Crown Princess Mette-Marit son Marius Borg Høiby is quitting his public life to pursue studies in the United States. The news came one day prior to Marius’s 20th birthday on Friday, January 13.
Mette-Marit’s firstborn is set enroll in a Business Administration program in California starting January 17. And on the heels of her son’s departure from the royal family, the Crown Princess penned an open letter in honor of Marius’ milestone birthday. Recalling the day she welcomed her first child, the royal wrote, “I was 23 years old and got a big responsibility. It has been the greatest gift in my life.”
Marius is choosing to study abroad in California Photo: Instagram/@marius_borg
The mom-of-three noted that her eldest son’s role in the royal family had “been difficult to define in the public domain,” though she said, “He is and remains an exceptionally important part of our family.”
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Mette-Marit also used the letter to criticize members of the press, who covered his “youthful indiscretion(s).” “I am certainly glad that all my youth rebellion was not followed with argus eyes. It had seen much worse,” she admitted. “Life is fragile, you. And beautiful. If we take it seriously so we try well to see the nuances, and people throughout, with options, instead we try to push them into small rooms of prejudice.”
Marius will be leaving behind his royal parents and siblings Photo: Aaserud, Lise Scanpix Norway/Press Association Images
Toward the end of the emotional letter, the Crown Princess accepted her son’s decision to leave his public life. “Marius does not want to live a life in public. My commitment to him as a mother is to take the responsibility that was given me at Aker Hospital 20 years ago seriously,” she wrote, before asking some Norwegian media to let him drop from their radar “as he wants, when he now partly for that reason chose to go abroad to study.”
Mette-Marit added, “Tomorrow he travels out into the world. A rare beautiful young man, with an open mind. As a mother, I could not have been prouder.”
Norway’s Royal Palace made the formal announcement on Thursday with a statement. “Marius Borg Høiby will not conduct official missions for the Royal Family," the palace statement read, adding that the America-bound student will “only be present when it is natural for family reasons.”
Mette-Marit's 'greatest gift' was given to her 20 years ago Photo: Lise Åserud / Scanpix
Marius’ pages have since been removed from the royal family’s website because of his “desire to live a life outside the public.” While Mette-Marit’s 20-year-old no longer has a bio on the Norwegian family’s page, her other children Prince Sverre Magnus and Princess Ingrid Alexandra , whom she shares with husband Crown Prince Haakon, do.
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Unlike his younger siblings, Marius was not born into the royal family and holds no royal title. The athletic teen is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship with advertising executive Morten Borg.