The eldest son of Norway’s crown princess has been arrested on suspicion of rape, according to police.
Marius Borg Hoiby, 27, was arrested late on Monday in Oslo on a preliminary charge of having had “sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious or for other reasons unable to resist the act”.
A preliminary charge comes before a formal charge and allows authorities to detain suspects during an investigation.
“What police can say about the rape is that it concerns a sexual act without intercourse. The victim is said to have been unable to resist the act,” police said in a statement.
The lawyer for the woman who was allegedly raped, Hege Salomon, said her client “is having a hard time”. Speaking to a Norwegian broadcaster, Salomon also said police had brought the case rather than the woman, who has not been identified.
Norwegian media have reported that Hoiby has denied the accusation.
Hoiby is the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon, and the son of Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship. Hoiby’s half-siblings are Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18, and unlike them, he has no official public role.
This is not the first time that Hoiby has been arrested. In early August, police responded to a disturbance in downtown Oslo and briefly detained Hoiby on preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage, before he was released.
At the time, Norwegian media reports said police found a knife stuck into one of the walls of the woman’s bedroom.
Hoiby has also previously been charged with abuse against two other ex-girlfriends, as well as with threatening a man.
According to police, when Hoiby was arrested on Monday, he was in a car with the alleged victim from the August incident.
Police said on Tuesday that Hoiby’s charges had been expanded to include “maltreatment” in close relationships and “another violation” of a restraining order against the same victim. They added that a report had been made for driving without a valid driver’s licence.
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