- The crisis management at the Norwegian court fails: where is King Harald?
Behind the resplendent facade of the Oslo Castle, human dramas may have unfolded in recent years, the magnitude of which is only now becoming apparent. At the center is Marius Borg Høiby. That little boy, held by his mother Mette-Marit on the balcony of the very castle at their dream wedding with Crown Prince Haakon on a radiant August day 23 years ago, is now grown. The fairy tale of the perfect royal blended family, where a child from a troubled previous relationship of the bourgeois crown prince's bride seamlessly grows up alongside his two royal half-siblings to become a happy and upright member of society, was perhaps too good to be true.
Marius Borg Høiby: Childhood between palace and apartment
Once seen more frequently on official family photos and joint appearances of the Norwegian royal family, the biological son of Morten Borg, a convicted cocaine user and bon vivant with whom Marius lived partly during his childhood and adolescence, has appeared less in public in recent years.
Initially, this was attributed to his studies in the USA. However, it has now been revealed that he has been struggling with mental health issues and drug addiction for some time. His life straddling the king's palace and a bourgeois apartment seems to have led to an inner turmoil that he couldn't overcome. The current alcohol and drug binge, during which Marius is said to have attacked his current girlfriend, was not an isolated incident, as has now been revealed.
Dangerous outbursts under the influence of drugs
According to Norwegian media, the current dramatic incident occurred in the apartment of Marius' 20-year-old girlfriend. Reports speak of punches, strangulation, and a knife driven into the wall. Mette-Marit's son has since given a shocking statement, admitting to his alcohol and cocaine use and confessing to bodily harm. He also mentioned that he had undergone drug rehabilitation in the past, which he plans to resume.
His decision to make this unexpectedly open confession came after consulting with his lawyer, as two former girlfriends of Marius have now come forward, claiming to have also experienced violent attacks in their respective relationships. Borg Høiby is now officially charged with bodily harm and property damage. The police have already hinted that these charges could be expanded.
Did Mette-Marit try to influence the victim?
The fact that the concerned mother, Mette-Marit, is said to have contacted the victim directly after the incident does not make the situation any better. If the crown princess said more during the call than just inquiring about the young woman's well-being (for example, asking her to withdraw the criminal complaint against her son), this could later be evaluated in court as attempted witness tampering, which is a criminal offense in Norway, just as it is in Germany, even if members of the royal house enjoy immunity.
As understandable as it is that the voice of Mette-Marit's mother was stronger than the voice of royal duty in that moment, advising her to exercise the utmost restraint, it would have been more than clumsy. An ill-considered intervention could harm the reputation of the royal house as much as the criminal behavior of her son.
Palace Reaction: Dismissing
Meanwhile, the royal communications chief, Guri Varpe, consistently forwards urgent media inquiries about the case to the lawyer of Borg Høiby, stating that Marius, while a member of the royal family, is not a member of the royal house. A small but significant distinction, making this a private matter.
At the same time, the royal press office published an image of King Harald and his wife Sonja seemingly carefree watching the Olympic Games on TV in their summer residence at Mågerø on the island of Tjøme – an image that was, at that moment, far from ideal.
This raises the question of whether the King is fully aware of the gravity of the situation, whether he still has control over his own household. After all, according to the constitution, he is responsible for both protecting the institution he leads and ensuring order within the royal house. If he can no longer do this alone due to age, it is his duty to ensure that those around him can pick up the slack. However, this does not seem to have happened, with Norwegian media commenting that the monarch appears to have lost control.
Lack of Crisis Management
The charges against his stepson are a delicate matter for the King and the entire royal family. Given the severity of the allegations and the existence of similar past incidents, this could become a serious problem for the royal family if they continue to handle it in the current defensive manner.
Like the Windsor family in Britain, the Norwegian royal house is a family business. Many other companies in such a situation would first establish a crisis team to gain full control. However, this is not happening because the decision has been made to treat the case as a private matter, regardless of the potential impact on the institution of monarchy.
Consequences for the Monarchy?
We will likely never know exactly what went on behind palace walls when the crime was discovered. But there is no doubt about where the nominal responsibility lies – with the head of the firm, King Harald. In a normal company, questions would be asked about how the CEO managed everything, or what the "deputy CEO", Crown Prince Haakon, did to ensure optimal crisis management when he found out that his stepson had been arrested by the police and charged with assault. We only know that Haakon then traveled to Paris for the Olympics as planned, while his wife initially remained in Oslo.
Unclear is also when and to what extent the royal couple was informed. Perhaps Haakon and the palace officials wanted to spare the 87-year-old, ailing king during his vacation. Perhaps they thought they could handle it without him. But Harald is still the head of the royal family, and the Marius case is not the only scandal that keeps bubbling to the surface. At the end of August, his daughter Martha Louise will marry her controversial fiancé Durek Verrett, a self-proclaimed shaman who often makes headlines with his controversial public statements and actions.
Time for a change of throne?
The king also seems strangely passive on this front. Doubts about whether he still has what it takes to fulfill his role have now been publicly raised in the Norwegian press for the first time. When asked about abdication in January, when his nearly contemporary cousin Queen Margrethe of Denmark made way for her son Frederik, Harald referred to the lifelong oath he took when he ascended to the throne.
The fact remains that the criminal case against Marius Borg Høiby is a unprecedented event in the recent history of European monarchies. While there have always been great scandals, none have ever been admitted to involve violence, and certainly not against a woman from the immediate family. It reflects poorly on the Norwegian royal family that a young person who theoretically grew up in the best conditions could develop such mental problems and was apparently left to deal with them largely on his own.
If there were similar violent incidents in the past and it was clear that Marius was taking a dangerous path, the king as monarch and head of the family should have ensured that the crown prince couple, together with the biological father, took much earlier action for the young man. Even if this weakness in leadership does not cost Harald his crown, it will certainly cause significant damage to the reputation of the Norwegian monarchy.
After enduring a period of mental health issues and drug addiction, Marius Borg Høiby admitted to his past struggles and confessed to causing bodily harm to his girlfriend. His turbulent upbringing, straddling the royal palace and a bourgeois apartment, may have contributed to his inner turmoil and struggles.
With Marius' confession, it was revealed that two of his former girlfriends had also experienced violent attacks during their relationships with him. As a result, he is now officially charged with bodily harm and property damage.
