66
00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:46.599
understand how someone can have sex with someone who's sleeping.

67
00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:50.319
Then I mostly had the feeling I was disassociating, leaving

68
00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:53.319
my own body. It was painful. My body wasn't ready

69
00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:55.879
for it. After the account of the woman wrote on

70
00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:58.639
a private note on her phone, which was later presented

71
00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:01.599
in court. In court, she said the note functioned as

72
00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:04.479
a personal diary and that she had repressed what she

73
00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:07.840
now believes was an assault. She said she only later

74
00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:10.680
understood the situation as an assault after discussing it with

75
00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:15.800
a counselor. The defense challenged inconsistencies between her earlier police

76
00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:18.839
interviews and her court room testimony. The woman responded that

77
00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:21.000
she did not say she wanted sex either, and that

78
00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:25.639
a sleeping person gives no indication of consent. Prosecutors also

79
00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:29.120
presented a five second video found on Hoybe's phone, allegedly

80
00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:32.279
filmed without the woman's knowledge, and pulse data from a

81
00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:35.399
smart watch she was wearing. The woman said she recognized

82
00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:38.959
herself in the footage but found it distressing to see.

83
00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:43.439
Professor Stally pallas An, a sleep researcher from the University

84
00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:46.639
of Bergen, analyzed garment pulse watch data from the night.

85
00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:50.120
He testified that the complainant's explanation was consistent with the

86
00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:53.720
biometric readings. The explanation of the complainant in both of

87
00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:57.439
these instances is compatible with her initially being asleep and

88
00:04:57.480 --> 00:04:59.839
thus being unable at least until she woke up, to

89
00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:03.879
resist the sexual act. Regarding a pulse spike, he said,

90
00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:05.800
what happens is that the pulse is low and the

91
00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:08.160
watch indicates deep sleep, and then you see an increase

92
00:05:08.199 --> 00:05:11.160
in pulse, which indicates that she wakes up. Witnesses from

93
00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:14.959
the after party described Hoeby's behavior shifting as the evening progressed.

94
00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:17.959
One female witness said to begin with, he was nice,

95
00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:20.680
and then they felt it became uncomfortable after a while.

96
00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:24.120
He raises his voice rather than lowering it, and turns

97
00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.720
the music up instead of down. He also pushed for

98
00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:30.079
us to drink more alcohol. Another witness described him as

99
00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:33.920
maybe a bit authoritarian, speaking somewhat from above and down.

100
00:05:34.839 --> 00:05:37.800
One female friend testified that the complainants appeared tired and

101
00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:40.160
wanted to sleep. I remember she said, you wanted to

102
00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:41.759
go to bed and sleep, but he wanted to keep

103
00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:43.399
having sex, and there was a bit of a clash

104
00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:47.120
between them. Weaby told the court he is still medicated

105
00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:49.519
and that the strain of proceedings may affect how clearly

106
00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:52.399
he is able to speak. He maintained that the sexual

107
00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:55.800
encounters were consensual and said he had no reason to

108
00:05:55.879 --> 00:05:59.879
believe otherwise. When questioned about whether it is acceptable to

109
00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:03.959
wake a sexual partner by initiating sexual activity, Hoibe responded,

110
00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:07.279
I've been woken up by being touched myself many times

111
00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:10.279
in similar situations. I never thought it was anything other

112
00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:13.600
than pleasant. The prosecutor asked, why isn't that wrong to

113
00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:17.160
wake someone by touching their genitals or breasts. Weiby responded,

114
00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:19.120
you've already been lying in bed and had sex. I

115
00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:21.839
don't think it's anything terribly wrong when you've had sex

116
00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:25.879
just minutes earlier. The court revisited the five second video

117
00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:29.279
recorded at four fifty eight am. Weiby says he does

118
00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:32.000
not remember filming her. I had my phone out. What

119
00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:34.040
can I say. I don't think I asked for permission,

120
00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:38.160
but I also can't remember getting any refusal. Prosecutors presented

121
00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:40.600
messages Hoiby sent to a close friend during the night,

122
00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:43.079
in which he shared a photo and described the complainant

123
00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:47.120
in derogatory terms. Asked about the contrast with finding her

124
00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:50.399
attractive earlier, he said, it's locker room talk between me

125
00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:53.560
and my best friend. More crown and controversy in just

126
00:06:53.560 --> 00:07:01.160
a moment, reports from Norwegian sources jess Marius Borg. Hoiby

127
00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:03.920
has received visits from Crown Prince Harken and Crown Princess

128
00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:07.279
Madame Marie. The Crown Prince couple visited Hoyby on Thursday

