Princess Ingrid Alexandra arrived in Sydney in 2025 to start uni, escaping Norway’s scandalous royal family.
As the new semester got underway at the University of Sydney on August 4, the educational institution welcomed the future Queen of Norway among its ranks as Ingrid began studies towards a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in international relations.
Live in student accomodation, Norway’s Royal household shared new images of her checking out the campus to Instagram on July 25.
“It will be exciting to become a student, and I’m looking forward to gaining new perspectives on both European and international politics,” Princess ingrid said.
While the young princess’ move to Australia gives her a much greater opportunity of having a normal uni student experience than she might get in Europe, it also gives 21-year-old Ingrid the chance to put a bit of much-needed distance between herself and her scandal-plagued family.
What is the crisis in the Norwegian royal family?
Norway’s police announced in late June 2025 that they were charging Ingrid’s older half-brother, Marius Borg Høiby, on several counts, including rape, sexual assault and bodily harm, following a 10-month investigation.
“I cannot go into further detail about the number of victims in the case beyond confirming that it is a double-digit number,” Oslo police attorney Andreas Kruszewski said at a press conference.
Marius, 28, is the eldest child of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and the stepson of Crown Prince Haakon, the heir apparent.
He holds no royal titles or official duties, but grew up attending formal events and lived on royal property with his family. He has denied the charges.
“[My client is] taking the accusations very seriously, but doesn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in most of the cases – especially the cases regarding sexual abuse and violence,” lawyer Peter Sekulic said.
The royal family came under scrutiny in August 2024 after Marius was arrested over an incident involving his ex-girlfriend, which kicked off the police investigation.
Ten days after the initial arrest, Marius said in a statement that he had acted “under the influence of alcohol and cocaine after an argument”, and that he had suffered from “mental troubles” and had been struggling “for a long time with substance abuse”.
“If I had to choose one word for this year, it would be ‘challenging’,” the Crown Princess, 51, confessed to NKR during an interview that aired on Christmas Day in 2024. “It has been a demanding year and a demanding autumn for us.”
In August 2025, Oslo state attorney Sturla Henriksbø said Marius had been indicted on 32 charges.
Along with charges of rape and assault he is accused of filming the genitals of a number of women without their knowledge or consent.
“The maximum penalty for the offences listed in the indictment is imprisonment of up to 10 years,” he said.
His trial will begin on February 3, 2026, and is expected to run until March 13 at Oslo’s District Court.
In October 2025, it was revealed that Marius was being treated for substance abuse ahead of the trial.
“We can confirm that he is receiving treatment,” lawyer Petar Sekulic told TV 2 Norway.
What is the controversy with the Crown Princess in Norway?
However, this is just the latest in a long line of scandals that have rocked the House of Glücksburg.
In fact, the wedding between the Crown Princess and Crown Prince almost didn’t even go ahead.
When Mette-Marit met Haakon through mutual friends and started dating, she was a single mum to Marius, having divorced his convicted felon father, Morten Borg, who was charged with drug offences.
When she accepted Haakon’s proposal in December 2000, rather than it being a celebratory moment in Norway, there was public outcry over whether the former waitress was really a suitable choice to marry a future King.
A June 2001 opinion poll showed the popularity of the monarchy had plummeted to a record low.
Just days before the wedding that August, Mette-Marit fronted up to the press to apologise for her past and to condemn her drug use.
“My youthful rebellion was stronger than it was for many people,” she said through tears. “We stepped over limits, and I’m very sorry about that.”
Today, Mette-Marit and Haakon are still happily together, and share Ingrid and Prince Sverre Magnus, 19. And their wedding drama certainly wasn’t the last union to cause controversy.
Did the Norwegian Princess marry the shaman?
Princess Märtha Louise, 53, who is the eldest child of King Harold and Queen Sonja, and Haakon’s sister, had already been forced to drop her Royal Highness styling in 2002 when she chose to work as a clairvoyant.
She later had to give up all her official royal duties to marry Durek Verrett.
“The Norwegian people I guess have decided it’s best for me to step down because of his views about things,” she told British newspaper The Times.
Durek, a self-proclaimed shaman, 50, claims to be the reincarnation of an Egyptian Pharaoh.
While Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan, having called him her “light in shining armour”, the people of Norway aren’t so impressed.
In 2019, Durek’s book, Spirit Hacking, was dropped at the last minute by its Norwegian publisher, thanks to its controversial views regarding chemotherapy.
Then, in 2022, his Spirit Optimiser medallions, which he sells on his website and claims helped him overcome COVID, also saw him run into trouble with authorities.
“They don’t want to see a Black man in the royal family,” Durek hit back on Instagram Live in June 2022, when his engagement to Märtha Louise was announced.
“It’s different when a man chooses a woman of colour because he’s a man. But for a princess to choose a man of colour, it has never been done in history so it’s really tough for people to handle that.”
