Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway ‘have been instructed prematurely that Marius Borg Høiby can be arrested for assault’

The Crown Prince and Princess of Norway were given prior warning that the Princess’s son was about to be arrested on suspicion of assault in August after his ‘girlfriend’ was taken to hospital with injuries she sustained in an attack. 

Marius Borg Høiby, 27, admitted assaulting Rebecca Helberg Arntsen, thought to be his girlfriend at the time, in a booze and drug fuelled attack this summer, in a case which rocked the Norwegian royal family.

Marius, the stepson of Crown Prince Haakon and eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship, was taken into custody and spent the night in a police cell while Ms Helberg Arntsen was treated for her injuries in hospital following the domestic incident, which also resulted in the destruction of the property.

Now, Norwegian media is reporting that the Crown Prince and Princess were made aware ahead of time that Borg Hoiby was going to be arrested on suspicion of assault, after the police notified the Royal Court of their intention to take him into custody.

A spokesman for the Royal Court told VG: ‘The police notified the Royal Court and the Royal Court then informed the Crown Prince couple about an incident involving Marius Borg Høiby and about a possible arrest. 

‘As is known, the police also notified Marius Borg Høiby ahead of the arrest. The police chose not to make an arrest at his residence, and have never searched it.’

FEMAIL has contacted the Norwegian Palace for more information.

The bombshell comes after months of speculation that the Norwegian royals, including Marius himself, had been notified that he would be arrested following the attack; which he later admitted in a grovelling apology to Rebecca Helberg Arntsen.

Last week Crown Prince Haakon, 51, spoke to press about the ‘demanding situation’ when attending the Opera.

‘I understand that there are many questions about this. It is, of course, as you surely understand, a demanding situation,’ the royal said to NRK when translated to English.

According to Sweden Herald, the future monarch added: ‘There is an ongoing police investigation, and I don’t think it’s right to say too much about individual aspects of it.

Often called the ‘black sheep’ of the Norwegian Royal Family, Marius Borg Høiby has found himself in headlines again as he continues to deny allegations of assault.

Borg Høiby, who is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship, has denied criminal liability for abuse in close relationships against two women – Nora Haukland and Juliane Snekkestad – and claims himself to be a victim.

The 27-year-old has reportedly been questioned over the allegations in eight police interviews, and was taken into custody earlier in October after breaching a restraining order.

The restraining order was for the protection of Rebecca Helberg Arntsen, whom Borg Høiby admitted to assaulting in a booze and drug-fuelled attack on 4 August, which saw him arrested for the first time and held in a police cell overnight.

The order was not made immediately after the attack, but after Borg Høiby reportedly contacted the victim on several occasions following the assault.

Meanwhile, assault charges against the royal have recently expanded to include three more alleged victims, two of whom have been named as his ex-girlfriends Juliane Snekkestad and Nora Haukland.

However, Borg Høiby has denied the charges, with his defence lawyer claiming the 27-year-old had faced abuse in a past relationship himself.

The scandal comes at a difficult time for his immediate family, as his mother Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 51, was last month placed on sick leave due to side effects of her chronic lung disease.

The Norwegian Royal Court confirmed to Femail that 51-year-old Mette-Marit is taking some time out, saying: ‘H.K.H. The Crown Princess is on sick leave.

‘Due to side effects of the medication that Her Royal Highness is using for her chronic lung disease, she is on sick leave, initially for a week. Her official program during this period will be cancelled or postponed.’

Last month, the court warned that Mette-Marit’s current course of treatment for pulmonary fibrosis may interfere with her planned duties over the coming weeks.

The Crown Princess’ health condition was first made public in 2018, when it was revealed Mette-Marit had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis or the thickening of lung tissue.

At the time, Mette-Marit issued a statement explaining that the condition ‘means my working capacity will vary’ to accommodate her treatment including ‘periods of time without an official programme’.

‘For a number of years, I have had health challenges on a regular basis, and now we know more about what is involved,’ the mother-of-three said. ‘The condition means that my working capacity will vary.

‘The Crown Prince and I are choosing to make this public now partly because in future there will be a need to plan periods of time without an official programme to accommodate treatment and when the disease is more active.’

Pulmonary fibrosis is incurable and worsens over time, but the Norwegian royal’s doctor, Professor Kristian Bjøro at the National Hospital, said they’d been monitoring her condition for several years and the ‘disease progression has been slow over this period’.

Not much is known about the unusual variant of fibrosis that was detected in Mette-Marit’s lung but, according to the Royal House, ‘there is broad consensus that, unlike other more common types of pulmonary fibrosis, it is not related to environmental or lifestyle factors’.

The fact that the disease was detected at an early stage improves Mette-Marit’s prognosis, as per the Palace’s official statement.

‘Even if such a diagnosis will limit my life at times, I am glad that the disease has been discovered so early. My goal is still to work and participate in the official programme as much as possible,’ the mother-of-three said.

According to the NHS, the symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis include shortness of breath, loss of appetite and weight loss, extreme tiredness, a persistent dry cough, and swollen fingertips.