Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, will not be present in court to hear the verdict in his trial on multiple rape charges on Monday and will follow the proceedings from jail, the Oslo District Court said on Friday.
The 29-year-old will watch via video link "due to documented health reasons," the court told the NTB news agency.
Høiby’s attorney, Ellen Holager Andenæs, confirmed this without elaborating on her client's health.
The crown princess's eldest son from a previous relationship faces 40 charges. Among other things, he is accused under Norwegian law of raping four women while they were asleep.
The prosecution is seeking a prison sentence of seven years and seven months.
Høiby had recently applied for release from pretrial detention so he could be with his terminally ill mother.
An appeals court rejected this, stating that "there remains a high probability that Høiby would commit new crimes if released," reported the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
In doing so, the judges referred primarily to a restraining order pertaining to an ex-girlfriend, which the defendant had violated several times in the past.
The 52-year-old crown princess suffers from the incurable disease pulmonary fibrosis. Her condition has recently deteriorated and it was announced last week that she was placed on the waiting list for a lung transplant.
