The son of Norway’s crown princess was released after a week in custody over rape allegations

BERLIN — The eldest son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit was released on Wednesday after his arrest last week over rape allegations, his lawyer said.

Marius Borg Høiby, 27, is the stepson of Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne, and Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship. He holds no royal title or official duties.

Police said Borg Høiby was arrested in Oslo last week for allegedly “engaging in sexual intercourse with a person who was unconscious or unable to resist the act for other reasons.” In Norway, preliminary charges come before formal charges and allow authorities to detain suspects during the investigation.

At the time, authorities did not say when the alleged rape occurred. Norwegian media reported that Borg Høiby denied the accusation.

Police are examining evidence seized in connection with Borg Høiby’s arrest and conducting witness interviews, prosecutor Andreas Kruszewski said on Wednesday.

Oslo police said in a statement that the decision was taken not to request further detention of Borg Høiby. “As of now, we can no longer see that there is a risk of evidence being tampered with,” the statement said.

The statement stated that a police investigation had been launched into “another matter related to sexual offences”, without giving details of the case.

Høiby’s defense lawyer, Øyvind Bratlien, said it was “not surprising” that his client was released.

“He should not have been imprisoned in any way,” Bratlien told broadcaster NRK. He later confirmed to the Norwegian news agency NTB that his client had been released.

NTB said the royal palace had no comment on the allegations against Borg Høiby.

Borg Høiby lives with the royal couple and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.

The future queen of Norway made headlines when she married Haakon in 2001 because she was a single mother whose previous friend had been convicted on drug charges.