Scandals the royals of Norway, Sweden and Denmark would moderately overlook

The Norwegian royal family has been rocked by scandal after the future King’s stepson admitted carrying out a cocaine and alcohol-fuelled assault on his ‘girlfriend’, in a statement released by Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Wednesday.

Police arrested Marius Borg Hoiby, 27, on August 4 following a night-time row at an apartment in Oslo. He has been accused of causing bodily harm and injuring a woman with whom he was having a relationship.

According to Norwegian media reports, police found a knife stuck in one of the walls of the woman’s bedroom at the apartment.

The day after the incident, the woman received medical treatment but was not admitted to hospital, her lawyer said.

But unfortunately, this isn’t the first scandal Norway’s popular royal family has had to weather – in fact, the Scandinavian royals of Sweden, Denmark and Norway have all had their fair share of drama and controversies. 

In 2010 the Swedish monarchy had to face the release of a bombshell biography about King Carl XVI Gustaf which shined a light on his ‘wild sex parties with strippers and lengthy affair with a singer’. 

The Danish Royal Family, meanwhile, was left in crisis after affair rumours circulated around King Frederik and his night out in Madrid with a Mexican socialite at the end of last year.

It’s also not the first time Borg Høiby, who has no official public role or royal title, has attracted attention for the wrong reasons; his ex girlfriend caused a scandal after she was photographed holding a bag of ‘white powder’.

Here, as motorcycle mechanic Borg Høiby hits the headlines again, FEMAIL takes a look at the shocking moments and claims the royals households of Norway, Sweden and Denmark would rather you forget… 

NORWAY

FUTURE KING’S STEPSON ADMITS ASSAULTING ‘GIRLFRIEND’

The future King of Norway’s stepson this week admitted to assaulting his ‘girlfriend’ ‘after an argument’ while ‘intoxicated with cocaine and alcohol’ in a statement which has rocked the Nordic nation. 

Police arrested Marius Borg Høiby on August 4, near Skaugum Castle, his family’s official residence, following a night-time row at an apartment in Oslo. He spent 30 hours in police custody, according to local media reports. 

He has been accused of causing bodily harm and injuring a woman with whom he was having a relationship. In July, Borg Høiby announced he was dating Rebecca Helberg Arntsen.

Following his a frank admission of his culpability and a grovelling apology to Ms Arntsen and his loved ones, Borg Høiby’s ex girlfriend, Nora Haukland, 27, took to Snapchat to accuse the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of violence.

Nora, who found fame after winning Norway’s Love Island in 2020, started dating Borg Høiby for just over a year before going their separate ways last summer. 

She has now made several accusations on Snapchat about their time together, claiming: ‘He has punched me in the face. He’s kicked me, he’s strangled me, he’s trashed my apartment.’

Nora – who is the second ex-girlfriend of Borg Høiby’s to accuse him of ‘psychological and physical violence’ towards them – said she was ‘frustrated’ that the former mechanic seemed to ‘pretend that this is a one-off case’

She said: ‘I thought I would keep my mouth shut until my ex’s statement came out, and then I felt a great sense of frustration. Marius speaks as if this is the first time it has happened. 

‘He asks for some kind of empathy, “I’m going to get help, I’m struggling, my girlfriend” and all of this felt very familiar. He also said he should get help when I left him,’ she claimed in the clip, according to Norwegian magazine Se og Hør.

She added: ‘Marius has been physical towards me. He has punched me in the face. He’s kicked me, he’s strangled me, he’s trashed my apartment. He has also destroyed things in Mum’s new house.’

Nora also referred to the allegations made by Borg Høiby’s ex-girlfriend Juliane Snekkestad, who accused him of ‘psychological and physical violence’ in an Instagram Story earlier this week.

‘But as Juliane said, the very worst thing for me was also the psychological part. Yelling, the threats,’ said Nora.

She continued: ‘I see him pretending that this is a one-off case and that he is only taking responsibility for something that is public. It bothers me. 

‘I also want to say a big thank you to Juliane who stood up, she found a strength that is absolutely incredible and I wouldn’t have been able to publish this if she hadn’t done the same and been there. 

‘And so I hope that everyone who experiences intimate partner violence finds the strength to leave, because it is very rare that it gets better.’

Earlier this week, Borg Høiby’s ex-partner, model Juliane Snekkestad, 29, released her own statement about the case on Instagram, claiming to have been ‘subjected to psychological and physical violence by the person in question’.

Sharing a post on her Instagram Stories, the model said: ‘The last few days have been strange and painful. In the last week I have received a lot of phone calls; messages… regarding my ex’s order.

‘First, I would like to send warm thoughts to those affected by the case. Although the closest family and friends have known about this, I now no longer choose to remain silent. Because I actually can’t keep silent any longer.

‘And to answer the clues: Yes. I have previously been subjected to psychological and physical violence by the person in question. Where the psychological violence was most brutal for me. 

‘I’m not sharing this because I want pity… Or to put the focus on me… This has happened before. And this must be stopped now,’ her statement read, when translated from Norwegian to English.

In his statement to NRK, Borg Høiby, labelled the ‘black sheep’ of the Norwegian Royal Family, said that ‘something happened that should never have happened.’

‘I committed bodily harm and destroyed objects in an apartment while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine after an argument,’ he added.

Borg Høiby said he had suffered with ‘mental troubles’ and struggled ‘for a long time with substance abuse’. He said he would seek new treatment and ‘take it very seriously’.

But he added that ‘the consumption of drugs and my diagnoses do not excuse what happened in the apartment.’ ‘I want to take responsibility for what I did,’ he said, promising to be frank with police.

He added: ‘For me, the most important thing is to say sorry to my girlfriend. She deserved neither what happened that night, nor the extreme pressure from both the Norwegian and foreign press afterwards.’

