Epstein links and rape conviction cast shadow over Norway’s new royal family

As King Haakon of Norway ascends the throne after the death of his father, the former naval officer must steer a royal family in crisis towards calmer shores.

The King, 53, has endured a string of royal scandals in recent years linked to his stepson, Marius Borg Høiby ; his wife Mette-Marit, now the Queen; and his sister, Martha-Louise.

Opinion polls suggest there is a crisis of confidence in the royal family. A survey found that one in three Norwegians wanted the monarchy to be abolished upon the death of King Harald .

The most damaging revelations have centred on Borg Høiby, 29, the new King's stepson, who was convicted of rape and assault in June and sentenced to four years in prison.

A few months before the trial began, the royal family was engulfed by another scandal as Norwegian media revealed that Mette-Marit had been a friend of Jeffrey Epstein in the early 2010s.

Less troublesome, but still a major part of Norway's public debate on their royal family, was Princess Martha-Louise's decision to marry a self-styled US shaman in August 2024.

King Haakon is arguably the outlier among his immediate family: placid, understated and determined to uphold their good name, come what may.

Born in 1973, he attended state schools in Norway as his parents were eager to ensure he grew up among "ordinary" Norwegians.

Having finished secondary school, he entered the Norwegian navy where he served as an officer on a torpedo boat.

He is a fan of skiing, surfing and music – which is how he met Mette-Marit at a 1999 music festival in Kristiansand.

Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby was, at that time, a commoner and single mother to Marius, the child she had in a previous relationship with Morten Borg.

An entrepreneur and well-known figure on the Oslo party scene, Borg had convictions for assault and cocaine possession.

The then crown prince married Mette-Marit, who has said her "teenage rebellion was stronger than most people's", in 2001.

In 2004, Mette-Marit gave birth to a future queen, Ingrid Alexandra.

The King adopted Borg Høiby, then a boy, as his own son, and for a period the family enjoyed positive publicity, with Norwegians embracing them as a modern royal family.

In 2018, Mette-Marit was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that required her to receive a lung transplant days before her son's rape conviction earlier this year.

Borg Høiby was a constant feature of Norwegian glossy magazines and tabloid headlines for years.

He was arrested for sexual offences in August 2024 and his trial gripped the nation, causing serious damage to the royal reputation.

In addition to the rape and assault convictions, he was convicted of filming a woman's genitals without her consent and breaking a restraining order. One of his victims was in court and wept as the verdict was read out.

The seven-week trial disclosed in detail the stepson's drug addiction, with self-made videos of sexual encounters and more than 800 electronic messages entered into evidence.

At the same time, the royal family was in the centre of a media storm over revelations that Mette-Marit had had a close relationship with Epstein, the US financier and convicted paedophile.

Emails obtained by Norwegian media showed that she had continued their relationship after he had been convicted of soliciting a minor. She later said she was " manipulated and deceived ".

In a 2011 email to Epstein disclosed by Norwegian media, Mette-Marit appeared to joke that she had googled him after his conviction for soliciting a minor, which she said "didn't look too good," before adding a smiley emoji.

In a 2012 email exchange, where Epstein said he was on a "wife hunt" in Paris, Mette-Marit joked in a reply that "Scandis [are] better wife material".

In another 2012 email, Mette-Marit asked Epstein for parenting advice about her son Borg Høiby.

"Is it inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my I5-year-old son's wallpaper?" she asked.

"Let them decide... stay out of it," Epstein replied.

In 2013, Mette-Marit stayed at Epstein's Florida house in Palm Beach for four days.

She has said she deeply regretted her friendship and has never been accused of any criminal wrongdoing linked to Epstein.

"[I] must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein's background more thoroughly, and for not realising sooner what kind of person he was," she said.

Now, all eyes fall upon her husband, the new King, to see whether he can turn the page on so many years of scandal.