Marius Borg Høiby News & Current Events Part 1: December 2023 -

[ladongas]

7

That is in line with what I would expect. Cocaine, cannabis, and MDMA are all popular substances among young people (at least in Europe and North America) and many people abuse all of them concurrently. I am glad no traces of alcohol were found in his body (as alcohol can be dangerous in particular when used in combination with cocaine and MDMA as far as I understand).

I wonder, however, what the fourth (unnamed) active substance was. Hopefully it is not something even more serious than the usual "recreational drugs" mentioned above.

If I had to bet! - I’d guess it might have been a commonly prescribed ADD drug such as Ritalin. While controlled, it is legitimate if prescribed, and would probably be unmentioned (to protect Marius’ privacy.

 

[hereditarytitles]

I need to read on Mette-Marist’s past because I thought it was a case of her being a model who did some drugs and had was a teenage mother. I’ve always been understanding because she was young and these sorts of things can happen when you’re finding your way in the world. Should that be a disqualifying factor for the role of a Queen? I didn’t think so because I assumed she was reformed because she took ownership of her mistakes and had taken responsibility for her actions. Should I reconsider?

I must admit that I always have problems when people point to the past of a person who did something wrong in her/his youth and explaining it that such a person would surely produce a child which is also going on the wrong way or pursuing a criminal career. There maybe cases that children who are raised in very difficult maybe even criminal, abusive or drugs abusive homes, might turn out the same as their parents, speaking of those poor children, that are taken away from their parents and are put into care homes.

But, as I understand, Marius was three years old when he became a member of the NRF, that is to say he became a member of a rich, prominent and functioning family, with a loving mother and stepfather, assuming that Haakon was or still is such a person, also with grandparents that excepted him.

Mette might have lived a "wild" life in her youth, his biological father too, but both of them turned into "normal" members of Norwegian society. His father went on to study and is working as a financial analyst, his mother married into the Royal family.

It's not that his bio father ended up in the street being a drug addict. He might have changed during his adult life, every person deserves a second chance.

Parents or most of them try their best in raising their children. In some cases they don't succeed and will ask themselves always "Why"?. And you don't get an answer. I am not excusing MM and Haakon how they have dealt with Marius. As many have commented they should have stepped in much much earlier before everything escalated and they obviously didn't.

Or, do we know if they tried? They tried and weren't successful? They didn't want to go into public with all of their problems and hoped it would go away somehow?

I blame them for having been too weak and careless about Marius criminal development. They should have intervened latest at the time when he brought criminals to Skaugum.
We still don't know if Marius has psychological problems of some kind or if he is just a mean violent person. There are people who weren't violent before but by years of drug abuse they turned into aggressive violent persons.

 

[Muhler]

I don't know how Mette or Haakon could answer those questions. I don't even know if Norwegian society can accept anything other than those questions been answered in Court.

Indeed.
As another poster pointed out, several governments should have warned the NRF, so there are also questions on a high political level. The likelihood of a commission investigating who knew and did what is very much a probability. That depends on what emerges during the trial. - Or from leaks. Because LadyFinn's latest post reveals the results of the tests Marius went through upon the arrest of Marius. That ought to be very confidential information.
I don't think it's possible to hide anything in this case anymore. So any involvement the NRF had in trying to cover up for Marius or using their influence is bound to come out.
And if a commission is appointed they will question people who will have very little interest in protecting the NRF. And certainly not at the risk of ruining their careers, be that political or professional.

 

[LadyFinn]

Indeed.
As another poster pointed out, several governments should have warned the NRF, so there are also questions on a high political level. The likelihood of a commission investigating who knew and did what is very much a probability. That depends on what emerges during the trial. - Or from leaks. Because LadyFinn's latest post reveals the results of the tests Marius went through upon the arrest of Marius. That ought to be very confidential information.
I don't think it's possible to hide anything in this case anymore. So any involvement the NRF had in trying to cover up for Marius or using their influence is bound to come out.
And if a commission is appointed they will question people who will have very little interest in protecting the NRF. And certainly not at the risk of ruining their careers, be that political or professional.

Regarding the relationships of the governments and the CP couple, prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre has been a friend of Haakon and Mette-Marit:
In 2022
"We refer to a letter from the Prime Minister's office on 17 November 2021 requesting the Law Department's assessment of whether Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is ineligible to participate in the proceedings regarding HRH the Crown Prince and HRH the Crown Princess' appanage.
The Prime Minister's competence in determining the crown prince couple's appanage was assessed by the Law Department in 2010, when Jonas Gahr Støre was Minister of Foreign Affairs...
In the statement, the Law Department concluded that Foreign Minister Støre was not incompetent...
In an attachment to the letter of 17 November 2021, the Prime Minister has given the following description of his current personal relationship with the crown prince couple:
"After 2010, the extent of private dealings has decreased. I remember that my wife and I have been to two private dinners at the Crown Prince couple's home since 2010. We have also stayed one night at their cottage in Ulvdal and have had lunch there on another occasion. I believe this was in 2013 and 2018 respectively. Apart from this, we only have occasional contact via SMS, mainly on special occasions when we send each other congratulations etc. I believe that my relationship with the crown prince couple cannot be described as a close personal relationship, which was the wording in the Law Department's statement in 2010".

