“I’m mostly known as my mother’s son, not anything else. So I’ve had an extreme need for recognition my whole life,” he told the court.
“And that manifested itself in a lot of sex, a lot of drugs, and a lot of alcohol,” he said.
The alleged rapes, including one said to have taken place at the royal couple’s residence, are reported to have occurred between 2018 and 2024, often after nights of partying during which Hoiby said he had used alcohol and drugs.
Prosecutors say the cases involved consensual sex that was later followed by sexual acts when the women appeared to be asleep or passed out, and therefore unable to consent.
Much of the legal arguments during the proceedings have centered on the women’s level of awareness, and what Hoiby would have been able to perceive at the time.
In his final arguments, prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo described Hoiby as a man “who thinks he can do whatever he wants”.
Despite his confused explanations and memory lapses, Hoiby repeatedly insisted that he was “not in the habit of having sex with women who are asleep”.
He also criticised the pressure put on him by the media, which he said painted him as “a monster” and made him “the hate target of all of Norway”.
‘Reign of terror’
The scandal erupted on August 4, 2024, when police arrested Hoiby on suspicion of assaulting his then-girlfriend in her Oslo apartment the previous night.
The media published photos of a knife stuck in the wall and a shattered chandelier on the floor.
One of his former partners, influencer Nora Haukland, then came forward and said he had also subjected her to physical and psychological abuse – described by prosecutors as a “reign of terror”.
During the trial, Hoiby acknowledged that jealousy sometimes made him lose control.
The women themselves did not file rape charges against Hoiby.
Instead, police investigating the August 2024 incident discovered videos on his phones and computers which they said constituted rapes, and contacted the women, who were unaware of the events depicted.
The scandal has embarrassed Norway’s monarchy and contributed to a fall in support, though it remains broadly popular.
It follows earlier revelations of Mette-Marit’s friendship with the late convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Hoiby recently asked to be released from custody pending the verdict to be with his mother after her health worsened, but the request was denied.
Mette-Marit, 52, suffers from an incurable lung disease that causes breathing difficulties and was recently placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant.
– AFP