Although Queen Mette-Marit’s 29-year-old son is not a member of the royal family himself, he is the stepson of King Haakon VIII, and the late King Harald considered him his grandson. Marius did not participate in the procession – he arrived at Oslo Cathedral together with his half-cousins, the daughters of Princess Märtha Louise. During the ceremony, he sat next to them.
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Since Marius was recently fitted with an electronic ankle monitor as part of his sentence, the Norwegian media asked whether it was active during the ceremony.
To find out if Marius’s ankle monitor would be deactivated during the ceremony, the magazine “VG” contacted the police. However, the authorities did not provide information on this matter.
They did inform, though, that Marius’s participation in the funeral was coordinated.
Serving sentence for crimes
Marius is a controversial figure due to his recent arrests, trial, and verdict. Although he grew up with the royal family’s children – his half-brothers and sisters – he is not officially part of the Norwegian royal family, holds no titles, and is not in the line of succession to the throne.
In 2017, at the age of 20, he officially withdrew from public life.
“Høiby will not perform any official duties on behalf of the royal family,” the Norwegian royal court stated at the time.
In June this year, Høiby was found guilty of two rapes, violence against a former girlfriend, and numerous other crimes – a total of 34 charges were brought against him. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
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Prosecutors had requested a sentence of seven years and seven months. Høiby denied all four rape charges but admitted to some lesser offenses, including bodily harm, property damage, and threats. Shortly after the verdict was announced, he filed an appeal; the appellate court hearing is expected no earlier than next year.
While his case continues to be examined in Norwegian courts, the verdict is not yet final. However, since mid-July, Høiby has been under house arrest – an extension of his previous detention. At that time, he was released from prison but fitted with an electronic monitoring device. Oslo police state there is a “clear danger” that he might commit new crimes and that there is a risk of recidivism.
Høiby is serving house arrest at the Skaugum residence, which belongs to the royal family. In August, Oslo police extended his house arrest for another four weeks – it was supposed to end on September 7. However, last Wednesday, Høiby agreed to another extension of his detention period.
Over the past two weeks, Høiby has been allowed to leave house arrest briefly several times due to events related to King Harald V. On Thursday, August 27, as King Harald V’s health deteriorated, he was allowed to visit the National Hospital. The next day, Friday, August 28, after Harald’s death, he was able to go to the Bygdøy Royal Palace and the Royal Palace in Oslo.
Additionally, on August 31, Høiby was one of the pallbearers when members of the royal family carried Harald’s coffin through the palace. In response to outrage over his inclusion in the ceremony, Sekulic told “VG”: “It is hard to understand how including a grandson could be disrespectful to any victim of a criminal case. Marius is part of the family, even on such an occasion.”
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