March 29, 2026

Supreme Court Ruling Rocks Marius Case, Palace Scandal Explodes - The Week In Norwegian Royal News with Mark Francis

Show Notes
Transcript

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 of new criminal acts." Mette-Marit surprise return to public duties Tuesday welcoming Belgian royals, first engagement in two months despite health deterioration. NRK "Debatten" reveals Palace received interview questions week in advance.

Media critic Anki Gerhardsen: "managed communications exercise" not journalistic scrutiny. Attorney Gunhild Vehusheia (Aftenposten): interview placed too much focus on Mette-Marit's regret, too little on Epstein's victims. Repeated phrases "I didn't know," "I don't remember" are "exactly the kinds of explanations from people on edges of abuse scandals who chose not to look too closely." Commentator Carl-Erik Grimstad: Mette-Marit in "pitch-black tunnel," Palace chose "over-managed communications strategy" when honesty needed.

Palace clarifies email account no longer exists (leaked 2012). Friday Supreme Court ruling lowers "sleep rape" sentencing benchmark. Defense: "clearly" affects case, seeks further reductions. Prosecution: already accounted for in seven-year-seven-month recommendation. Sentencing debate: "quantity discount on very serious crimes like rape." Media backlash: Defense attorney Andenæs calls coverage "heartbreakingly awful," "crushing."

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Callaroga Shark Media, Hello and welcome to Crown and Controversy

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Norway Weekly. Addition, I'm your Palace Intrigue host Mark Francis.

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Here's what happened during the week in Norway. On Sunday afternoon,

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Crown Prince Harken and Crown Princess Meta Marie were photographed

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arriving at Oslo prison to visit Marius borg Hoeby. In

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the backseat was Prince Severe Magnus, who had only recently

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returned to Norway. The arrival was widely circulated and quickly

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became part of the broader public narrative. The Royal Palace

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declined to comment, with Communications chief Yurivape reiterating that they

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did not discuss the Crown Prince's couple's private life. But

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when a royal couple is seen entering a prison just

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days after a high profile trial has concluded, the images

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speak for themselves. The trial wrapped Thursday after more than

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six weeks in court. A verdict is expected in early June.

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Then came the appeals court ruling. An appeals court ruled

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that Marius Borghoebi will remain in pre trial detention until

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the verdict. His defense attorney Allan Holliger and Deais said simply,

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we take note of the decision. The court cited a

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continued risk of reoffending, pointing to a strong probability he

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would commit further crimes, a key factor. While already in

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custody during the trial, Hoybe breached a restraining order by

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arranging through a third party to send the Frogner woman

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flowers in a letter on Valentine's Day. The court said

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this further supports the qualified risk of reoffending. The defense

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argued that the media attention had already isolated him and

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reduced reoffending risk. The court rejected this, noting the extensive

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coverage has not prevented the accused from being suspected of

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new criminal acts. He remains in prison until the June verdict,

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while the legal situation continues to unfold. Crown Princess Metamori

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made a surprise appearance Tuesday as King Philippe and Queen

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Matilda of Belgium began their state visit to Norway. Her

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presence had not been expected. Palace communications had indicated she

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would not take part due to her health. Despite that,

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she appeared alongside Crown Prince Harkn, King Harold and Queen

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Sonya to welcome the Belgian royal couple. It was her

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first official engagement in nearly two months. The Crown Princess

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has been living with pulmonary fibrosis since twenty eighteen. In

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her recent interview, she said, I live with a serious

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illness and it is what characterizes my everyday life now.

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She also spoke about trust in the monarchy. I really

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hope that over time this does not weaken trust in

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the institution. That would be very sad for me. Crown

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Prince Harken offered his support. It's during the difficult times

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when you have to weather the storm that a strong

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foundation matters most. That is our project. We're in this together.

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But the palaces hope that the appearance would stabilize the

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situation hasn't worked. The biggest controversy came during NRK's Debatan,

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where it was revealed that the Palace had received the

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interview questions roughly a week in advance. Media critic Unkie

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Gerhardsen questioned whether this gave the Palace too much control,

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arguing the interview became a managed to communications exercise rather

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than journalistic scrutiny. That criticism landed because many felt the

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interview didn't answer enough. Meta Mauritz said she regretted the friendship,

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that she'd been manipulated, that she didn't fully understand what

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kind of man Epstein was, but much of the Norwegian

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media came away feeling this was a carefully prepared response

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designed to contain damage rather than resolve underlying questions. Some

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of the strongest criticism came from attorney gunhild Veshweyer in

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Often Poston, who argued the interview didn't offer any form

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of redress for the real victims. Her argument was that

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the framing placed too much focus on Crown Princess's regret

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and too little on the people actually harmed by Epstein.

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Beshweer wrote that Meta Marie says she takes full responsibility,

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but doesn't actually do so meaningfully, objecting to repeated phrases

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like I didn't know, I didn't understand, I don't remember.

