Marius Borg Hoiby - Discussions

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Thanks to all those who used the thanks button on the above post from yesterday evening, where I went through the whole situation!

More news:

Dagbladet (which now uses this for all it's worth) has published an article where they reveals that the (very few) oficial events that Marius attends is covered financially by the Royal Court.
(Well, If this comes as a surprise to Dagbladet, then they are more stupid than I thought.)

Here is the article - with some quotes translated by me:
Slottet dekket Marius Borg Høibys utgifter i offisielle sammenhenger - Dagbladet

In January last year, the palace published a letter from CP Mette-Marit, who wrote that her son, Marius Borg Høiby (21), "should not have a public role and is not a public person". She further emphasized that "Marius does not want to live a public life."

Last week, the CP couple criticized Se og Hør for a publication that revealed that Borg Høiby had moved in with the model Juliane Snekkestad (21) in London.

"Marius Borg Høiby has repeatedly stated that he does not want the media's attention about his private life,'' the CP couple wrote in a message on the Palace's website.

Nevertheless, a review of the court's annual reports has shown that Borg Høiby (21) has repeatedly participated in official visits and engagements.

I (and others) can't (for a strange reason) add google translations anymore - so you have to use your own.

--------------------

TV2 News Channel raised the question with lawyer Jon Wessel-Aas who said that as long as Marius does all the public things he does - and is present at some of the Royal Court funded official events, he is not a private person.
He also said that it seems weird that the 21-year-old Marius must have his mother (or the Royal Court) to speak for him.

From me: I went through all these ''public things he does'' in the ''Was it right of the CP couple to criticize it?'' part - in my previous post.

[polyesco]

thank you Royal Norway for all the translations and summaries

So Marius has been doing official events for the NRF and having the costs paid by the court?

"Late in Christmas, Borg Høiby raised a widely announced Christmas lunch with the poor and homeless in Oslo. The press was invited. Afterwards, the castle itself sent a press release on the visit with pictures."
" Borg Høiby received expenses for stays during the SIKT conference in 2016, arranged by the Crown Prince and the court. "

I think they need to stop making statements to be honest. The very public letter by Mette-Marit has backfired big time especially because Marius has kept a public profile.

[Somebody]

Does anyone have an overview of all the official events by Marius since the first statement by his mother about his wish for a private life?

Family functions I would understand (birthday parties, weddings, baptism, etc - those festivites are normally also attended by the in-laws of royals) anything else wouldn't be consistent with his wish for privacy.

[Muhler]

I'll add my thanks as well, Royal Norway.

Well, I'll stand by what I have said previously as well. Marius Højby is per definition a celeb and as such of at least marginal interest to the public.

If he doesn't want the press (and public) to show interest for him, keep as low a profile as possible and be as boring as possible or in extreme; live abroad.
And otherwise ignore the press he will get. Eventually they'll lose interest in him as a major source of articles.
Sorry, but I bet he isn't displeased by having a lot of followers on Instagram.

It sure doesn't help that the court come out whacking the press on the head!
Now, he's gone from being on the cover for one week, to end up there for several weeks!
If you want people to lose interest in you, don't throw a tantrum. It's pretty logic isn't it?

And of course papers like Dagbladet will come down on this, especially if they are as hostile towards the monarchy (or is it only Haakon and Mette-Marit?) as Royal Norway describes them as being.
The CP-couple have already lost this battle.

If you are to battle the gossip press and tabloids at least make sure you have strong arguments and be sure the public sympathy will be on your side.

[JR76]

Wendy Williams, the American talkshow host, has said something several times that I agree with and feel fits this discussion very well - If you don't comment on things in the press it won't get that much attention and people will forget about it. If you comment on the other hand it will become bigger news than it was in the first place.
In other words it's her version of - "Never explain. Never complain."

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by Muhler

I'll add my thanks as well, Royal Norway.

"Well, I'll stand by what I have said previously as well. Marius Højby is per definition a celeb and as such of at least marginal interest to the public.

If he doesn't want the press (and public) to show interest for him, keep as low a profile as possible and be as boring as possible or in extreme; live abroad.
And otherwise ignore the press he will get. Eventually they'll lose interest in him as a major source of articles.
Sorry, but I bet he isn't displeased by having a lot of followers on Instagram."

Can "we" really expect from a 21 year old, who was always as vital and lively as M. was, to lead a boring life or to be "as boring as possible" only to please that foolish tabloids?!
Who has the right to say "live abroad!" if the press created a situation for you you are not comfortable with?!
Marius has every right for an Instagram account like every private citizen, having as many followers he could have without being molested by the tabloids.

Of course the media is interested in him and has the right to report things. But, please, in a fair and proper way!

