Feb. 8, 2026

The Trial, the Videos, and "You Tickle My Brain" - The week in Norwegian Royal News with Mark Francis

Show Notes
Transcript

Marius Borg Høiby trial begins—38 charges, including 4 rape counts. Pleads not guilty to rape, admits drug offences including 3.5kg marijuana transport, restraining order violations. Arrested again Sunday before trial for new assault/knife threats—begins trial in custody. First victim testifies believes she was drugged at 2018 after-party in Høiby's parents' basement—"completely unconscious, doesn't even look like I'm breathing."

Videos found on his phone allegedly showing assault, later moved to hidden app. Høiby denies drugging anyone but acknowledges knowing about ketamine, could "probably have obtained" incapacitating drugs. Høiby breaks down crying on stand—"extreme need for recognition" as "my mother's son," manifested in "lot of sex, lot of drugs, lot of alcohol." Phone searches for "rape" and "lot of weird stuff." Tells court: "I don't remember taking them, but we had sex fully awake and willingly."

Crown Princess Mette-Marit Epstein emails emerge—1000+ references, "you tickle my brain," "soft hearted," stayed at Palm Beach home 2013. Poll: 47.6% don't want her as queen. Sex and Society drops her as patron. Royal House disables social media comments. Prosecutor: "Should not be treated more severely or leniently because of those with whom he is related." Deep Crown: "Equality before law is not platitude, but lived commitment." Norway's annus horribilis.

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Calaruga Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Weekly Norway version.

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I'm your host, Mark Francis So. This week and for

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the next few weeks, we'll be bringing you two editions

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of Palace Weekly. One will contain just the British Royal

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News and a separate one for the Norwegian Royal News

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because there is just so much going on, so let's

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look at last week in Norwegian Royal News. Marius borg Hoibi,

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the son of Norway's Crown Princess Madame Marie and stepson

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of Crown Prince Hakan, appeared before Oslo District Court this

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week to face a total of thirty eight criminal charges,

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including four counts of rape. Hoib, twenty nine, holds no

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royal title and is not a member of the Norwegian

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Royal House. Born before his mother married Crown Prince Harken,

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he has no place in the line of succession. Once

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affectionately known as Little Marius, he served as a page

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boy at his mother's wedding in two thousand and one.

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As he grew older, however, he cultivated a rebellious public image,

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frequenting Oslo's night life and later admitting to regular drug use.

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The case began in the early hours of August fourth,

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twenty twenty four, when police were called to an apartment

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in Oslo's Frogner district. Inside offices found signs of violence,

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including a shattered chandelier and a knife lodged in a wall.

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What started as a single arrest quickly widened as additional

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alleged victims came forward. Prosecutors alleged the four rape charges

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spanned several years, with incidents said to have taken place

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in December twenty eighteen, October twenty three, March of twenty four,

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and November of twenty four. According to the prosecution, all

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four cases involved women who were either asleep or incapacitated

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at the time. One of the alleged assaults is said

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to have occurred during an after party in the basement

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of Hoibi's parents' home when he was twenty one. Hoibi

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pleaded not guilty to the rape charges and several other

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serious allegations, while admitting guilt to a number of offenses,

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including sexually offensive behavior, a serious drug offense involving approximately

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three and a half kilos of marijuana, violating a restraining order,

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and multiple driving related crimes. The lead prosecutor Stirler Henrix

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Bow was explicit in court that Hoby's background should make

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no difference to how the law is applied. He told

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the judges the defendant is the son of the Crown Princess.

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He is part of the royal family. He should still

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be treated equally like any other person charged with the

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same offenses. He should not be treated more severely or

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more leniently because of those with whom he is related.

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The case was further complicated by events immediately preceding the trial.

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On Sunday evening, just days before proceedings began, Hoeby was

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arrested again on new allegations of assault, making threats with

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a knife, and violating a restraining order. Oslow District Court

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ruled that he should be held on remand in customer

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until at least March second. As a result, he began

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the trial in detention. The first woman to give evidence

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told an Oslo court of her betrayal and shock after

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police showed her videos which they say depict Hoyby sexually

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assaulting her while she was incapacitated giving evidence behind closed doors.

