The Norwegian royals have made the strategic decision to disable comments on their official Instagram account amid a tense time for the family.
This week, Marius Borg Høiby, 29, the son of Crown Princess Mette Marit, began his trial for rape in Oslo District Court and is expected to give evidence for the first time on Wednesday afternoon in a high-profile case that has brought shame upon the royals.
The trial comes at a difficult time for the family, as emails sent by Høiby’s mother, Crown Princess Mette Marit, were among the three million files released by the US Department of Justice last week in relation to the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
It was revealed on Tuesday evening, following the first day of evidence in the Høiby trial, that the Norwegian royals had turned off commenting on their Instagram account, @detnorskekongehus, the official profile for the royal house.
© GettyMarius Borg Hoiby sitting next to his mother Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit
Commenting has been disabled on their most recent Instagram posts, which included photographs of a trip by Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette Marit to Fredrikstad Library to celebrate its 100th anniversary last week.
Comments were also turned off on a video showing a diplomatic dinner for the Diplomatic Corps at the Royal Palace hosted by King Harald V and Queen Sonja, at which Prince Haakon and Princess Astrid, Harald’s sister, were also present. On Facebook, those who can comment on posts have been limited.
However, comments are still available on a recent post of Princess Ingrid Alexandra showcasing her trip to Kirkenes, where she met students from Tana Upper Secondary School and drove a dog sledge as part of her visit to northern Norway, her first solo trip abroad. On this, one royal fan commented: “Not the comments turned off. Awe man.” Another asked: “Why have you disabled comments?” while a third person even called it “embarrassing”.
Head of Communications at the Palace, Guri Varpe told Norwegian paper Dagbladet in an email: “There are many comments that violate our ethical guidelines and, therefore, we consider it right to close comments on Instagram and Facebook.”
© AlamyDrawing of Marius Borg Hoiby during the first day of his trial at Oslo District Court on 3rd February 2026
On Tuesday, Marius Borg Høiby, who is Mette Marit’s son from a previous relationship, headed to court for the start of his trial, where he is facing 38 charges, including four alleged counts of rape. The trial is expected to last six weeks, concluding in March, and Marius could spend up to ten years in prison if convicted.
The latest release of Epstein files featured conversations between Mette-Marit and the paedophile financier discussing her family life, her meeting with him at his Florida home, and his attempts at “wife hunting”.
In a statement, she admitted she showed “poor judgment” in the friendship, but it is already impacting her reputation, and she has been dropped as patron of The Sex and Society Foundation.