[Muhler]

Oh yes, we can easily agree on rights and how it ought to. But life is not fair.

Marius Højby is undeniably who he is. I.e. son of the next queen of Norway, and that makes him interesting whether he likes it or not, and whether he and his parents think it's fair or not.
To expect that the press and the public who read the gossip columns are going to forget about him or ignore him is at best a little naive.

If you want to be forgotten you should perhaps not have a very public profile on Instagram. The social media, Instagram, Facebook and what not are public announcement boards. If you post anything on an open profile, it's equivalent to an open letter.

If Marius dates a girl in a public place, it is of course interesting. And in the defense of the press, something I don't do very often, I think they have respected his privacy a lot. Judging from this thread he's hardly in the magazines every week.
If he doesn't like it he basically only has two options: Live abroad or go under the public radar.

He can find comfort in the fact that the interest for his half-siblings is going to much heavier.

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Originally Posted by polyesco

thank you Royal Norway for all the translations and summaries

So Marius has been doing official events for the NRF and having the costs paid by the court?

"Late in Christmas, Borg Høiby raised a widely announced Christmas lunch with the poor and homeless in Oslo. The press was invited. Afterwards, the castle itself sent a press release on the visit with pictures."
" Borg Høiby received expenses for stays during the SIKT conference in 2016, arranged by the Crown Prince and the court. "

I think they need to stop making statements to be honest. The very public letter by Mette-Marit has backfired big time especially because Marius has kept a public profile.

You're very welcome!

Well, the SIKT thing in 2016 was before CP MM's letter - and has been mentioned several times in the Norwegian media.
But yes, his stay and travel expenses in connection with the conference in Ålesund, where he worked as a volunteer, was covered by the court (IMO, these expenses should have been covered by the CP couple's apanage).

The Christmas luncheon: Was it right of him to attend?
No, it wasn't (especially since he want to be a ''private person''), but he was probably persuaded by his mother to go.

Their statements: Well, unfortunately, I don't think we've seen nothing yet.
Why? Because they (especially MM) will probably go COMPLETELY CRAZY when the media starts to write about Ingrid and Sverre. - And as a commentator said last year, that is likely to be very hard for the Crown Princess (and here she can't use the ''private person'' thing to defend/protect them).

--------------------

Originally Posted by Somebody

Does anyone have an overview of all the official events by Marius since the first statement by his mother about his wish for a private life?

Family functions I would understand (birthday parties, weddings, baptism, etc - those festivites are normally also attended by the in-laws of royals) anything else wouldn't be consistent with his wish for privacy.

Well, since CP MM's letter to the media (on January 12th, 2017), he has only attended two royal events: The Christmas luncheon (mentioned above) - and the Christmas Service in Asker Church (both events on Dec 24th).
And yes, the Service was a family event, but was listed in the official calendar.

--------------------

Originally Posted by Muhler

I'll add my thanks as well, Royal Norway.

And of course papers like Dagbladet will come down on this, especially if they are as hostile towards the monarchy (or is it only Haakon and Mette-Marit?) as Royal Norway describes them as being.

You're welcome!

No, they have been against the institution for decades, but (as I wrote in post 522) it now seems to be more personal, and not out of the so-called ''principle''.

They literally went to war against the monarchy in 2016 with a ridiculous article-series (named kongemakta/royal pover) about the financing of the court and the private finances of the royals. - It consisted of 81 so-called revealing articles and about 60 front pages from April 2016 to Dec 2017.
There were strong reactions from the Storting (the parliament), and even pro-monarchy MPs criticized the court (even though they themselves were responsible for most of the problems).
But there was nothing about these revelations that we didn't know before - and Dagbladet was criticized by two former prime ministers, some of the so-called experts, and by commentators from other media outlets.
I won't go into royal finances here, but perhaps I'll write about it later in another (or new) thread.

Posters can go through the article-series here:
Kongemakta - dagbladet.no/emne/kongemakta

But remember to not comment on it in this thread.

--------------------

Originally Posted by JR76

Wendy Williams, the American talkshow host, has said something several times that I agree with and feel fits this discussion very well - If you don't comment on things in the press it won't get that much attention and people will forget about it. If you comment on the other hand it will become bigger news than it was in the first place.
In other words it's her version of - "Never explain. Never complain."

I agree! And I said something similar in post 522.

--------------------

Originally Posted by wartenberg7

Of course the media is interested in him and has the right to report things. But, please, in a fair and proper way!

The Norwegian media are generally very careful with Marius (even Se og Hør).

--------------------

Originally Posted by Muhler

If he doesn't like it he basically only has two options: Live abroad or go under the public radar.

He does (in London), and that's very wise of him, I think.

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Oh yes, we can easily agree on rights and how it ought to. But life is not fair.

