Princess Astrid, sister of King Harald, dies in Norway — Dawn
Princess Astrid, the elder sister of the late King Harald, has died in Norway at the age of 94. The royal palace announced this in a statement, Dawn reports.
King Harald died last month at the age of 89 after more than 35 years on the throne. Princess Astrid last appeared in public on Wednesday at her brother's funeral.
Royal palace statement
King Haakon VIII said in a statement that throughout her long life, Princess Astrid represented the royal house warmly and conscientiously.
She was born in Oslo as the second daughter of King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha of Sweden. Following the German invasion of Norway in 1940 during World War II, Astrid left for Washington with her family, where they remained throughout the war years. They returned to Norway in 1945.
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Role in the royal family
Following the early death of her mother in 1954, the 22-year-old princess assumed the duties of Norway's first lady. She hosted at the Royal Palace and represented the country at home and abroad alongside her grandfather, King Haakon VII, and later alongside her father, Olav V. Astrid carried out these duties until Harald's marriage in 1968.
In 1961, she married Norwegian businessman and Olympic yachtsman Johan Martin Ferner. The marriage to a man of non-aristocratic background caused considerable controversy at the time. The couple had five children and remained together until Ferner's death in 2015.
Even after the age of 90, Princess Astrid continued to perform representative duties and supported a number of organizations. Until her death, she was also the oldest living descendant of Britain's Queen Victoria.
