Questions have been raised lately in Norway over where the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been getting the money to pay for his court costs and legal fees tied to all the trouble he’s in over drug use and violence. TV2 reported on Tuesday that his grandmother has paid more than NOK 530,000 (USD 53,000) for some of it.
Marius Borg Høiby’s lawyers recently tried unsuccessfully to ban a book about some of Høiby’s exploits, Hvite striper, sorte får (White stripes, black sheep). That left him having to reimburse publisher Aschehoug’s court costs of NOK 469,000 along with those of Den norske Forleggerforening (the Norwegian Publishers Association), NOK 70,500.
TV2 reported on Tuesday that the 88-year-old Marit Tjessem, mother of the crown princess and grandmother of Høiby, has already paid those legal bills. “This is something we normally don’t discuss, but in this case the client (Høiby) … has asked that this be revealed” because of media pressure, Høiby’s lawyer Elias Christensen told TV2. “The money has been paid to our office by the client’s mormor (mother’s mother). Beyond that we have no further comment regarding these transactions.”
It remains unclear how the 29-year-old unemployed Høiby has paid for the cocaine he has admitted to using over many years, or for other legal fees. TV2 reported that his legal fees have surpassed NOK 800,000 even before his trial on 32 counts of violence, vandalism, rape and other offenses begins in February.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