§ 6 - Habilitet - statsminister Jonas Gahr Støre

Brevdato: 08.02.2022 Habilitet - statsminister Jonas Gahr Støre 1. Innledning Vi viser til brev fra Statsministerens kontor 17. november 2021 der det bes om Lovavdelingens vurdering av om statsminister Jonas Gahr Støre er inhabil til å delta i beha...

www.regjeringen.no

 

[sophie25]

I've always believed it and we keep sereng examples of it, yet its unfashionable to say it. Children suffer when not raised in a household where their mother and father are present and we see this over and over again. If it's death it can't be helped but many adults casually have children and think the children shouldn't mind when the family unit isn't there. One of King Harold's sisters predicted trouble ahead when M-M brought a child into the royal family who would never properly fit in and she has been proven to be right.

 

[Chimene]

I must admit that I always have problems when people point to the past of a person who did something wrong in her/his youth and explaining it that such a person would surely produce a child which is also going on the wrong way or pursuing a criminal career. There maybe cases that children who are raised in very difficult maybe even criminal, abusive or drugs abusive homes, might turn out the same as their parents, speaking of those poor children, that are taken away from their parents and are put into care homes.

But, as I understand, Marius was three years old when he became a member of the NRF, that is to say he became a member of a rich, prominent and functioning family, with a loving mother and stepfather, assuming that Haakon was or still is such a person, also with grandparents that excepted him.

Mette might have lived a "wild" life in her youth, his biological father too, but both of them turned into "normal" members of Norwegian society. His father went on to study and is working as a financial analyst, his mother married into the Royal family.

It's not that his bio father ended up in the street being a drug addict. He might have changed during his adult life, every person deserves a second chance.

Parents or most of them try their best in raising their children. In some cases they don't succeed and will ask themselves always "Why"?. And you don't get an answer. I am not excusing MM and Haakon how they have dealt with Marius. As many have commented they should have stepped in much much earlier before everything escalated and they obviously didn't.

Or, do we know if they tried? They tried and weren't successful? They didn't want to go into public with all of their problems and hoped it would go away somehow?

I blame them for having been too weak and careless about Marius criminal development. They should have intervened latest at the time when he brought criminals to Skaugum.
We still don't know if Marius has psychological problems of some kind or if he is just a mean violent person. There are people who weren't violent before but by years of drug abuse they turned into aggressive violent persons.

I’m in agreement with you on all counts. Individual personalities and tendencies are big determining factors when it comes to raising children. Two kids can be raised in the same household and environment, but still end up in opposite directions in life. This is due mostly to adaptability, instincts, and street smarts. Some people can make a mistake once and self correct while others need to experience failure, sometimes many times before they learn.

However, parents have a lot of influence in the nature vs nurture way of the universe. I think some ground rules can be established to try and prevent these situations. It also doesn’t always work no matter how hard a parent tries. When you have had clear expectations set, you will often hear “I can't do X because my parents will kill me” is a good example of that influence. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from getting into trouble, but a person who has that “fear” (for lack of a better term) of disappointing their parents will at least think twice. Again, it’s never a one size fits all and sometimes people can be hopeless. That should never stop us from trying because it’s for the good of all of us.

 

[Muhler]

Regarding the relationships of the governments and the CP couple, prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre has been a friend of Haakon and Mette-Marit:
In 2022
"We refer to a letter from the Prime Minister's office on 17 November 2021 requesting the Law Department's assessment of whether Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is ineligible to participate in the proceedings regarding HRH the Crown Prince and HRH the Crown Princess' appanage.
The Prime Minister's competence in determining the crown prince couple's appanage was assessed by the Law Department in 2010, when Jonas Gahr Støre was Minister of Foreign Affairs...
In the statement, the Law Department concluded that Foreign Minister Støre was not incompetent...
In an attachment to the letter of 17 November 2021, the Prime Minister has given the following description of his current personal relationship with the crown prince couple:
"After 2010, the extent of private dealings has decreased. I remember that my wife and I have been to two private dinners at the Crown Prince couple's home since 2010. We have also stayed one night at their cottage in Ulvdal and have had lunch there on another occasion. I believe this was in 2013 and 2018 respectively. Apart from this, we only have occasional contact via SMS, mainly on special occasions when we send each other congratulations etc. I believe that my relationship with the crown prince couple cannot be described as a close personal relationship, which was the wording in the Law Department's statement in 2010".

