The Marius case has garnered significant attention in Norway due to the revelation of two crucial details this month. Prosecutors have charged Marius Borg Høiby with a total of 32 crimes, and the exact date is now set for when he will appear in court to give his version of events. The scandal, which broke exactly a year ago, has directly affected the Royal Family, plunging it into one of the most serious image crises in its history. Despite its members remaining silent and allowing justice to unfold, it is imperative to scrutinize Princess Mette-Marit's actions, as her schedule has undergone significant changes following recent developments.
Princess Mette-Marit of Norway has canceled the trip to New York she had planned for after the summer. She was expected to join Prince Haakon in the city to celebrate the bicentennial of Norwegian emigration to America, a tour that included Iowa, Minnesota, and New York. However, the Royal House announced in a statement that she will not take part in the international event: “The Crown Princess has currently been advised not to travel to the United States due to her chronic lung disease.”
She was diagnosed in 2018 and has since arranged her schedule around this condition, which has worsened. In fact, in March they warned that changes to the heir’s wife’s agenda would become more frequent: “She has daily symptoms and ailments that affect her ability to carry out her duties. The Crown Princess needs more rest, and her daily routine is changing more quickly than before. This means changes to her official program may happen more often and with less notice than we are used to. The Crown Princess has a strong desire to keep working, so we will organize her official schedule in the best possible way so that her health and her work can go hand in hand.”
The information released about the Royal Family’s upcoming public events indicates that Princess Mette-Marit will stay out of the spotlight in the coming weeks. At least until mid-September, she is not expected to attend any official engagements. The last time she was seen in public was on Tuesday, August 26, alongside her husband and the King and Queen, celebrating the centenary of Gamlehaugen Palace as the monarch’s official residence when in Bergen. The Sognefjord, Norway's longest and deepest fjord, surrounds the city, which is located in the southwest of the country.
At that event, her son Marius’s indictment was already known. He faces a possible sentence of up to ten years in prison, though the trial date had not yet been made public. That detail is now confirmed: the proceedings will take place from February 3 to March 13 at the Oslo District Court. The trial will run for a month and a half, with 24 sessions in total, since one day will be kept free of activity each week. "In our opinion, the necessary time has been reserved after consulting with the defense lawyers. We will also be granted time to present our own witnesses and evidence if the prosecutor has not gathered everything needed to clarify the case,” confirmed Ellen Holager Andenæs, a member of the accused’s legal team, in an interview with Nettavisen.