Mette-Marit’s eldest son also apologised to his family for his actions that have ‘greatly affected you’.

Meanwhile, since his statement, the victim’s lawyer Mette Yvonne Larsen told Dagbladet: ‘The last time I spoke to my client they were not lovers,’ – despite Borg Høiby apologising ‘to my girlfriend’.

Borg Høiby has already pleaded guilty and says he is ready to serve out whatever sentence is handed down, his lawyer Oyvind Bratlien told Norway’s TV2 television.

The royal family has so far made no comment on the arrest. 

Photos reportedly taken of the home in Oslo after the argument showed a knife planted in the wall and a broken chandelier, reported Se og Hør.

The day after the incident, the woman received medical treatment but was not admitted to hospital, her lawyer Mette Yvonne Larsen said. She told VG: ‘It is good that he is speaking out and admitting a drug problem and she is happy about that.’

Borg Høiby, son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship, was raised by his mother and stepfather with his half-siblings, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18, but unlike them he has no official public role. 

The former motorcycle mechanic, who lives in the Royal Palace at Skaugum, just outside Oslo, was arrested the day after the assault, but not in the palace.

In a move believed engineered to avoid embarrassing his step-father Crown Prince Haakon, 51, police arrested Hoiby at a primary school just outside the imposing gates of the palace.

Royal expert Trond Isaksen Norén commented: ‘It is not at all positive for the royal family’s reputation.

‘The King has decided that Høiby is an official member of the royal family, thus this is the first time a member of the royal family has been charged. That says something about the seriousness,’ he told NTB.

Borg Høiby faces preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage, and could face up to a year in prison.

Police had previously confirmed the alleged victim was in a ‘relationship’ with the motorcycle mechanic, according to reports.

Two anonymous sources also told Se og Hor that police had audio recordings of the crown prince’s stepson calling the woman and ‘threatening to set fire to and burn the girl’s clothes and belongings’.

FEMAIL contacted the Norwegian Royal Household for comment, who said: ‘We refer to Marius Borg Høiby’s attorney in this matter.’

Øyvind Bratlien, the defence lawyer hired by Borg Høiby, has also been contacted by FEMAIL.

Mette Yvonne Larsen, the assistance lawyer for the woman involved in the case, told Se og Hør that the woman is on sick leave, having had medical supervision. She has not requested a restraining order or been admitted to hospital.

But Mette-Marit and her husband Haakon, who is Princess Anne’s godson, refused to let the royal shock deter them from their plans this weekend – with the royal couple photographed enjoying the Olympics on Saturday.

The royal mother was full of smiles as she cheered on athletes in the Men’s 5000m final at the Stade de France in Paris, on Saturday, after watching the gold medal handball match between Norway and France. 

Mette-Marit – who also joined her husband on Friday to watch the athletics – put on an enthusiastic display, waving to crowds whilst by the Prince’s side, despite the news of her son’s arrest.

Police said they were called to an Oslo address early Sunday after an overnight altercation in an apartment.

A man in his 20s was arrested over the incident and released from custody the following day, police said in a statement.

‘As it has been made known in several media that this (person) is Marius Borg Høiby, the police confirm that it is Høiby who is a suspect in the case.’

Police said he was suspected of causing ‘bodily harm and damage’. They did not identify the woman, saying only there was ‘relationship between the accused and the victim’.

Norwegian news agency NTB said that Mette-Marit had postponed a planned trip to attend the Olympic Games in Paris while her husband Haakon travelled to the French capital. The reason for the postponement was not given.

In Paris, Haakon told Norwegian reporters that ‘it is a serious matter when the police are involved in the way they are, but at the same time it is not right for me to go into the details of the case.’

The police’s security service (PST), which is responsible for the security of the royal family, confirmed to Nettavisen that they are aware of the incident. 

‘We can confirm that PST was informed shortly after the incident. But we do not want to comment on the case further and we refer the Oslo police district for statements’, said Martin Bernsen, senior adviser in PST, to the newspaper. 

According to Lovdata, the Norwegian foundation which publishes judicial information, bodily harm can be punished ‘with a fine or imprisonment of up to one year, anyone who commits violence against another person or physically violates him in any other way is punished’.

If the charge is extended to grievous bodily harm the penalty can be up to six years in prison.

Growing up, Borg Høiby made public appearances with his mother, stepfather and half sister Ingrid Alexandra (who is the future queen of Norway) and half brother Prince Sverre Magnus on occasions such as national day.

However, when he turned 20 the royal court announced he was stepping away from public life and his profile was removed from the family’s official website.

‘Høiby will not conduct any official activities on the Royal Family’s behalf,’ a statement said, ‘on the basis of his wish to live outside the public eye.’

His mother Crown Princess Mette-Marit also published an open letter on the court website, saying: ‘Marius is, and will continue to be, a vital member of our family. He has always had a public role that has been very difficult to define.’

‘Unlike his siblings, he has no official duties. He won’t have a public role and is not a public person. Marius became a symbol for the unusual choice we made when we married.’

Borg Høiby – who lives with the royal couple and their two children – was previously linked to heiress Linn Helena Nilsen, but the couple split in July 2017.

CROWN PRINCESS METTE-MARIT ADMITS MEETING PAEDOPHILE JEFFREY EPSTEIN SEVERAL TIMES FOLLOWING HIS CONVICTION

In 2019, the Crown Princess of Norway admitted meeting paedophile Jeffrey Epstein several times after his conviction in the US and apologised.

Princess Mette-Marit met with the disgraced financier on an unknown number of occasions between 2011 and 2013, following an introduction by mutual acquaintances.

The meetings took place after Epstein – who was found hanged in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 awaiting a trial in the US on federal charges of sex trafficking – was convicted of sex offences, including soliciting a child for prostitution, in 2008.