§ 6 - Habilitet - statsminister Jonas Gahr Støre

Brevdato: 08.02.2022 Habilitet - statsminister Jonas Gahr Støre 1. Innledning Vi viser til brev fra Statsministerens kontor 17. november 2021 der det bes om Lovavdelingens vurdering av om statsminister Jonas Gahr Støre er inhabil til å delta i beha...

www.regjeringen.no

Interesting.
There is nothing unusual as such about top politicians developing a personal friendship with royals, they do after all meet constantly and also work together, especially on trips abroad. And normally such a friendship shouldn't be a problem either in the sense that it should be possible to keep friendship and job apart.

I have two questions though: Did the police talking with Marius take place during Støre's time in office?
And will a PM have the power to, not only suggest or urge or pressure or request, but de facto order the police to have a chat with Marius? - That's of course a rhetorical question. Of course he has. So the real question is again: Did the talk with Marius happen on Støre's watch? Støre who also happens to be a friend of the CP-Couple.
Støre is still in office now. The government has been very silent.

A third question: If the Støre government was informed by the police about Marius behavior and who he associated. Are we then to believe that Støre, especially as a friend of the CP-Couple never told them?

 

[LadyFinn]

Interesting.
There is nothing unusual as such about top politicians developing a personal friendship with royals, they do after all meet constantly and also work together, especially on trips abroad. And normally such a friendship shouldn't be a problem either in the sense that it should be possible to keep friendship and job apart.

I have two questions though: Did the police talking with Marius take place during Støre's time in office?
And will a PM have the power to, not only suggest or urge or pressure or request, but de facto order the police to have a chat with Marius? - That's of course a rhetorical question. Of course he has. So the real question is again: Did the talk with Marius happen on Støre's watch? Støre who also happens to be a friend of the CP-Couple.
Støre is still in office now. The government has been very silent.

A third question: If the Støre government was informed by the police about Marius behavior and who he associated. Are we then to believe that Støre, especially as a friend of the CP-Couple never told them?

Støre has been the prime minister from October 14, 2021.

This is also interesting, Aftenposten has got information (you can read this paywall article via Google translator):
At the arrest at the cabin, the police were looking for evidence of abuse in close relationships. There, Marius' phone is an important piece, the police believe.
The police had previously seized the phone Marius had on 4 August. But when the police prepared the arrest and the search of the cabin, they also wanted to search older phones and other computer equipment Marius could dispose of. They thought this was also important to gain access to so-called cloud-based storage services. The police wanted to look for any evidence in the case on computers, external hard drives or cloud services, if they found this. They wanted to look for evidence on Marius' social media accounts and wanted to seize the phone Marius used. Marius' iPhone was seized.
The police have put what they call "significant" resources into the investigation. The aim is to reveal the reliability of the information they have obtained.

Har beslaglagt flere av Høibys telefoner – slik jakter politiet bevis for mishandling

Da politiet pågrep Marius Borg Høiby fredag 13. september, lette de etter eldre mobiltelefoner og datautstyr med tilgang til skytjenester. De beslagla Høibys Iphone.

www.aftenposten.no

Have some/all of the three women told to the police, that Marius has recorded or taken photos of the abuse?

 

[Muhler]

Støre has been the prime minister from October 14, 2021.

This is also interesting, Aftenposten has got information (you can read this paywall article via Google translator):
At the arrest at the cabin, the police were looking for evidence of abuse in close relationships. There, Marius' phone is an important piece, the police believe.
The police had previously seized the phone Marius had on 4 August. But when the police prepared the arrest and the search of the cabin, they also wanted to search older phones and other computer equipment Marius could dispose of. They thought this was also important to gain access to so-called cloud-based storage services. The police wanted to look for any evidence in the case on computers, external hard drives or cloud services, if they found this. They wanted to look for evidence on Marius' social media accounts and wanted to seize the phone Marius used. Marius' iPhone was seized.
The police have put what they call "significant" resources into the investigation. The aim is to reveal the reliability of the information they have obtained.

Har beslaglagt flere av Høibys telefoner – slik jakter politiet bevis for mishandling

Da politiet pågrep Marius Borg Høiby fredag 13. september, lette de etter eldre mobiltelefoner og datautstyr med tilgang til skytjenester. De beslagla Høibys Iphone.

www.aftenposten.no

Have some/all of the three women told to the police, that Marius has recorded or taken photos of the abuse?

IMO more likely they were looking for text messages and other messages where Marius is apologizing for abusive behavior (and/or blaming his girlfriends for his abusive behavior). Such messages would of course be evidence and certainly form a basis for further questioning of Marius.

