Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norway's crown princess, denied bail after asking to be released onto royal estate

The son of Norway's crown princess has been denied bail after pleading with a judge to be released so he can spend more time with his mother, who is battling a chronic lung condition.

Marius Borg Høiby appeared in an Oslo court on Wednesday, spending an hour detailing the conditions in prison as he awaits the verdict from a criminal trial, after he was charged with rape, assault and other offences.

That verdict is expected to be delivered in early June, with prosecutors seeking seven years. The maximum sentence is 10 years.

Høiby had asked for bail, wanting to be released to a home on the royal estate at Skaugum west of Oslo, where his mother Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepfather Crown Prince Haakon live, with an ankle monitor to track his movements.

The 29-year-old told Judge Hans Nikolai Førde: "I'm in solitary confinement in Oslo prison".

"I have extremely little human contact, only two or three visits a week. It's quite difficult not having social contact for so long.

"I can feel the isolation harming me. I'm socially passive, have major problems with sleep and appetite. During the day, I really struggle with my memory. It's a hard life in Oslo prison."

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Høiby was asked by the judge whether he understood the implications if he violated the conditions of his potential freedom and responded: "I received a very clear message: There is no second chance."

A previous report from Norway's prison authorities had deemed Høiby suitable for an ankle monitor and had approved his rented home on the royal estate as being an appropriate location for his provisional release.

Høiby then asked the judge to be given bail so he could spend more time with his mother.

"I have someone in my immediate family who has an illness that makes visiting [me] in Oslo prison a bit more difficult than if I were at home," he said.

"The air quality there is… It's an old building with a lot of mould. It would have made a big difference if we could have been somewhere else."

The judge asked him: "Do you mean your mother?"

Høiby responded: "Yes."

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and Crown Prince Haakon, along with their two children Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, have been seen visiting Høiby in jail since February.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra was back in Norway around Easter but has since returned to Australia where she is studying a three-year degree at Sydney University.

The crown princess, 54, was recently seen wearing a nasal cannula to help with oxygen flow during an engagement at the Royal Palace.

It was the first time the royal had been seen wearing the medical device. An aide was seen following behind her, carrying what appeared to be a portable oxygen machine.

Mette-Marit has largely been absent from public duties this year owing to her worsening health.

Late last year, the royal's medical team said they had begun preparations to assess the princess for a lung transplant after her health recently deteriorated.

Mette-Marit was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, which causes scarring in the lungs and leads to reduced oxygen uptake.

In March the crown princess did an interview with Norway's national broadcaster NRK which had to be limited to 20 minutes due her inability to speak for extended periods of time.

During his court appearance, Høiby also spoke about his past drug use.

"I don't see any problems there. I'm doing everything I can to get out of this cell, plain and simple. And also everything I can to avoid getting back in there."

But the judge decided against releasing Høiby on bail, citing his potential to reoffend: "The risk of recidivism is considerable".

Høiby has previously ignored other restraining orders, with prosecutors arguing there was still a high risk he would violate them again.

Defence attorney Rene Ibsen had insisted Høiby would adhere to the conditions of bail and his confinement on the royal estate, and ankle monitor, would ensure the rules were followed.

Ibsen called the court's decision "surprising and disappointing".

Høiby will remain behind bars until the court delivers its verdict, expected in early June.

Prosecutors have requested a jail term of seven years and seven months, arguing Høiby should be found guilty of 39 of the 40 charges he is accused of.

Høiby denies the most serious charges, which include four counts of rape and serious assault.

He has pleaded guilty to some of the lesser offences, which include a drugs charge, traffic offences and breaching a restraining order.

The trial began in February and lasted seven weeks.

When the trial got underway, Crown Princess Mette-Marit found herself at the centre of headlines over revelations she had past contact with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The crown princess' name was mentioned more than 100 times in the Epstein files released earlier this year.

In March, she told Norwegian television: "It is incredibly important for me to take responsibility for not checking his background more carefully.

"And to take responsibility for being so manipulated and deceived as I was."

Mette-Marit was absent from the birthday celebrations of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm last week, with Crown Prince Haakon and Norway's King and Queen attending instead.

Høiby was a toddler when his mother married Norway's future King in 2001.

He is not a member of Norway's Royal House or a public figure, but grew up as part of the royal family, attending many events with the King and Queen and the Crown Prince couple over the years.

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