Who is Princess Astrid of Norway? Late King Harald's sister dies at 94 two days after attending her brother's funeral

Princess Astrid of Norway, sister of the late King Harald, died at 94. King Harald, who reigned for over 35 years, passed away last month at 89. She last appeared publicly at his funeral, remembered for her warm representation of the Royal House.

Norway’s Princess Astrid, the elder sister of the late King Harald, died on Friday at the age of 94, according to the royal palace statement.

Astrid’s brother, King Harald, passed away last month at the age of 89 after spending over 35 years on the throne. She made her final public appearance at his funeral on Wednesday.

"Throughout her long life, Princess Astrid represented the Royal House in a warm and dutiful manner," King Haakon VIII mentioned in the statement.

Who is Norway's Princess Astrid?

Princess Astrid Maud Ingeborg, also known as Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner, was a member of Norway’s royal family. Born on February 12, 1932, she was the second daughter and the last surviving child of King Olav V and Princess Märtha of Sweden.

Princess Astrid was born at Villa Solbakken to the future King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha. She was baptised at the Palace Chapel on March 31.

Her godparents included her paternal grandparents, King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway, her maternal grandparents, Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg of Sweden, as well as several members of the British, Danish and Swedish royal families, including Princess Astrid of Sweden, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, Princess Thyra of Denmark, Prince Eugen of Sweden and Prince George of the United Kingdom.

Astrid was named after her maternal aunt, paternal grandmother and maternal grandmother. She was also a great-granddaughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, making her a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. At the time of her birth, she was 18th in line to the British throne.

Astrid was the aunt of King Haakon VIII and the elder sister of King Harald V. After her mother died in 1954, she took on the role of Norway’s first lady during the reign of her grandfather, King Haakon VII.

She continued to serve in the role throughout her father Olav V’s reign until her brother Harald married in 1968.

Princess Astrid studied economics and political history for two years at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University.

Norway’s Princess Astrid married Johan Ferner in 1961, had five children

Princess Astrid married Johan Ferner in 1961, and the couple had five children. In her later years, she continued to take part in official public engagements and commemorative events, while receiving an honorary government pension.

She also served as chair of Crown Princess Märtha’s Memorial Fund and was patron of several organisations, particularly those working to support children and young people with dyslexia.

Public role

After the death of her mother in 1954, Astrid took on a prominent role within the Norwegian royal household. She served as the senior lady of the court and performed the duties of Norway’s first lady until her brother married Sonja Haraldsen in August 1968.

During this period, Astrid accompanied her father on official engagements and represented the royal family on state visits. In September 1954, she also joined a royal cruise organised by Queen Frederica and King Paul of Greece. The event, later known as the “Cruise of the Kings”, brought together more than 100 members of European royal families.

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X

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