Støre being PM since 2021, covers a considerable period of where Marius was associating persons with a serious criminal background. IIRC the 38 year old, who must be considered Marius closets friend in that group was sentenced during that period.
And Støre knew nothing? Nor said anything to Haakon and Mette Marit? Because up to arresting Marius in the hunting lodge, he was still very much associating with his hardcore criminal friends.

So either:
A) Støre informed Haakon and MM, and they either ignored it or did very little and certainly didn't close Skaugum for Marius criminal friends.
B) Støre did not inform the CP-Couple, but tried in some way to handle this unofficially on his own (with the help of his at least his Minister of Justice.

Did Støre inform the Security Board of the Parliament of what he knew, as he is supposed to when it's about threats to the national security? The security of the NRF very much being such a concern. The Security Board consists of members of different parties and what they discuss and learn is very highly classified.
And no one told the King or at the very least the Chief of Court?

 

[victor1319]

Mette might have lived a "wild" life in her youth, his biological father too, but both of them turned into "normal" members of Norwegian society. His father went on to study and is working as a financial analyst, his mother married into the Royal family.

Hmm, Mette-Marit a "normal" member of the Society? Then what did she have to do with the deceased Mister Epstein?

Perhaps she was helping him out not with some salt or flour but with "party refreshments"? Everything is possible at this stage!

 

[winifred]

Aside from the shocking details of the alleged crimes, I can't understand how accepting the Norwegian police seem to be of the constant flow of information about the case. Is this normal in Norway, because it surely suggests either money from the Press being taken for these leaks or gross incompetence on the part of the investigators.

I'd imagine in the UK this would all be considered severely prejudicial to the prospects of a fair trial.

 

[Somebody]

I think it's premature talking about the end of the Norwegian monarchy because of this scandal. Frankly, all European monarchies have had some pretty serious scandals in the last 20 years, and they've all survived.

Marius is being charged with some pretty serious issues, and, hopefully, Norway's justice system can deal with them without too much interfering from the Royal House and other institutions.

Lets give time to the Police, and the judiciary to deal with a pretty difficult subject, considering the institutional implications. Until the charges are brought to Court, and a sentence is passed, all our countries function on the premise of "being innocent until proven guilty".

Marius may very well be guilty of everything he's been charged with but, until the matter comes to Court, and he's sentenced, the Royal House may choose not to act against him.

Marius himself already admitted to at least part of the charges. So, he publicly made it known that he is not completely innocent.

The 'innocent until proven guilty' is a legal principle, not a societal or social principal. Moreover, most things that people are guilty of are not brought into the legal system... that doesn't mean that all of us are completely innocent.

 

[Muhler]

Aside from the shocking details of the alleged crimes, I can't understand how accepting the Norwegian police seem to be of the constant flow of information about the case. Is this normal in Norway, because it surely suggests either money from the Press being taken for these leaks or gross incompetence on the part of the investigators.

I'd imagine in the UK this would all be considered severely prejudicial to the prospects of a fair trial.

It sure is unusual!

But IMO it's down to no one as in no one at all within the higher echelons of the Norwegian police having any particular interest in exposing these links. Because then it may soon emerge that police commissioners X, Y and Z ordered officers not to press charges, ordered police officers to turn a blind eye, ordered detectives to ignore Marius and so on.
I also think this is pent up frustrations within the police finding an outlet.

Like I've said in a previous post there must be a lot of resentment within the police force in seeing Marius being chums with known hardened criminals. And seeing them and Marius doing things for that would otherwise lead to an arrest, but they are forced to turning a blind eye. And I believe, because Marius doesn't strike me as the greatest thinker Norway has fostered, that both Marius and friends would probably have been taunting the police every chance they got.
It gets even worse if the police suspect Marius of having been involved in smuggling drugs into Norway or transporting drugs or hiding drugs at his home at Skaugum - with nothing being done about it. He's been allowed to carry on as always, by the NRF.
It's the police officers who face the consequences of drugs on the streets. These police officers should expect the members of the foremost family in Norway to at least try and abide by the law, not flaunt it. IMO that's not too much to ask.
So I suspect there is a lot of payback with these leaks by the police.

Fair trial or not, they want to nail Marius for real.

 

[Prinsara]

they want to nail Marius for real.

Can’t do that if you can’t find an unbiased jury, can you?

 

[Muhler]

Can’t do that if you can’t find an unbiased jury, can you?

Has such a thing ever been possible?

 

[PhillyMonarchist]

I'd guess the PR people recommended that they go shopping together. It suggests they have nothing to hide, life is normal, and they do "regular people" things. They're not ashamed or hiding in the dark with lawyers.

Do we know for sure that isn’t from earlier in the year?

 

[Somebody]

Can’t do that if you can’t find an unbiased jury, can you?

The Norwegian legal system doesn't work with juries (that seems to be more common in Common Law countries as opposed to Civil Law countries). It's the judge who weighs the evidence and decides on whether Marius is guilty and what penalty goes with it.