Princess Astrid dies aged 94 after a life of service

Norway’s royal family is mourning the death of Princess Astrid, who died on September 11, 2026, aged 94.

Her death came just two days after she attended the funeral of her younger brother, King Harald V, who died on August 28.

Princess Astrid Maud Ingeborg was born on February 12, 1932, to Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Märtha. Her father later became King Olav V in 1957.

She grew up at Skaugum alongside her elder sister, Princess Ragnhild, and younger brother, Harald.

Her early life was shaped by the Second World War. Following Germany’s invasion of Norway in 1940, Astrid and her family went into exile and spent five years away from Norway before returning home in 1945.

After the war, she attended Nissen Girls’ School and later studied social economics and political history at Oxford for two years.

Astrid took on an important public role at the age of 22 following the death of her mother in 1954. She became Norway’s First Lady, a role she held for 14 years until 1968, when her brother Harald married Sonja Haraldsen.

During this period, she represented the Norwegian Royal House at official engagements both in Norway and abroad.
In 1961, Princess Astrid married businessman Johan Martin Ferner.

The couple had five children: Cathrine, Benedikte, Alexander, Elisabeth and Carl-Christian. Ferner died in 2015.

Throughout her life, Astrid remained active in royal duties and charitable work. She was particularly committed to causes promoting care and inclusion for vulnerable people, as well as organisations supporting children and young people.

Princess Astrid continued to represent the Norwegian Royal House into her later years. Her death marks the loss of a much-loved and long-serving member of Norway’s royal family.