Norway royals to continue official duties amid stepson’s rape trial, crown prince says

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OSLO (Reuters) -Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon said on Tuesday the royal family would continue to carry out official duties while his stepson stands trial next year accused of rape, adding that this is a challenging time for everyone involved.

Marius Borg Hoiby, 28, son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson to Haakon, was charged on Monday with 32 criminal offences, including the rape of four women as well as domestic violence and assault.

Hoiby denies the most serious accusations against him, including those of rape and domestic violence, but plans to plead guilty to some lesser charges in court when the trial starts, his lawyer told Reuters on Monday.

He could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of the most serious charges in a trial expected to start in January and run for six weeks, the prosecutor in the case has said.

It is up to Norway’s courts to decide the outcome of the case, Crown Prince Haakon told reporters on Tuesday while attending the opening of an industry conference.

“We will continue to carry out our duties as best we can, as we always do,” Haakon said, in his first public remarks since the charges were announced. “Everyone involved in this case probably finds it challenging and difficult.”

The investigation began in August last year when police named Hoiby as a suspect in a physical assault against a woman with whom he had been in a relationship.

Hoiby, in a statement to the media at the time, admitted to causing bodily harm to the woman while he was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol, and said he regretted his acts.

Hoiby, who has no royal title and is outside the line of succession, is the older half-brother of Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who is second in line to the throne after her father Haakon.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik in Oslo and Louise Rasmussen in Copenhagen; editing by Mark Heinrich)