Meetings between Epstein and the crown princess occurred in social settings, mostly in the US, with one instance of the pair meeting in Norway, according to the Dagens Næringsliv newspaper. 

In December 2019, the Crown Princess issued an apology for having met the billionaire, who has also dragged fellow royal, Britain’s Prince Andrew, into controversy over their friendship.

In a statement issued following pressure from the DN newspaper, a Norwegian palace spokeswoman said the crown princess was not aware of the seriousness of Epstein’s crimes when they met.

It said: ‘I never would have associated with Mr. Epstein if I had been aware of the seriousness of the crimes he committed. I should have investigated his past more thoroughly, and I am sorry that I didn’t.’

Initially the palace admitted the princess had ‘a relation’ with Epstein but then 11 days after first being contacted about the allegations, confirmed their were several meetings. 

In 2008 Epstein admitted and was convicted in Florida of procuring an under-age girl for prostitution and he served 13 months in prison after cutting a controversial plea deal with the district attorney.

Epstein donated large amounts of money to the International Peace Institute in New York that is run by former Norwegian diplomat Terje Rod-Larsen, reports in the Norwegian media revealed.

Princess Mette-Marit met with Epstein in the Norwegian capital, but the palace would not disclose which of the financier’s homes in Florida, New York or Paris she visited.

Her husband, Crown Prince Haakon, also reportedly ‘met Epstein on the street’, when they were on holiday in St Barts in the Caribdean, a spokesman added. 

She cut contact with the billionaire in 2013, according to Norwegian media reports. 

Guri Varpe, communications chief at the Royal Palace at the time, said other people were also present at all of the crown princess’ meetings with Epstein.

He told DN that the princess feared he was using his connection with her for his own ends, adding: ‘One of the meetings was at Epstein’s home. In addition, the crown princess had a brief meeting with Epstein once when he was in Oslo.

‘The crown princess did not of course know about the offences that were later revealed either.

‘The crown princess chose to end her contact with Epstein, because she had the impression among other things that Epstein tried to use the connection he’d had with the crown princess in regards to other people.’ 

Princess Mette-Marit regrets her association with Epstein, according to reports. 

She said via a spokeswoman: ‘Through my longtime work with international health issues, I have seen the great damage that sexual assault does to children and women. 

‘We all share responsibility to fight sexual assault and support victims, and I want to express my deep sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the assaults Jeffrey Epstein has carried out.’

PRINCESS MARTHA LOUISE FORCED TO STEP DOWN AS WORKING ROYAL OVER FIANCE’S VIEWS

Princess Martha Louise, who describes herself as ‘spiritual’ and claims to be a clairvoyant, spoke to the BBC in May 2023 after announced she was stepping back from royal duties in November, admitting it had been a process filled with ‘turmoil’.

The daughter of King Harald V, 52, discussed how her her self-professed shaman fiancé Durek Verrett’s controversial ‘views’ had contributed to how the public viewed her position in the royal family.

She said: ‘The Norwegian people I guess… have decided it’s best for me to step down because of his views about things.’

Durek was dropped by his publisher shortly after the couple announced their engagement in June 2022 over pseudoscientific claims he made in his book ‘Spirit Hacking’. Among the claims were that children ‘can get cancer from being unhappy’. 

Durek has also claimed he once came back from the dead, recovering from a month-long coma, by letting his soul ‘burn’ and he has also spoken of having to undergo a kidney transplant from his sister as a child.

It is unclear why he needed the kidney or how he became wheelchair bound, as he has described. The illness which sent him into a coma is also undisclosed.

Princess Martha Louise’s comments echoed an interview she gave on Swedish TV in March 2023, in which she claimed she had ‘received the most criticism of anyone in Norway’ for her spiritual beliefs. 

As she sat down with Anna Hedenmo on Min Sanning – which translates to My Truth – the royal said she felt she needed to step back because of public image.

She said: ‘I am probably the one in Norway who has received the most criticism of alrll, I think.’ 

PRINCESS MARTHA LOUISE’S PUBLIC ROW WITH ESTRANGED MOTHER-IN-LAW

Last month, the couple reportedly issued a cease-and-desist letter to his estranged 81-year-old mother and threatened legal action over her ‘slander’ and ‘false statements’.

Durek explained on Instagram how the pair believe their decision is ‘the only remaining option for change’.

He said his mother Veruschka Urquhart has ‘repeatedly slandered our characters through false statements showing a significant lack of care and love towards Märtha, myself, and our respective families’.

In interviews with celebrity magazine Se og Hør, Veruschka has labelled her son ‘dangerous’, alleging that he had ‘brainwashed’ the princess and that their family was not as wealthy as Durek has tried to make out.

The publication claimed last month to be sharing the ‘shock letter, word for word’, in which Märtha has reportedly threatened her future mother-in-law with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, if she does not retract what she has said.

The letter from ‘Shaman Durek and Princess Martha Louise’ allegedly reads: ‘We are writing to order you to refrain from defaming, disparaging and making false and provocative statements about Shaman Durek. 

‘If you do not fully and loyally comply with this order, and choose not to deny your statements, Shaman Durek will use the civil remedies at his disposal against you to the extent possible under the law, including seeking damages of millions of dollars. To put it plainly, Shaman Durek will sue you.’

The princess’s manager reportedly confirmed to newspaper VG that the letter was sent from the royal and her partner.  

Following the reports, Durek took to Instagram to explain his reasoning, saying: ‘I wanted to clarify Märtha Louise’s and my recent decision to issue a cease-and-desist letter to my mother, Veruschka.