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These are exactly the kinds of explanations often heard from

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people on the edges of abuse scandals who choose not

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to look too closely. More Crown and controversy in just

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a Moment, political commentator Carl Eric Grimstard wrote in Netavism

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that Metamory is in a pitch black tunnel because of

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the combined strain of illness scandal in her son's legal case.

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His view, the Palace has chosen the strangely overmanaged communications

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strategy at exactly the moment when plain spoken honesty would

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have served them better. That sense was reinforced by the

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email account issue. The Pallace clarified that the account connected

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to the Epstein correspondence no longer exists. It and its

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password were leaked in twenty twelve, so the Crown Princess

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cannot retrieve those emails that may be entirely true. But

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in a case already clouded by delayed answers and incomplete records,

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every missing detail contributes to the feeling that the public

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still doesn't have the whole story. Pr expert Tron Albert's

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Yellbread noted that Meta Marie couldn't have returned to public

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duties without first doing the NRK interview. She could never

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have done what she did Tuesday if she had not

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spoken to NRK last week. It would have been very,

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very provocative. But the core question remains, why did the

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friendship continue as long as it did. What did she

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understand and when? Why didn't she do more once she

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felt uneasy? And why does every answer still come with

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a carefully drawn boundary? And then Friday brought a development

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that could affect Marius's eventual sentence. Norway Is Supreme Court

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issued a ruling in a separate case that lowers the

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Benchmark's sentence for sleep rape cases allegations where the complainant

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was asleep or otherwise unable to resist. The court held

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that such offenses can, under certain circumstances, be punished less

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severely than rape cases involving violence or threats. This matters

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because Weeby faces multiple counts involving allegations that women were

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asleep or unable to resist. He denies all rape charges

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within hours. Both sides made clear they see the ruling differently.

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Defense attorney Peter Seculick said the ruling will clearly affect

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the case, especially given prior consensual sexual contact. He maintains

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Hoyby should be acquitted on rape counts altogether, but if convicted,

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believes sentences should be reduced even further than the new

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framework suggests. The defense is now fighting on two levels.

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Arguing for acquittal while laying groundwork for lower sentencing if convicted.

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Prosecutor Sterla Henrick'spoke said the ruling wasn't surprising that the

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prosecutions seven year seven month recommendation already reflected an expectation

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that benchmarks might move downward. He argued, the ruling doesn't

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answer all questions in Hoibi's case, particularly around prior sexual

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contact and relationships between parties. The legal fight has narrowed

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and intensified. The question is no longer whether Hoybi is

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found guilty, but what the courts believe the counts are

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worth in years. If there is a conviction, prosecutors will

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seek seven year seven months. Dan has argued for around

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eighteen months for acknowledged offenses with much lower sentences, even

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if additional council lead to conviction. There's also been renewed

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debate about how Norwegian sentencing works. During closing arguments, prosecutors

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assigned individual penalties that total over fourteen years, yet they

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requested seven years seven months. The reason Norwegian law takes

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the most serious crime as a starting point, then adds

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limited time for remaining offenses, rather than stacking penalties. One

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commentator wrote This implies, in other words, a quantity discount

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on very serious crimes such as rape, asking where is

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the logic and increasing punishment for repeated speeding offenses, but

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granting discounts for rapes. Meanwhile, there's growing backlash of a

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trial media coverage. VEG won't be fined after mistakingly publisher

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complainant's name during the trial, partly because the court acknowledged

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its reporting guidance may not have been sufficiently clear. But

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defense attorney Ellen Holliger and Deis spoke publicly about the

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coverage intensity, calling it heart breakingly, awful, crushing, and absolutely terrible.

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She criticized that she in detail being reported, arguing that

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there's a difference between informing the public and turning the

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public into an unofficial jury. The press will release that argument,

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especially in a case involving the step son of the

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future king, but the discomfort is real and becoming part

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of the case's broader legacy more in just a moment.

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So the Hoybe case now has several stories at once,

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a criminal case awaiting judgment, a test case for evolving

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sentencing law, a media ethics argument, and a story about

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damage radiating through one of Europe's most scrutinized royal families.

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The verdict is still expected in June. But between detention ruling,

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the Supreme Court decision, the NRK interview controversy, and the

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trial fallout, this case continues to move in meaningful ways,

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even as the court room drama has paused. This is

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the week the family visited Marias in prison with cameras watching.

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The weak Appeals Court said he stays in custody. The

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week Madame Marie returned to public duties despite health concerns.

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The weekly NRK interview was revealed to have been negotiated

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with questions provided in advance. The week critics said the

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Palace still doesn't understand the problem. The week the Supreme

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Court changed the sentencing benchmark. The week the defense said

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it changes everything and prosecutors said they'd already accounted for it.

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And there you have it. If you'd like to email

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us and addresses the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com,

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please follow us on Spotify or Apple or your favorite app.

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By Mark francis My thanks to John McDermott. This is

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Crown and Controversy, Norway

Supreme Court Ruling Rocks Marius Case, Palace Scandal Explodes - The Week In Norwegian Royal News with Mark Francis

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