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The woman said she had no memory of what happened.

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After a brief consensual sexual encounter at the after party

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at his parents home in twenty eighteen. She said the

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encounter began consensually but ended quickly at her request, after

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which there was what she described as a big black

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hole in her memory. She was adamant she had not

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fallen asleep naturally, and said she had no recollection of

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anything further until police contacted her years later. Asked by

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prosecutors whether she had been awake or asleep in the

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videos shown to her by police, she told the court

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she appeared to be completely unconscious. It doesn't even look

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like I'm breathing. Asked whether she believed she had been drugged,

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she replied, that's what I Thinkage was recovered from Hoibe's

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phone during the police investigation. Journalists were not permitted to

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view the images or videos, but the court was shown

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recordings of the woman's reaction when police first confronted her

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with the material. On Wednesday, Hoibe took the stand and

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broke down in tears as he spoke about his upbringing

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and his behavior. He told the court he had lived

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with an extreme need for recognition from an early age.

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I'm mostly known as my mother's son, not anything else.

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He said, so I have had an extreme need for

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recognition my whole life. He told the court that his

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need had manifested itself in excess, and that manifested itself

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in a lot of sex, a lot of drugs, a

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lot of alcohol. He also lashed out of the press,

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saying he had been harassed since the age of three

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when his mother's relationship with the Crown Prince became public.

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He denied that videos found on his phone showed acts

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of rape, saying if I had thought I had material

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that showed an assault, I would never have kept that material.

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On Thursday, prosecutors directly asked Hoeby whether he had administered

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drugs to the alleged victim. He responded clearly an unequivocally,

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saying he had never drugged her. He was then questioned

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about his knowledge of drugs capable of incapacitating a person,

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including substances such as ketamine. Weyby acknowledged that he was

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aware of such drugs and said he could probably have

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obtained them, but again denied never using them anyone. Thursday's

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testimony also addressed search terms found on Hoebe's mobile phone.

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Prosecutors highlighted searches that included words such as rape. Asking

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whether this reflected a particular interest, Weby replied that he

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had looked up what he described as a lot of

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weird stuff, offering no further explanation. Investigators testified that recordings

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allegedly showing the assault were later moved from the phone's

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standard photo storage into a separate application. A data expert

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explained to the court that the app must be downloaded

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deliberately and is commonly used to hide images, videos, text files,

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and documents from plain view. The trial coincides with an

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exceptionally difficult period for the Norwegian royal family. Crown Princess

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Metamrie is facing renewed scrutine when the after newly released

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United States Justice Department files appeared to document years of

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contact between her and the elite convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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The latest batch of files reportedly contains more than one

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thousand references to metamriit including numerous email exchanges that suggest

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the two were in contact between twenty eleven and fourteen,

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well after Epstein had pleaded guilty in Florida two charges

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involving the solicitation of a minor. The emails include familiar

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and at times flirtatious language with Metamurice, describing Epstein as

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soft hearted, calling him such a sweetheart, and writing in

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one message, you always make me smile because you tickle

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my brain. Other exchanges discussed his so called wife hunt

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in Paris, which she described as good for adultery, adding

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that Scandy is a better wife material. One message raised

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eyebrows by asking whether it would be inappropriate for a

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mother to suggest warpaper depicting two naked women carrying a

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surfboard for her tea age sons room. The files also

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indicate that Meta Maria stayed for several days at Epstein's

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home in Palm Beach, Florida in twenty thirteen, at a

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time when he was not present. The Palace had said

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she ended written contact with Epstein in twenty fourteen after

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becoming concerned that he was trying to use his relationship

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with the Crown Princess as leverage with other people. In

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a statement issued by the Royal Palace, Meda Marie addressed

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the revelations directly, saying I showed poor judgment and I

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deeply regret having had any contact with Epstein. It is