‘VG’s research earlier this year has uncovered Veruschka being in a paid contract with Se og Hør, and she has, because of this contract, repeatedly slandered our characters through false statements showing a significant lack of care and love towards Märtha, myself, and our respective families. 

‘The cease-and-desist letter directly addresses these issues and is a standard procedure in the United States when defamatory situations occur. 

‘Regrettably, we have found the cease-and-desist letter to be the only remaining option for change. We are sorry that it has come to this step. We see no other options.’

He continued in the post: ‘Veruschka has been estranged from much of our family for a considerable period. 

‘As previously expressed in VG @vgnett, our family is deeply concerned for her mental health and well-being and has made numerous efforts to help her achieve a better quality of life. 

‘Unfortunately, she has rejected the guidance and support offered by most of her children, including myself. Instead of communicating with us as a family, she has chosen to go to the press with continuous fabrications. 

‘Her false claims about me are regrettably a ploy to secure a position with Se og Hør to support her livelihood.

‘This estrangement extends to my younger brother Brandon and his family, my older sister Angelina and her family, Martha, and myself. Despite this, our family remains united in our stance against her actions.

‘We hope this clarifies our position on this matter. Sincerely, Durek D. Verrett,’ he concluded his post, in which he shared a picture of him and his partner, posing on a beach in sunglasses and vibrant outfits.

In April, Martha Louise furiously hit back at her future mother-in-law’s claims that Durek ‘was not from a wealthy family’.

In a defiant Instagram post, the royal included comments from one of Durek’s former classmates who insisted he was ‘one of the richest kids’ in their school.

Martha Louise’s social media rant comes after her future mother-in-law Veruschka gave another interview to celebrity magazine Se og Hør – having previously labelled her son ‘dangerous’ and alleging that he had ‘brainwashed’ the royal.

In the bombshell interview, Veruschka commented on the family’s finances and claimed they were not as wealthy as Durek – who previously told Vanity Fair that he had access to a private plane growing up – has tried to make out. 

Accusing the publication of ‘spreading lies’, the royal wrote: ‘This time they are repeating the lie that Durek was not from a wealthy family as a child […], when the truth is that he grew up in a good neighbourhood, his mom left him at an early age and it was in reality his mom not having money, not him.

‘She wasn’t even around. Durek’s father’s bankruptcy came after Durek moved out, so he was not affected by his father’s bankruptcy.’

Martha Louise then proceeded to share photos of the Californian mansion Durek claims to have grown up in, which was listed for over $3m when it was last on the market.

She continued: ‘This is the house Durek grew up in in Foster City, California. It is worth more than NOK 30mill today and is 321 square meters(3460 square feet).’ 

The images show a sprawling open-plan living and kitchen area and large front garden. 

The final image in the Instagram carousel was a statement from a woman called Danielle Washington, who claims to have attended school with Durek. 

It read: ‘Many kids were jealous of his family’s wealth as it seems like he had it all when it came to material items. It didn’t help that Durek was the ONLY person in school that had limos and taxis outside of the ones taking him to school because that wasn’t what people did here in Foster City. 

‘However, it always felt like his parents were too busy to take time out of their lives (and happiness) to take care of him.

‘When Durek became a shaman, it didn’t surprise me. He has lived his entire life dedicated to sharing love with all. You’d think growing up with tons of money and very little parental love would make him bitter or arrogant. 

‘He is neither bitter, arrogant or acts like he is better than the next person. Durek is still the same jovial spirit I met many years ago who is open to sharing his gifts with all and someone I’m proud to call a friend.’ 

The Princess added: ‘It is not important to me wether he was from a family with money or not as a child, but the fact is that he was, and I am sick and tired of Se og Hør’s lies about us. And about Durek.’ 

Signing off the post, the royal wrote: ‘Please don’t believe what Se og Hør says about Durek or me leading up to the wedding. 

‘From experience I know it will get worse as we move closer to the wedding. It is so sad that it needs to be this way as a wedding should be a joyous occasion for everyone involved. Also for us…’

In an interview with the magazine, Durek’s mother claimed she had not heard from her son for over a year. In a previous Instagram post, Durek gushed about his ‘amazing and powerful’ mother who ‘raised him to be a leader’. 

In December 2020, Durek told Vanity Fair that he was the son of a wealthy architect and that his family had their own private plane and servants.

CALLS FOR PRINCESS MARTHA TO LOSE HER ROYAL TITLE 

Despite not working as a royal, Princess Martha Louise was allowed to keep her title – a decision that has been hotly contested in Norway. 

This is because of Märtha Louise reportedly using her ‘princess’ name commercially – despite agreeing not to – to sell gins and promote her clothing brand.

A specially made gin from Oslo Handcraft Distillery for the wedding of Martha Louise and Durek Verrett had her princess title reportedly referenced on the label of the bottle and the brand’s website. 

Her manager Carina Scheele Carlsen told Norwegian newspaper VG that it was apparently a ‘mistake’ to include the title at the start of last month and that it would be removed from the next batch of the bottles and the website.

But when asked by the publication why the royal used her Princess title in the letter to her mother-in-law, the manager claimed: ‘Princess Martha Louise is her name in the national register, and must be used on legal documents such as this,’ according to an English translation of the quote. 

Martha Louise was noted to have broken her ‘Megxit’ agreement with the King seven times in less than two years.

Royal expert Trond Norén Isaksen told Aftenposten, one of Norway’s largest printed newspapers: ‘When the agreement is not respected, it is time to strike Martha Louise’s princess title before King Harald’s life’s work takes further damage.’

The expert also noted: ‘In October 2022, three different opinion polls showed that more than half wanted Martha Louise to give up the princess title, while less than a quarter wanted her to keep it.’

Last month, King Harald V faced renewed calls to strip Princess Märtha Louise of her royal title after she reportedly used it in a cease-and-desist letter issued to her estranged 81-year-old mother-in-law.

