Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has applied for release from pre-trial detention due to his mother's serious lung condition, his lawyer told news agency NTB on Friday.
The application came after it emerged that Mette-Marit, 52, had been placed on the waiting list for a lung transplant due to her deteriorating health. She suffers from the incurable condition pulmonary fibrosis, which can cause symptoms including breathlessness.
According to NTB, Høiby, 29, was visited in prison on Thursday evening by his half-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 22, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 20, the children of Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon, 52.
Norwegian media reported that the crown princess had briefly been in hospital earlier that day.
Høiby faces charges on 40 counts, including four counts of rape. He has been held in pre-trial detention since the start of the trial in early February, after he violated a restraining order relating to a former girlfriend.
He has applied for release twice before. Most recently, he sought to serve the period until sentencing at home under electronic tagging. The court has rejected all applications for release from pre-trial detention so far.
The trial of Mette-Marit's son, who was born from a previous relationship, concluded at the end of March. A verdict is expected on June 15.