Marius Højby is undeniably who he is. I.e. son of the next queen of Norway, and that makes him interesting whether he likes it or not, and whether he and his parents think it's fair or not.
To expect that the press and the public who read the gossip columns are going to forget about him or ignore him is at best a little naive.

If you want to be forgotten you should perhaps not have a very public profile on Instagram. The social media, Instagram, Facebook and what not are public announcement boards. If you post anything on an open profile, it's equivalent to an open letter.

If Marius dates a girl in a public place, it is of course interesting. And in the defense of the press, something I don't do very often, I think they have respected his privacy a lot. Judging from this thread he's hardly in the magazines every week.
If he doesn't like it he basically only has two options: Live abroad or go under the public radar.

He can find comfort in the fact that the interest for his half-siblings is going to much heavier.

I can only repeat myself: If things are fair or not is up to us, the society we live in. Fairness or the lack of it is nothing that comes out of the blue. If we continue buying this **** the press feels entitled to go on.
The CP couple has every right to react furiously and to express it.

How can one say "leave your country, just get lost, if you want to be left alone!"....?! (which he obviously does anyway, but cannot be expected from him!)

Marius, like millions of other kids and young people, is entitled to run his social media boards if it pleases him. That can never be an invitation for scandal seeking press people or an excuse to molest a person, no matter how public or private he or she is!

[Muhler]

Absolutely.

The only way the press would leave Marius alone would be if people would stop reading and buying the magazines. And voice their protest.
But the chances of that happening are...

So until that happens Marius basically has three options:
A) Give the press their bowl of meat from time to time, in return for being left alone - and hoping they'll keep that promise.
B) Keep low and don't comment, don't complain.
C) Get outside the reach of the press. - I understand from Royal Norway that he is currently living in London. Well, he's pretty safe from the Norwegian press there.

Another option, which is outside the influence of Marius is if Norway tighten its legislation on privacy.
But preventing the press from writing about the son of the Crown Princess, going to town with a girl... And as such any other celeb as well. The entire press corps would be up in arms!
Trying to get that bill passed is a forlorn hope.

Life isn't fair.

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by eya

Marius with his new girlfriend out in London

Son of Norway’s Crown Princess and new ex-Playboy model girlfriend are pictured together | Daily Mail Online

Another example how simple men are when it comes to choosing a partner... She looks like a... oh well, don´t want to use the evil word on this board....
Didn´t his late grandfather Sven O. Hojby also have a favour for pornstars in his later years...?!

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by eya

Marius with his new girlfriend out in London

Son of Norway’s Crown Princess and new ex-Playboy model girlfriend are pictured together | Daily Mail Online

They don’t look so good. But, to be fair, I am rather biased against that kind of CK model fashion.

[muriel]

Originally Posted by wartenberg7

Another example how simple men are when it comes to choosing a partner... She looks like a... oh well, don´t want to use the evil word on this board....
Didn´t his late grandfather Sven O. Hojby also have a favour for pornstars in his later years...?!

IMO, it just does not matter. He is young, will go through a bunch of inappropriate relationships and eventually grow up. Its not like he is about to marry her!

[polyesco]

Marius with his girlfriend
Son of Norway’s Crown Princess and new ex-Playboy model girlfriend are pictured together | Daily Mail Online

[ROYAL NORWAY]

And I who thought that this was going to be over pretty fast?

Well, I was wrong (not the first time BTW).

Because in the last 5 days, we've had two articles in VG, several articles from other news outlets - and coverage on TV2 News Channel. The CP couple has been accused (by jurists and commentators) for trying to interfere with a democratic media, for not being very smart, and for not having good advisers.

And yesterday, Haakon had to explain himself to NRK:
Vi valgte å støtte Juliane - NRK - translation

Here's what he said - translated by me:

On Tuesday, Crown Prince Haakon told NRK why the CP couple chose to go out with a reaction.

"The situation was that a young girl, in the early 20's, got a front page that did not represent who she is in a particularly good way," says CP Haakon.

"Then we had a choice, should we leave her alone in that situation, or should we say something. Then we chose to support her. That's what this matter was about for us,'' he says.

NRK: Does the CP couple think that they wil take this case to PFU (Pressens Faglige Utvalg - Norway's national press complaints board)?

H: "That has not been a focus for us now. We have not really considered that, and I don't think it's very likely, but I can't completely rule it out.''

NRK: If Marius is not a public person, why did the CP couple use the Royal House website to comment on it?

H: ''There has been some discussion afterwards, I've noticed that. I have also followed that discussion. We can certainly learn some from it, of what people say about it. We wanted to support a girl who was in a situation where she got this front page and this headline scattered throughout Norway, which did not represent who she is in a particularly good way,'' says the Crown Prince.