Following the news, Editor-in-chief of Se og Hør Ulf André Andersen wrote a comment piece calling for the monarch to ‘take action’.

In the text, translated from Norwegian to English, the editor wrote: ‘The title of princess is dignified and hangs high in a strong monarchy. 

‘But now is definitely the time for a family council. The result must be one of two – either Martha herself allows the title to remain at the Castle, or the king puts his foot down for her.’ 

Norwegian online newspaper Nettavisen’s royal expert, Tove Taalesen, echoed this, saying: ‘I think that King Harald and Crown Prince Haakon should distance themselves more from the princess and Durek, if that is how they are going to act in the future.’

The expert previously said: ‘It is probably time to remove Princess Martha Louise’s right of succession to the throne.’

PRINCESS METTE-MARIT’S ‘WILD’ CHILDHOOD AND ‘STRIPPER STEP MOTHER’

Considered a ‘commoner’ by the Norwegian public, Mette-Marit was born to a journalist father called Sven Olaf Bjarte Høiby and Marit Tjessem, a former bank clerk.

She moved in with her mother after her parents divorced when she was young, while her father went on to marry a much younger stripper.

It was during her time at the University of Oslo that she experienced a self-professed ‘youth rebellion’, where she was no stranger to attending parties where guests dabbled in recreational drugs.

Years later, during a press conference before she wed Haakon, Mette-Marit admitted to her past ‘wild life’.

She said: ‘My youth rebellion was much stronger than many others. That resulted in me living quite a wild life,’ before she went on deplore drug use.

During her rebellious phase, Mette-Marit was in a relationship Morten Borg, who was convicted of violence, drunk driving, and cocaine possession, according to Observer. The pair went on to have Marius together in January 1997.

It was after the birth of Marius that Mette-Marit met Haakon, with the pair first crossing paths via mutual friends in 1999.

A romance blossomed between the two, but when Haakon introduced Mette-Marit to the public, many Norwegians were horrified about her past, deeming her an unfit partner for the heir apparent.

The pair’s decision to live with each other before marriage was also subject to controversy, given that once Haakon becomes King, he will be head of the Lutheran church, which is opposed to cohabitation outside matrimony.

BORG HOIBY’S EX GIRLFRIEND POSES WITH ‘WHITE POWDER’

Nora Haukland, 27, who found fame after winning Norway’s Love Island in 2020, started dating Borg Høiby for just over a year before going their separate ways last summer.

But she caused scandal when appearing to hold a bag of ‘white powder’ in a photograph of her posted to Instagram by friend and fellow reality star Sophie Elise Isachsen.

Shared in February 2023, the snap showed the two pals posing up a storm in stylish outfits, with the caption: ‘Life is a billion times more fun when you don’t care about anything.’

But the party snap backfired after fans spotted Nora holding a bag in her left hand, which seemed to contain white powder. 

Speculation quickly began over whether the powder was actually cocaine, according to Bild.

The photo was quickly deleted from the friend’s profile, however Norwegian media shared the snap afterwards – while Borg Høiby and his then girlfriend apparently fled to Barbados.

‘I have spent the last few weeks trying to sort things out with the people I love and work with. The photo should never have been published, I don’t want to romanticize anything, and I am terribly sorry,’ Nora’s friend Sophie said amid the scandal.

Nora met Borg Høiby at a party in April 2022 and half a year later, their relationship became public.

Following his arrest, the ex girlfriend shared a cryptic message on her Snapchat, in which she said: ‘My head is very chaotic, it’s up and down, and I’ve felt every possible emotion in the last few hours.’ 

Nora started her message on the social media app with: ‘Hello guys… What to say… It’s been a strange few hours.

‘I don’t have much to say right now,’ added the influencer before speaking about her ‘very chaotic’ mind, according to Se og Hør.

DENMARK

AFFAIR RUMOURS ‘ROCKED’ QUEEN MARY AND FREDERIK’S MARRIAGE

Queen Mary and King Frederik of Denmark were married on May 14, 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral, after first meeting one another during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

But this year there marriage has been plagued with rumours since the King was pictured out in Madrid with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova last year.

Snaps of the pair showed them heading to a traditional Flamenco restaurant in the Spanish capital, where Genoveva lives, where Spanish magazine Lecturas reported they dined together until the early hours.

Following publication of the photos, rumours of an affair between the pair circulated. 

It eventually resulted in Genoveva, 47, issuing a statement denying any kind of romantic relationship between herself and the royal and slamming the ‘malicious’ rumours.

However cracks seemingly began to appear in Queen Mary and King Frederik’s relationship following his night out with the socialite. 

It was even claimed that Queen Margrethe, 84, acted decisively to end her reign and promote her son in a ‘shrewd’ bid to save the Danish monarchy amid the rumours of an affair, royal experts told MailOnline.

The Danish royal announced in her annual New Year’s Eve speech that she would be stepping down on January 14 – the first abdication in the Nordic state for 500 years.

Royal commentators said Margrethe ‘deliberately’ dropped a ‘massive bombshell’ at the right time to secure the future of the Danish Royal Family, and its ‘greatest asset’, then Crown Princess Mary.

Less than a fortnight before the announcement, Mary was spotted in tears and shared a cryptic post about loneliness just weeks after her husband was pictured on a night out in Madrid with the Mexican socialite.

British royal author Phil Dampier, also an expert on European monarchies, told MailOnline: ‘I think Margrethe may have worried that their marriage was in trouble and therefore she had to act.

‘The Queen always thought Mary was a fantastic asset to the royal family and if she thought she might leave it would have been a disaster. She will now hope that Frederik and Mary patch up any differences and work together as the new King and Queen.’

