Sometimes, you feel like everything is working against you, like a perfect storm is forming around you, ready to engulf you at any moment. When it feels like everything is heading the wrong way, you can at least comfort yourself with the knowledge that someone is usually worse off. One group of people who undoubtedly are stuck in a perfect storm right now, is the Norwegian royal family. The family is currently in a deep crisis, which has resulted in a sharp decrease in trust for the monarchy. What has happened in the Norwegian royal family, and will they be able to survive after all the scandals?
The first scandal that has severely affected the family, is that of the Crown Princess’s son, Marius Borg Høiby. Marius,the stepson of heir apparent to the throne Prince Haakon, has been accused of 38 different criminal offences, such as four rape charges, domestic abuse and illegal substance abuse. The so-called “Bonus Prince” is not officially part of the royal succession nor the royal family, however his relationship to the Norwegian crown remains tight, and he himself has described Prince Haakon, who is heir apparent to the throne, as a father figure. Høiby, who is currently on trial for the 38 offences, has pleaded not guilty to the most serious charges involving rape and domestic abuse. In his hearing he has, among other things, stated: “I don’t sleep with women who are not awake” and went on to claim in court that the women, whom he is accused of raping, had a flirtatious manner. In the courtroom, Høiby went on by sharing his feelings around his upbringing, saying: “I’m known for being my mom’s son, nothing more” and “I have an extreme need for acknowledgment”.
The scandal regarding Marius Borg Høiby has, in and of itself, been a hard blow to the Norwegian royal family. However, the next scandal, that would come to light just one day before the trial against Høiby was supposed to start, has managed the seemingly impossible task of overshadowing the 38 criminal accusations against Høiby. On the 29th of January, a new batch of the Epstein files was released, which showed that Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway and Marius’ mother, has had extensive contact with the human trafficker and sex-criminal Jeffrey Epstein. They had extensive e-mail contact between 2011-2014, something she has previously denied. In her emails she refers to Epstein as a “sweetheart”, discusses adultery, writes that she is “dying of boredom” whilst representing the royal family, and perhaps most egregiously, she asks Epstein regarding pictures of “naked women” for her, now familiar, son, Marius Borg Høiby.
In spite of these two major scandals, the Royal Family did manage to survive a recent vote in the Norwegian parliament to dismantle the monarchy. However, the legitimacy of the royal family has taken a proper blow, from which it will be hard to recover. With the two rapidly succeeding scandals, the Royal Palace´s PR manager has without a doubt had a couple of really rough weeks trying to keep the sinking boat that is the Royal Family of Norway afloat. The Royal Palace has so far been able to stay alive, but due to the erosion of the family’s legitimacy, it remains unsure if they can go on for the foreseeable future. These two stories, despite how horrific they are, can give you a sense of calm. If you ever feel stressed, you can at least take pleasure in the fact that you are not the PR manager for the Norwegian Royal Family, trying to weather this perfect storm.
