Marius Borg is 29, has a four-year prison sentence for some thirty criminal offences and an electronic ankle tag. Now he also has a new goal: a job. According to the Norwegian magazine Se og Hør, his defence said Queen Mette-Marit's son is "motivated to start working" and is focused on "getting a concrete job offer".

A reminder of what this is about. Marius was convicted at the start of the summer, among other things for two rapes and for drug dealing. He has been under supervision since February and has appealed part of the verdict. While the appeal is pending, he isn't sitting in a cell but in the royal residence of Skaugum - under house arrest, with a tag on his ankle. His defence has already said it won't oppose extending that arrangement for another four weeks.

The public saw him again on 9 September at the funeral of King Harald V in Oslo: wearing the tag, visibly changed and sober. That appearance was immediately read as the start of his "rehabilitation" away from the court's spotlight. But in this story, the order matters. The sentence is for crimes he committed. The "fresh start", for now, is only his wish.

New king, old problem

The timing couldn't be worse for the crown. Norway has a new king, Haakon, following the death of Harald V. Queen Mette-Marit is absent from official duties while she recovers from a lung transplant, and Princess Ingrid Alexandra is carrying the protocol load alongside her father. The monarchy wants to show a calm handover between generations - and once again the king's stepson is grabbing the headlines.

Two questions remain. Who is going to offer him that "concrete job" - and will the offer be the same as for any other convict, or the one you make to a family member who lives in a palace? The Balkans know the scene well: the son of someone powerful asking for a second chance. How often, though, does that second chance come after a four-year sentence, rather than instead of one?