The presence of Marius Borg alongside the rest of the members of the Norwegian royal family has been one of the most commented moments at the state funeral of King Harald. The eldest son of Queen Mette-Marit was sentenced in June to four years in prison after being found guilty of rape and other offenses and had received a special police permit to take part in the funeral service.
Because the stepson of King Haakon VIII is currently under preventive detention under house arrest and electronic ankle monitoring, his possible attendance at the funeral had generated considerable controversy and a great media attention around Oslo Cathedral.
Finally, Marius Borg has not participated in the procession that accompanied the king Harald’s coffin from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral. Instead, he was seen arriving in a limousine and with sunglasses and headphones at the temple. He did so in the company of his cousins, the daughters of Princess Martha Louise and the late Ari Behn.
According to Norwegian media such as the Se og Hør magazine, excluding Marius Borg from participating in the funeral would have gone against the inclusive nature of King Harald. Once inside the cathedral, the 29-year-old sat in the same row as several of the late monarch’s grandchildren, just in front of representatives of various foreign royal houses.
Marius Borg: the black sheep
All the scandal surrounding the detention and subsequent trial and conviction of Marius Borg has largely clouded the last months of King Harald’s life. The son of Mette-Marit, born from a relationship prior to his marriage to the now king Haakon, was sentenced by an Oslo court to four years in prison for two cases of rape and for mistreatment of one of his ex-girlfriends, among other offenses.
Marius Borg, behind the Norwegian kings in Oslo Cathedral.
The prosecution had requested seven years and seven months of imprisonment for the forty offenses Marius Borg was charged with, while the defense sought acquittal of the more serious charges. They had, however, accepted a lesser sentence of one year and six months for the charges the young man had previously admitted, such as transporting marijuana or making threats.
In mid-July, the court ruled that Marius Borg – who has admitted to having problems with alcohol and drugs – should remain under custody, although he would not continue in preventive detention at Ila high-security prison. Instead, he has remained at the royal Skaugum estate while awaiting the appeal trial.
Controversial decisions in the royal family
In August, the Oslo police extended his house arrest by four more weeks. This period was to end on September 7, but last Wednesday accepted a new detention period. “My client still does not agree that there is a risk of reoffending, but he will agree to stay detained,” said his defense attorney, Petar Sekulic. “He does not want this matter to attract attention in these days around King Harald’s death.” That period has now been extended to October 5.
Marius Borg was granted permission to leave detention on numerous occasions during the last two weeks in relation to the deceased King Harald: to visit the National Hospital on Thursday, August 27, as the monarch’s health deteriorated, and to travel to the Bygdøy Royal Palace and the Oslo Royal Palace on Friday, August 28, after his grandfather’s death.
Additionally, on August 31, Marius Borg was one of the pallbearers when the royal family carried the coffin to the palace chapel. In response to the outrage his inclusion provoked, Sekulic told the Norwegian press: “It is difficult to understand how including a grandson would imply disrespect towards the victims of the criminal case. Marius has a natural place in the family, even on an occasion like this.”