"It was important for us to give support, that's what we chose to do. Then we can probably discuss whether it was the right channel, if we did everything correctly and whether it was exactly the right language. But that's the channel we have, so that's the one we used''.
(With ''channel,'' he meens the Royal House website.)

That was that (at least until the CP couple's next outburst).

[tommy100]

If Marius truly is a "private person" as the CP couple want then they (and their staff) need to perfect the line "Mr Borg Hoiby is a private individual and therefore we have no comment on his activities"

Maybe a year or two after simply stating this every time the media ask anything as well as Marius keeping a slightly lower profile - e.g. a private instagram account, will he truly be left in peace.

[Muhler]

Thanks Polyesco & Royal Norway

I must confess that I for once side with the press, this was not handled well by the CP-couple in particular.
Haakon's somewhat tenuous arguments doesn't exactly help either! They interfered because it did not present the girlfriend in a positive light. Come on! Saying that is a red rag to the whole press corps.

IMO this was a case where silence would have been the best answer.
This story would have been forgotten within a couple of weeks, now it has become a controversy and will be remembered and no doubt be a part of the yearly NRF review of the year at the end of this year.

[wartenberg7]

Saying this, does the CPrince realise that this young woman didn´t bother at all to be pictured naked on the front page of "playboy"?! Does this represent her who she is in a positive way...?!

("The situation was that a young girl, in the early 20's, got a front page that did not represent who she is in a particularly good way," says CP Haakon.)

CP Haakon being one of my favourite Royals for many years by now (if not THE favourite male Royal!) I can not agree with him completely here....

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Originally Posted by ROYAL NORWAY

That was that (at least until the CP couple's next outburst).

Well, not yet.
Se og Hør continues to reveal stuff about Marius, which makes his (and the CP couple's) request for privacy to seem more and more ridiculous.

Articles from TV2, VG and Dagbladet:

Marius Borg Høiby omtales som «prins» i sin nye jobb - TV2 - translation

Google doesn't allow me to add translation on VG articles, so use your own:
Har fått prinsetittel hos ny arbeidsgiver - VG

Marius Borg Høiby er blitt redaktør i overklassemagasin - Dagbladet - translation

(None of the google translations work right now, so try again later (or use your own).

A summary from me:
Marius, who lives in London, was employed as style editor by the British luxury magazine Tempus in March. - Editor of Tempus Media Limited, Rachel Ingram, confirms this to Se og Hør.
His first and only article in the magazine, so far, was published on March 19th. - Take a look at it here:
Column: Why these electric car brands are finally giving Tesla a run for its money - Tempus

And now, of course, the Norwegian media are making a big deal about the fact that Marius's article was written almost 3 weeks before the CP couple issued that Royal House statement (where they again asked for privacy) on April 6th.
The court (not surprisingly) doesn't want to comment on it.

And yes, there is more:
The magazine has on two occasions (in February and March) referred to Marius as a ''Norwegian prince'' on their website (this was removed after Se og Hør contacted them). - They have also referred to him as that in their paper edition in February.

And the CP couple was of course being asked to comment on it by NRK's royal correspondent Kristi Marie Skrede during their visit in Lithuania yesterday:

NRK article with video and google translation:
Mette-Marit om sønnens nye jobb: – Marius er en veldig kreativ sjel - NRK - translation

Here's some of what MM said - translated by me:

"First and foremost, Marius has gotten himself a creative job - and he is a very creative soul. He is very good at taking pictures and filming, and has wanted to work creatively for a long time,'' says the Crown Princess.

Asked on whether he can be an editor and at the same time choose not to be in the public spotlight, MM said this:

"Well, he works in a small English magazine, I don't think it says anything either for or against his right to privacy. I think it's important to keep those two things completely separate. He, like everyone else, must decide to what extent he wishes to be in the public spotlight.''

According to Dagbladet, Tempus is a ''high-profile'' magazine (I for one hadn't even heard of them).

From me: Well, as some of the commentators here are saying, this is just getting better and better (for the press, I mean). - And, as usual, the CP couple didn't make a particularly good impression during that interview (although it was better than some of their previous ones during the past 17 years).
See the whole interview in the NRK video above.

[Muhler]

Smells like payback from the press to me.

That was unfortunately only to be expected.

Marius writing an article is of course to be noticed, and to be considered of some public interest. And the magazine he wrote for will of course be "labeled" in a way that suits the Norwegian press in general. In this case a niche magazine is now a posh magazine.

Instead of this being a positive story about Marius, with some success, trying to make a living for himself, it now becomes a pointing finger towards the court with the caption: Hypocrites! He does live a public life, see? So why shouldn't we write about it, eh? Eh!?!