The son of Norway’s future king issued a groveling apology Wednesday and conceded he was drunk and high on cocaine when he attacked his girlfriend earlier this month.
Marius Borg Høiby, 27, made the admission through the state-controlled broadcasting company NRK, which published a lengthy statement from Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s first born.
“Last weekend something happened that should never have happened,” he wrote. “I committed bodily harm and destroyed objects in an apartment in the intoxication of alcohol and cocaine after an argument.”
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The scandal has rocked the Norwegian royal family, particularly after crime scene photos emerged Tuesday showing that Rebecca Helberg Arntsen’s apartment was largely destroyed. Those snaps showed a shattered chandelier on the ground and a chef’s knife lodged in a wall.
Crime scene photos were displayed on Se og Hør’s cover this week.
Se og HørThe magazine Se og Hór also reported this week that a recorded call from Høiby—intercepted from Skaugum Estate—captured him threatening to “set fire to and burn” Arntsen’s “clothes and belongings.”
Høiby wrote in his statement that he’s long struggled with “several” mental disorders and substance abuse. He said he’s checking himself into rehab again after this incident.
Still, the disgraced ex-royal made clear that his personal struggles did not excuse him for harming Arntsen, who he also apologized to directly and referred to as “my love.” Police said the woman, also be in her 20s, was not seriously injured in the attack.
“I want to be responsible for what I have done, and will explain myself truthfully to the police,” he said.
Marius Borg Høiby, right, poses with his step-dad, half-siblings, and his mom, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, in a 2019 portrait.
ReutersHøiby had initially denied all accusations of assault. Norwegian media outlets reported the charges could force him to be imprisoned for as long as a year.
Norway’s royal family has remained largely mum on the scandal. They denied to speak on the matter even after Høiby’s arrest was speculated as the reason that Mette-Marit’s trip to Paris to watch her countrymen in the Olympics was delayed.
Mette-Marit gave birth to Høiby in 1997, about four years before she married Crown Prince Haakon. Høiby halted all of his royal duties when he turned 20 and has occasionally been labeled the family’s “black sheep.” That’s largely because he opted to get tattoos and be a motorcycle mechanic while his half siblings—aged 20 and 18—remain second and third in line to the throne.