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simply embarrassing. She also expressed her deep sympathy and solidarity

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with Epstein's victims. Norwegian Prime Minister Eunice Garstau said he

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agreed that the Crown Princess had shown poor judgment, but

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declined further comment. A survey conducted on behalf of TV

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two found that forty seven percent of respondents do not

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believe Crown Princess Metamory should become Norway's next queen. The

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poll questioned eight hundred and thirty four people and was

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carried out shortly after the publication of the newly released

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Epstein related files. Norway's largest specialist care center for sexual

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and reproductive health and rights has announced that it is

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ending its collaboration with the Crown Princess. On February second,

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Sex and Society confirmed it would no longer work with

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her in her role as patron of the Scumeless Prize.

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Norway's Royal Household has disabled comments across much of its

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official social media presence. On Tuesday evening, commenting had been

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turned off on the Instagram account which represents the Norwegian

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Royal House. On Facebook, the Royal Household has restricted who

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is able to comment on posts responding to the criticism,

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the Palace's head of Communications said, there are many comments

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that violate our ethical guidelines and therefore we consider it

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right to close comments on Instagram and Facebook. On Wednesday,

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the Royal Palace confirmed that Crown Princess had postponed a

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private trip until further notice, without providing additional details. Royal

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insider Deep Crown tells us the unfolding trial of Marius

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borg Weebi represents a critical moment for the Norwegian royal institution,

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revealing the profound principles that underpin modern constitutional monarchies. The

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prosecution's resolute stance that royal blood confers no special privilege

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before the law is precisely the type of judicial integrity

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that maintains public trust in both the legal system and

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the royal family. What distinguishes this case is not merely

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the serious nature of the allegations, but the transparent manner

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in which the Norwegian justice system is proceeding. The lead

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prosecutors explicit declaration that Weeby should be treated exactly as

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any other defendant speaks to a fundamental democratic principle. A

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quality before the law is not a platitude, but a

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lived commitment. More in just a moment. Despite the turmoil,

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public support for the monarchy remains high, when approval ratings

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reported at more than seventy percent. However, recent polling show

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support has fallen noticeably compared with last year, while supporting

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for a republic has increased. The trial is scheduled to

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continue until March. If convicted on the most serious charges,

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Marius borg Oeby could face a prison sentence of up

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to sixteen years. This is the week Marius borg Hoibi

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pleaded not guilty to four rape charges while admitting drug

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offenses and restraining order violations. The week a victim testified

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she believed she was drugged completely unconscious. It doesn't even

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look like I'm breathing. The week videos allegedly showing assaults

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were found moved to a hidden app on his phone.

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The week Weybi broke down crying about his extreme need

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for recognition as my mother's son. The week he denied

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drugging anyone, but acknowledged searching for rape and a lot

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of weird stuff on his phone. The week he told

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court I don't remember taking them, but like we had

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sex fully awake and willingly the weak Crown Princess Meta

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Marie Epstein emails emerged you tickle my brain soft hearted,

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such a sweetheart. The week forty seven percent of Norwegian's

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said they don't want her as queen. The week Sex

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and Society dropped her as a patron. The week, the

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Royal House disabled social media comments. The prosecutor was clear

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he should not be treated more severely or more leniently

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because of those with whom he is related. Deep Crown

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observed a quality before the law is not a platitude,

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but a lived commitment. And somewhere between the quart room

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testimony and the disabled Instagram comments, Norway's royal family faces

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what Hello magazine calls Anna's horror. Billus Son on trial

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for rape while mother explains why she stayed at Jeffrey

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Epstein's Palm Beach home in twenty thirteen. And they have

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it like to email us O addresses the Palace intrig

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at gmail dot com. And don't forget This is the

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Royals Norwegian version of the Week in News. We still

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have your regular British Royal version of the Week in

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News and that's available as well. I'm Mark Francis my

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thanks to John McDermott. This is Norwegian Palace weekly good

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Terms

The Trial, the Videos, and "You Tickle My Brain" - The week in Norwegian Royal News with Mark Francis

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