Australian-born Mary is hugely popular with the Danish public, and is often compared to her good friend, Britain’s Princess of Wales.

Mr Dampier said: ‘I never thought the Queen would abdicate and this has come as a total shock to many Danes.

‘I can’t help thinking that it has something to do with the recent rumours about Crown Prince Frederik spending a night with a Mexican socialite.

‘Mary recently spent time home in her native Australia and she arrived with her children but Frederik only joined them after a few days. She appeared tearful at one stage and posted some poignant tweets’.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said that Queen Margrethe does not wish the Danish monarchy to be viewed as old and out of date.

He said: ‘Queen Margarethe of Denmark is a shrewd operator. She has stunned the nation by announcing she will abdicate in a fortnight in favour of her son Crown Prince Frederick.’

Mr Fitzwilliams said that her age and recent back surgery may also have influenced the decision, but added: ‘She had always previously rejected the idea of abdicating’.

After the night out in Madrid, Frederik and Mary, who have been married for 20 years, began to display what looked like frosty body language towards each other in public appearances, most notably on a ski trip back in March.

Mary then seemed to fuel the rumour mill even further by completing a series of solo engagements without her husband present. 

More recently however, the pair seem to have been back to their usual cheery selves, and the couple have been long beloved by royal fans for their affectionate displays towards one another. 

Retiring to their summer palace in Graasten earlier this summer, the couple couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other; Frederik at one point gently placed a hand on his wife’s back. 

The couple married in May 2004 and share four children: Crown Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, and twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent.

Mary originally hails from Australia and met her future husband at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000. 

ROW OVER TITLES 

In September 2022, Queen Margrethe removed prince and princess as well as ‘His/Her Highness’ titles from Nikolai, 24, Felix, 22, Henrik, 15, and Athena, 12, who are the children of her second son, Prince Joachim.

She said she hoped it would help ‘shape their own lives without being limited by the special considerations and duties’ that a formal affiliation with the Danish Royal Family involves.

But like her abdication, the stripping of her own grandchildren’s titles came as a major shock and even sparked a royal row.

Prince Joachim publicly spoke out against his mother’s decision in the days that followed – claiming that his children born from his first marriage to Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg – and Henrik and Athena had been ‘harmed’ in the process.

Months later, the sixth-in-line to the throne admitted that ‘communication was missing’ within the Royal Family in the lead-up to the shock announcement.

Joachim told local news outlet B.T.: ‘There is a lot to work on. Communication was what was missing. Now we have met and we are on the right track.’

Shortly after his children were stripped of his titles, Joachim claimed that he had only been given five days notice before the news was made public.

Following the Queen’s announcement, Joachim spoke to Danish publication Ekstra Bladet outside the Danish Embassy in Paris, where he lived with his French-born wife Princess Marie and his two youngest children, and said his four children had been ‘hurt’ by their grandmother’s decision.

‘I was given five days’ notice to tell them. In May, I was presented with a plan which, by and large, was that when the children each turned 25, it would happen. Now I had only five days to tell them. Athena turns 11 in January,’ he clarified at the time.

Meanwhile, his ex-wife Alexandra said that her sons, Nikolai and Felix, had been left feeling ‘ostracised’ from the institution and the decision had come like a ‘bolt out of the blue’.

The Royal Household released a further statement, saying: ‘As the Queen stated yesterday, the decision has been a long time coming.

‘We understand that there are many emotions at stake at the moment, but we hope that the Queen’s wish to future-proof the Royal Household will be respected.’ 

In an interview with local Danish media last February, Margrethe had revealed she thought that it was better for her to take action than leave the burden to Frederik as the future King. 

‘It’s been important to me that this should never be Frederik’s lot to make that kind of decision,’ she said at the time.

‘It’s better that I did. Because then it’s the old lady that made the decision. I am not keen to get into it to be honest. I could mention some things, but you shouldn’t have to tell everything. But it is still a little bit too private to talk about.’

They are now Counts and Countess and referred to as Their Excellencies – and in January the Danish Royal Family updated their website to show the new status.

Speaking in last year’s New Year’s address, Margrethe admitted: ‘That the relationship with Prince Joachim and (his wife) Princess Marie has run into difficulties hurts me.

‘Difficulties and disagreements can arise in any family, including mine. The whole country has witnessed this.’

She added that she was ‘sure that the family can enter the new year together with confidence, understanding and new courage’. 

QUEEN CRITICISED BY HER HUSBAND FOR NOT MAKING HIM KING CONSORT 

Queen Margrethe’s 51-year marriage with Crown Prince Henrik was often in the headlines.

Born on June 11, 1934, in southwestern France to parents with the noble titles of count and countess, Henri Marie Jean Andre de Laborde de Monpezat married Denmark’s future queen in 1967.

Henri became Henrik and converted to Denmark’s state Lutheran Church. However, he found it difficult to fit in with Denmark’s egalitarian lifestyle.

In the mid-1980s, Henrik publicly said he wanted a pay cheque instead of relying on the queen, who gets annual allowances.

The law was eventually changed to give him roughly 10 percent of the annual allocation Parliament makes to royals each year. 

In a 2002 interview, Henrik stunned Danes by saying he felt he had been pushed aside in his own home, not only by his wife but also by his son.

Then, in 2015 he announced he would be unable to attend her 75th birthday celebrations due to illness- but was spotted, days later, at the most popular squares in Venice.

Resenting never being named king, in 2016, he renounced the title of prince consort and spent much of his time at a chateau on a vineyard in southwestern France, although he remained married to the queen and officially still lived with her.

In 2017, her husband Henrik surprised many Danes when he broke a 459-year-old tradition by announcing his choice not to be buried in the tomb that has been prepared for him and his wife.

In an interview with Danish magazine Se og Hør, the Prince explained just how deep his grudge against the Queen was.

