Arrested son of Norwegian princess suspected of second rape

The eldest son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit is suspected of a second rape, police said Wednesday, two days after his arrest over another allegation of sexual assault.

Born of a relationship before Mette-Marit's marriage to heir Prince Haakon, Marius Borg Hoiby was arrested on Monday evening on suspicion of rape.

Since the investigation unearthed a second allegation, a lawyer for the force said, police requested the 27-year-old be remanded in custody, which a judge on Wednesday ordered for one week, according to media reports.

"Marius is facing serious accusations, which the police and the judiciary will deal with... I am convinced they will do a good job," Prince Haakon told public broadcaster NRK before the detention order.

Borg Hoiby's lawyer, Oyvind Bratlien, said he would appeal the detention ruling, but welcomed the fact that judges had not granted the police request for a two-week detention.

"We consider that promising," he said in a written statement to NRK.

Police lawyer Andreas Kruszewski had said on the sidelines of the hearing that the second allegation "involves sexual intercourse without consent with a woman incapable of resisting the act".

Investigators searched and seized items from the Borg Hoiby's home.

The rape charge comes after he was accused of bodily harm following a late-night row on August 4 at the Oslo apartment of a woman he was having a relationship with, police said.

Norwegian media reported that police found a knife stuck in one of the woman's bedroom walls at the time.

Borg Hoiby was arrested again in September for breaching a restraining order.

When he was detained on Monday he was in a car with the alleged victim of the August incident, according to police.

Borg Hoiby was raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18.

Unlike them however he has no official public role.