129
00:07:07.319 --> 00:07:11.839
outside regular visiting hours at around seven thirty pm. On Saturday,

130
00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:13.800
there was another visit, but this time only from Crown

131
00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:17.160
Prince Harken at approximately three point thirty According to Oslo

132
00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:20.519
Prison's website. Inmates without children are allowed a maximum of

133
00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:24.079
one visit per week. Nevertheless, Hoyby has received two visits

134
00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:27.600
within a single week. Prison Governor Nils lal Finstead said

135
00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:30.199
the relatives have been crystal clear that they do not

136
00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:33.360
want special treatment and they have not received it. A

137
00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:37.279
Norwegian ambassador has resigned following revelations about her past association

138
00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:41.519
with Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein's reported to have left ten million

139
00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:44.720
dollars to the children of Mona Jewel in a will

140
00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:47.560
drawn up shortly before his death. Jewel, who had been

141
00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:51.720
Norway's ambassador to Jordan, stepped down Sunday night after being

142
00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:55.920
suspended the previous week. The latest batch of Epstein files

143
00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:59.079
reportedly contains more than one thousand references to Madame Marie.

144
00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:03.399
Particularly damaging is evidence suggesting the Crown Princess knew more

145
00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:06.839
about Epstein's background than she later acknowledged. In an email

146
00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:10.399
sent three years after Epstein pleaded guilty, she wrote, googled

147
00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:13.279
you after the last email, agreed didn't look too good.

148
00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.480
The Observer reports this has really added to the drama

149
00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:18.959
and deepened the crisis of people so angry with her

150
00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:20.920
that they would rather have a republic than have her

151
00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:24.800
as queen. The fallout has driven renewed interest in republicanism.

152
00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:28.560
The Norwegian Republican Association reported as surge in membership following

153
00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:31.720
the revelations. Its head said, we've got new members coming

154
00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:34.360
in every hour. We've been contacted by people who have said,

155
00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:36.360
up until now I've been a fan of the royal

156
00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:38.919
family and a monarchist, but now this has pushed me

157
00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:41.919
over the edge. A survey found forty seven percent of

158
00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:44.919
respondents do not believe Crown Princess Madame Marie should become

159
00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:50.120
Norway's next queen. This is the week Princess ingwod Alexandra posted,

160
00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:52.919
I'm going crazy when it's enough. The week Meta Marie

161
00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:56.759
apologized to especially the King and Queen. The week Crown

162
00:08:56.799 --> 00:08:59.039
Prince Harkin said, I have to make sure to take

163
00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:02.360
care of the Crown Princess who's not allowed to speak yet.

164
00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:06.759
Deep Crown observed Ingrid Alexandra posting to Instagram would simply

165
00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:10.440
never happen here. Meta Mareat's public apologies would also not happen.

166
00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:14.600
The Norwegians seemed to believe transparency equals relatability. What it

167
00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:18.960
actually reveals is a lack of institutional discipline. Maria's trial.

168
00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:22.120
Victim testified woke to assault. I don't understand how someone

169
00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:25.039
can have sex with someone who's sleeping. Sleep researcher confirmed

170
00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:29.159
POLSE data compatible with her initially being asleep. Witness weeby

171
00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:31.879
authoritarian victim wanted to go to bed and sleep. He

172
00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:35.120
wanted to keep having sex. Weiby, I've been worken up

173
00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:38.679
by being touched myself many times, called derogatory messages about

174
00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:41.559
victim locker room talk between me and my best friend.

175
00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.879
The crown Prince and Princess visited him in prison twice

176
00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:49.519
in one week, despite one visit per week rule. Norwegian

177
00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:52.679
ambassador resigned. Epstein left ten million dollars to her children.

178
00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:56.759
Meta meriek googled Epstein didn't look too good. Republican Association

179
00:09:57.080 --> 00:10:00.440
membership surge forty seven percent, don't want me to Marie

180
00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:02.879
his queen, thirty three percent favor of the Republic, and

181
00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:07.679
somewhere between Instagram milkdowns and sleep data testimony. Norway faces

182
00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:10.879
what observers call their annis horribilus, the royal family learning

183
00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:15.360
the hard way that somethings are better left unsaid. And

184
00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:17.600
there you have it. If you'd like to email us

185
00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:20.200
our addresses the Palace intrig at gmail dot com. Please

186
00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:22.399
follow us on Spotify, Apple, on the app of your choice,

187
00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:25.279
and you can also find us on Facebook and Instagram.

188
00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:27.679
I'm Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is

189
00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:29.720
crowning controversy Norway.