‘If she wants to bury me with her, she must make me a king consort,’ he said. ‘Finished. I do not care.’

He went on: ‘My wife hasn’t shown me the respect an ordinary wife should show her spouse…she’s the one playing me for a fool.’

The late royal said in the video that he loved the monarch, but added: ‘My wife has decided that she wants to be Queen, and I’m very happy about that.

‘But as a human being she needs to know that if a man and wife are married, they are equal.’

Shortly afterwards, the palace issued a statement saying that he had dementia. When he died in 2018, she was pictured weeping at his funeral, despite their tumultuous relationship.

SWEDEN

KING CARL XVI GUSTAF’S ‘WILD SEX PARTIES’ 

He was seen as the perfect 21st-century monarch, insisting Swedish law be changed to allow his eldest daughter to succeed him rather than his only son.

For years, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden’s only acknowledgement of a racier world was the stable of fast cars he enjoyed driving – while his 45-year marriage to Queen Silvia was credited as a wonderful example of partnership.

Yet in 2010 the Swedish monarchy was rocked by the release of a new biography about the King which shined a light on his ‘wild sex parties with strippers and lengthy affair with a singer’.

Titled The Reluctant Monarch, it accused King Carl – who is a third cousin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth – of attending underground strip clubs with his friends and having an extramarital affair.

Following the biography’s release, King Carl offered a ‘vague’ statement, saying he and his family had chosen to ‘turn the page… and move forward because, as I understand, these are things that happened a long time ago.’ 

The controversial book revealed that the king and his friends had enjoyed the company of ‘coffee girls’ – women who would ‘entertain’ the group, consisting of members of the remains of Swedish aristocracy.

It also alleged that the king visited underground strip clubs. In the biography, the three ­investigative authors claimed the King had ‘wild sex parties involving strippers’, sometimes hosted by an infamous Mafia boss in a Stockholm club.

It was also ­alleged that, over many years, he had been protected by the Swedish secret service, Sapo, covering up embarrassing material in his wake and ­pressuring women to hand over compromising pictures.

According to the late Mafia-linked club owner Mille Markovic, who was quoted in the book, he liked having the King as a customer because it minimised the possibility of police raids. 

Following the publication of the book, Markovic claimed that he had compromising photographs of the king with naked women, taken at one of his sex clubs in the 1980s.

In 2021, the author of the controversial biography, Thomas Sjöberg, appeared on a new podcast, Motive, to explore with the documentary series creator, Nils Bergman, the ‘royal scandal’. 

In the descriptions of the six-part podcast, available via the Acast+ subscription service, it is said that the King and his friends, the so-called ‘royal gang’, for a few years in the early ‘90s had a standing reservation on Mondays at the underground club owned by Markovic.

‘Young women and strippers have in an almost systematic way been called into these party nights to please this elite group of powerful men,’ read the synopsis of episode two, when translated from Swedish to English.

‘The men have promised the world, modelling jobs and careers in the entertainment industry, in exchange for providing what they want.’

Several women interviewed for the book claimed they had sex with the King. After one big dinner ­celebrating a successful elk hunt, he is said to have enjoyed sex with two women at the same time.

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where the King of Sweden was ­inevitably a VIP guest, he is said to have spent $10,000 (£7,000) in the Gold Club nightclub, including two hours in a room alone with one of the strippers.

In some instances, Sapo agents have been used to search the homes of women in order to confiscate ­pictures taken at the King’s private parties.

‘If the rolls of film and pictures aren’t turned over, some ­unpleasant things will happen,’ the book ­startlingly claimed.

THE GLAMOUR MODEL TURNED PRINCESS

Princess Sofia and Prince Carl-Philip, the son of King Carl XVI Gustaf, raised eyebrows when their romance first became public – due to the then Sofia Hellqvist’s history of topless modelling.

The mother-of-three, who married her Prince in a lavish Stockholm ceremony in the summer of 2015, has previously recalled the ‘huge hate storm’ she faced when her relationship with the royal was revealed. 

She was addressing the issue of bullying as a speaker at the Let’s Make Love Great Again festival in 2018 when she described how the media furore ‘knocked her over’.

‘People had opinions about me and my relationship, and more,’ she told TV4 in an interview.

‘It was very tough. People had comments on everything possible, on what I do and how I look,’ said the Princess, who has undertaken charity work to combat hate speech on the web.

News of Sofia’s relationship with Carl-Philip – then one of Europe’s most eligible bachelors – emerged in 2010.

Sofia had some experience of the limelight, having starred on the Swedish version of the US reality TV show Paradise Hotel, and modelled topless for magazines including a men’s title called Slitz.

But it was evidently not enough to prepare her for the scrutiny that news of the royal romance would spark.

‘When my relationship with Carl-Philip became public I was greeted by a huge hate storm,’ the Princess told TV4, according to a report in Royal Central.

‘People had opinions about me and my relationship, and more. It surprised me and knocked me over for a period of time.’

Her own experience of bullying has inspired Sofia’s efforts towards combating the issue since becoming a royal – the Prince Couple’s Foundation, founded on the occasion of Sofia and Carl-Philip’s wedding, works to combat hate speech.

Born in Täby, outside of Stockholm, Sofia was encouraged to excel at school by her Danish father and Swedish mother, and eventually left Sweden to study in New York once she finished school.

She later returned to attend University of Stockholm, and began modelling to help fund her studies. Her glamour shots saw her crowned Miss Slitz in 2004 by readers of the Swedish men’s mag.

She was later cast in the reality show Paradise Hotel, which sees single contestants paired off with a new person who they share a room with for seven days.

Sofia’s risqué past meant that news of her relationship with Carl-Philip – who had ended his relationship with his girlfriend of almost a decade, PR Emma Pernauld – shocked even liberal Sweden.

