Marius Borg Høiby will be allowed to attend Harald V’s funeral, where he could reunite with members of Europe’s royal families following his conviction.
The funeral of King Harald V of Norway will bring together much of Europe’s royalty in Oslo on 9 September to bid farewell to the monarch after 35 years on the throne. However, alongside the solemn nature of the ceremony, there is one presence that will inevitably attract considerable attention: Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Queen Mette-Marit, who has been granted special permission to attend the family’s final farewell.
His possible appearance at Oslo Cathedral would represent far more than simply a return to a major Norwegian royal event. It could also lead to his first public encounter since his conviction with members of European royal families who knew him when he was still a child growing up around the family of the then Crown Prince Haakon.
Although Marius Borg Høiby has never held a royal title and is not officially a member of the Royal House, his childhood was closely connected to it. When Mette-Marit married Haakon, her son became part of family life and developed a close relationship with Harald V, who effectively became a grandfather figure to him.
It is precisely that relationship that helps explain why Marius’s legal situation has temporarily taken a back seat within the strictly private family sphere during the ceremonies marking the late monarch’s farewell.
According to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, Borg was granted special permission to attend Harald V’s funeral. He had already joined the family procession accompanying the King’s coffin from the Red Room of the Royal Palace to the chapel, an image that demonstrated that, despite his current circumstances, he continues to maintain private ties with the family.
His situation today is very different from the one other royal families once knew. Legal proceedings concluded in June 2026 with a four-year prison sentence. Oslo District Court found him guilty of several serious offences, including two counts of rape involving incapacitated individuals, domestic violence and abuse against a former girlfriend, sexually degrading conduct, threats and breaches of restraining orders, as well as other offences. The verdict has been appealed.
That context makes his attendance at the funeral a particularly delicate matter for Norwegian royal protocol. The ceremony will bring together representatives from numerous monarchies, creating a need to clearly separate the family’s private grief from the intense public scrutiny currently surrounding Marius.
Among those attending will be members of the Scandinavian royal families, with whom the Glücksburg dynasty has particularly close historical ties. For figures such as Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden or King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark, the ceremony could mean coming face to face again with someone they have known since his earliest years within Norway’s royal circle.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain are also expected to attend as part of an international royal gathering that will place Oslo at the centre of attention for Europe’s monarchies.
