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Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, returned to court Wednesday for Day Two of a seven-week trial that is drawing renewed international attention. Høiby, 29, pleaded not guilty to the most serious charges, including allegations of rape, as the case opened Tuesday.

The scrutiny arrives at a time when Norway’s royal family is already under heightened public focus following earlier police suspicions. In August 2024, Oslo police said Høiby was facing suspicion for causing bodily harm and criminal damage, which has contributed to declining public support for the monarchy, according to the reporting.

The trial has also overlapped with new revelations connected to Mette-Marit and Jeffrey Epstein. Reporting said Mette-Marit has long been known to have had contacts with Epstein, but that the release of Epstein documents last Friday prompted fresh attention and new questions. In a statement after the release, Mette-Marit said she took responsibility for “not having investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly” and expressed regret for “having had any contact with Epstein at all,” adding that it was “simply embarrassing.”

In the same statement, Mette-Marit said she expressed “deep sympathy and solidarity” with the victims of abuse committed by Epstein. The documents released recently included an email from Mette-Marit to Epstein in November 2012 asking: “Is it inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my I5 yr old sons wallpaper ?” The documents also included Epstein’s reply that said: “let them decide” and advised that the mother should “stay out of it,” according to the reporting.

The documents also described another email exchange the previous month, with Epstein noted as saying he was in Paris “on my wife hunt,” while stating “i prefer Scandinavians.” Mette-Marit’s reply, according to reporting, said Paris was “good for adultery” and that “Scandis” were “better wife material.”

During the trial, Høiby took the witness stand Wednesday after a day in which he denied rape charges. Norwegian tabloid VG reported that he cried at one point and lashed out at the media for the intense attention he has received since he was a toddler, according to the account. A court or royal family statement issued last week said the couple would not be present in court and would not comment on the case during the trial.

That statement also said Høiby was not a member of the Royal House, while adding: “We care about him, and he is an important member of our family.” It said Mette-Marit was planning an unspecified “private stay” over the coming weeks, but on Wednesday, communications adviser Sara Svanemyr wrote in an email that the crown princess “has, until further notice, postponed the planned trip,” the reporting said.

The reporting also cited recent health developments for Mette-Marit. Last month, a court said medical tests showed a “clear worsening” of her health in connection with a lung disease known as pulmonary fibrosis, diagnosed in 2018, and said physicians had started a process of looking into the possibility of lung-transplant surgery for her.

Public support for the monarchy has traditionally been broad in Norway but has declined as the case has developed. Tove Taalesen, a royal expert at Nettavisen, said in the reporting: “So this has been like a shocking one and half year for the Norwegian people because we really love our royal family,” adding, “We respect them, and we look at King Harald as like our grandfather.”

A Norstat agency poll for Dagbladet and public broadcaster NRK showed two-thirds of respondents said they supported the constitutional monarchy as a form of government, down from nearly three-fourths in August, according to the account. The reporting said a similar poll for VG also indicated declining support for the monarchy.

In Oslo, student Gustav Onarheim said the situation has created a lot to consider, telling reporters: “I like the king, but with Høiby and the new released Epstein files and Mette-Marit, it’s so much to think about,” adding that he was “really looking forward to get the results in court.”