The two are understood to have met in a nightclub in Stockholm.

KING CARL XVI GUSTAF’S ‘LENGTHY AFFAIR WITH SINGER’

In 2010, The Reluctant Monarch also accused King Carl of having an extramarital affair with a famous Swedish singer in the 90s.

No fewer than 14 pages detailed an alleged lengthy affair he had with Camilla Henemark, the Swedish singer and model.

Her response to the revelations following the book launch was not to deny them but merely to say her ­lawyer had advised her ‘not to give any comments’.

The book claimed that Queen Silvia was aware of this affair but was ­helpless as the King ‘had fallen in love like a teenager and, on one ­occasion, the King and Henemark were talking about leaving for a ­distant island, like Marlon Brando in Tetiaroa in French Polynesia, where they planned to live on coconuts’.

‘It’s terrible that this has all come out,’ said a courtier at the time. ‘But the Queen is a trooper. She will show nothing.’

When first faced with questions about the book, after enjoying a gathering with friends and shooting elk, the King said he had not read it ‘yet’, but he understood what it contained.

‘I have spoken with my family and the Queen and we choose to turn the page … and move forward because, as I understand, these are things that happened a long time ago,’ he said.

Recalling the monarch’s statement, the podcast claims ‘the most important thing for the trio of authors is that the king at least does not deny any of their claims.’

However, Thomas, the author of the book, admits he was ‘punished for digging into the King’s private life’, finding it difficult to get new journalist assignments.

Branded a ‘scandal book author’, he began work as a bus driver in Stockholm.

Episode four of the podcast, meanwhile, details the release of The Reluctant Monarch, and how ‘it caused chaos within the Swedish media… drawing headlines all over the world.’

Upon the launch of the scandalous book, the 75-year-old King’s image of ‘almost dull respectability underwent a remarkable transformation,’ suggested journalists at the time.

And in 2017, only one-fifth of the Swedish public polled said he was their favourite royal and some two-fifths said that he should abdicate, according to Newsweek.

Meanwhile, his daughter Victoria, 44, was picked by nearly 50 per cent of those asked about who their favourite royal was.

QUEEN SILVIA’S FATHER WAS A MEMBER OF THE NAZI PARTY

The wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf discovered in 2002 that her late father, Walther Sommerlath, became a member of the Nazi party during the 1930s. 

In 2018, Queen Silvia admitted that she has since carried out extensive research in a bid to understand more about her father’s involvement with the NSDAP since the scandal was exposed in a Swedish newspaper. 

When she married into the Swedish monarchy in 1976, Queen Silvia’s German father denied he had ever been a member of the Nazi party. It later emerged that he had joined the movement in 1934. 

In 2010, the revelations about Sommerlath – who was living in Brazil at the time he joined the party and only returned to Germany on the eve of war – plunged the royal family into crisis. 

But in 2011, a fresh report claimed that although Sommerlath belonged to the NSDAP Nazi party, he appeared to have been an inactive member and had even helped a Jewish businessman escape the Holocaust.

Sommerlath resettled in Berlin and on 24 May 1939 he took over the company Wechsler & Hennig.

According to Royal Central, Queen Silvia discovered in her research that her father had in fact helped Jewish Ernst Wechsler, a Jewish man, to flee Germany by trading his coffee plantation in Brazil for ownership of the firm.

Queen Silvia added: ‘It’s been 30 years since he died so now I think it is enough. I want to say to the Swedish people that I am at ease with it. I know that my dad is not the person that people have created him to be.’

She also admitted it was ‘a big shock’ to learn of her father’s Nazi links following the late businessman’s death.

Silvia was speaking in one of a series of documentaries to mark her 75th birthday when she made the admission.

According to Royal Central, she told Drottning Silvia 75 år [Queen Silvia at 75] that she didn’t believe the revelations at first but ‘when I got to see the evidence in black and white, I had to accept it’.

She added: ‘I’m not trying to detract from the fact that he had become a member. But you may have to think “Why did he do it?”

‘He and many others did not know what would happen after. Had he known, I don’t believe he would have become a member.’

PRINCESS MADELEINE’S FIANCE CHEATS WITH A 21-YEAR-OLD

In 2010, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, then 27, called off her royal wedding to Jonas Bergstrom after a Bournemouth student claimed she had a fling with the royal’s fiancé.

The couple had been engaged following a romance spanning eight years and shared an apartment in Stockholm together.

But the then 31-year-old prince-to-be was alleged to have cheated on Madeleine with Tora Uppstrom Berg, a then 21-year-old photography student at Arts University College, during a ski trip with friends.

After Ms Uppstrom Berg, who was a Norwegian handball star before coming to the UK, told of the alleged fling to a magazine, the royal palace in Stockholm announced the engagement was over.

She claimed the encounter took place at an exclusive Swedish ski resort where they met in a nightclub.

‘I had an affair with Madeleine’s fiancé,’ Miss Uppstrom Berg told Norwegian gossip magazine Se Og Hor. ‘We were intimate. He followed me home in a taxi at four o’clock in the morning.’

She claimed not to have known who her lover was. ‘Had I known, I would never do anything like this. I feel sorry for Madeleine for having an unfaithful man,’ she said.

Madeleine was said to have fled to New York for ‘peace and quiet’ following her fiancé’s apparent betrayal. 

Bergstrom proposed to her on the island of Capri. No date had been set for the service but it was widely expected to be announced in the summer before the scandal.

For three days after the scandal broke the palace refused to acknowledge the couple had any problems. But then Madeleine took off her engagement ring, boarded a flight for the US and a statement confirmed they had split.

‘They have decided that the best for them is to go their separate ways,’ the Swedish royal palace said.