The year 2024 was a tumultuous one for the Norwegian royal family. The future King and Queen of Norway, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon, had to deal with the highly publicized scandal of the arrest of Marius Borg Høiby, son of Queen Mette-Marit, on three separate occasions. Now the future Queen of Norway has responded to her son's arrest and the accusations against him.

In October, Borg Høy was arrested for allegedly burglarizing the royal palace grounds and banned from entering the palace; in November, Borg Høybi was arrested on suspicion of rape, according to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. It was his third arrest in as many months.

“If I had to pick one word to describe this year, it would be ‘challenge,’” Mette-Marit told NRK (via the Daily Mail). 'It's been a tough year for us, a tough fall.'”

Before marrying Crown Prince Haakon, Mette-Marit had a son, Borg Hoiby, with a previous relationship. As such, Borg-Høybi does not hold any official Norwegian royal titles, nor does he have any duties on behalf of the Norwegian royal family. However, his proximity to the future King and Queen has caused an uproar in Norway.

Ole Jørgen Schulsrud Hansen, a royal commentator on Norwegian TV2, has previously discussed the impact of the Borg Hoiby scandal on the Norwegian royal family and the general public. He told Marie Claire earlier this year, “Surveys show that the Norwegian public is voicing less trust in the royal family because of the scandals and controversies that have rocked the royal family over the past year.” The arrests are troubling, but the public will still support the future king and queen, Schulthauld-Hansen suggested. The public now seems to sympathize with the crown princess,” he explained.”

The broadcaster further explained that “the Hoaiby case has developed to such an extreme from the initial arrest in August that the royal commentary then may have done more harm than good.”