By Gwladys Fouche
OSLO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The son of Norway's crown princess denied in court on Thursday that he ever drugged the alleged victim of one of the rapes he is charged with, on his second day of testimony in a trial that has transfixed Norway.
Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, who joined the royal family when his mother Mette-Marit married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, is charged with 38 counts. He faces years in prison if convicted.
On Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and one of domestic
violence. He pleaded guilty to offensive sexual behaviour, driving too fast and driving without a valid license.
Hoiby also said he was partially guilty - a plea allowed under Norwegian law - of aggravated assault and reckless behaviour.
On Wednesday, he denied that videos on his phone showed acts of rape and broke down as he recalled a childhood in the public eye.
The trial comes with his mother facing scrutiny over fresh revelations about her ties to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which has damaged the popularity of the royal family though most Norwegians still want a monarchy.
SEARCH HISTORY
On Thursday, Hoiby answered questions about the search history on his phone, including for words such as "rape".
"Is this something you are interested in?" asked prosecutor Sturla Henriksboe.
"I have looked at a lot of weird stuff," Hoiby answered wearing jeans and a marine blue jumper over a white T-shirt, sometimes fiddling with a beaded bracelet between his fingers.
On Wednesday, the trial focused on the count of rape alleged to have taken place in 2018 in the basement of the Crown Prince family's residence on the outskirts of Oslo. The alleged victim said she was certain she had been drugged.
"Did you dope her down?" Henriksboe asked on Thursday.
"Never," replied Hoiby.
Henriksboe then asked Hoiby whether he knew of drugs that could "dope down", such as ketamine, and whether he could have access to them. Hoiby said he knew of such drugs and could probably have access to them.
John Christian Elder, the lawyer representing the alleged victim, asked Hoiby his thoughts about the fact that he is charged with counts of rape occurring when the alleged victims were sleeping or unconscious.
"I don't remember that episode so I don't know whether there was consent or not," said Hoiby, referring to the alleged rape in 2018.
EMBATTLED ROYAL FAMILY
Outside the courtroom, polls conducted this week showed the monarchy's popularity is taking a hit, though a majority of Norwegians still prefer it over a republic.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit is seen as unfit to become queen for 44% of Norwegians polled, with 35% uncertain and 22% saying she is suitable, according to a Norstat survey of 1,025 Norwegians for public broadcaster NRK and daily Dagbladet published on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, 54% Norwegians said Norway should remain a monarchy while 33% said it should become a republic, according to a poll for daily Aftenposten conducted February 2-3 among 1,024 respondents.
Parliament, in a long-planned vote, overwhelmingly endorsed the monarchy on Tuesday.
As Hoiby's trial has proceeded, King Harald and Crown Prince Haakon have continued with their official duties, with Harald visiting a hospital late on Wednesday. He did not speak to journalists who attended that visit.
He and Queen Sonja are due to attend the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy at the weekend.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; editing by Mark Heinrich)
