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Norway’s Princess Astrid, the older sister of the late King Harald, died on Friday at the age of 94, just days after the European King’s funeral.
Astrid’s brother Harald died last month, aged 89, after more than 35 years on the throne, and the princess made her last 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 said in the statement.
Norway bade its final farewell to Harald V on Wednesday as crowds lined the streets and foreign royals and leaders converged on Oslo for the funeral of the long-serving king, who was remembered as a popular monarch with a down-to-earth touch.
A 21-gun salute rang out over the capital at the start of a funeral procession from the royal palace to Oslo Cathedral.
The coffin of His Majesty King Harald V is transported from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral on September 09, 2026 in Oslo, Norway (Getty)
Princess Astrid is reported to have said goodbye to her brother in the cathedral and thanked him for “everything we’ve had together”.
Harald’s son, new King Haakon VIII, and other senior royals walked behind the coffin, draped with the red Norwegian royal standard. Harald’s widow, Queen Sonja, and Haakon’s wife, Queen Mette-Marit, followed in a car.
Flags will be flown at half mast from the palace to commemorate the late princess, the new King Haakon announced.
Princess Astrid who was the Norwegian Women’s Sanitary Association’s high patron, at the opening of N.K.S. Health center in Akershus, Norway December 7, 2023 (Reuters)
Norwegian officials and foreign dignitaries joined the solemn procession on Wednesday. They included the monarchs of Sweden, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco and Jordan.
Also present were the heir to the British throne, Prince William, and Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino, as well as political leaders from more than 20 countries, including Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
As the funeral service began, Norway came to a halt for a minute of silence.Harald, who died on Aug. 28 aged 89, was Europe’s oldest monarch and had reigned for 35 years.
His son immediately became king and last week took an oath of allegiance to Norway’s constitution in parliament.
Prince William, Prince of Wales during the funeral of King Harald V of Norway on September 09, 2026 in Oslo, Norway (Getty)
The parliament’s speaker, Masud Gharahkhani, said at the service that “King Harald was close to the people” and recalled that “he wasn’t afraid to meet people in his rubber boots.”
When Norway regained its independence from Sweden in 1905, three-quarters of voters in a national plebiscite approved restoring the monarchy.The Norwegian royal house has kinfolk in other European royal families.
Harald and Haakon are related to both Britain’s King Charles III and Spain’s King Felipe VI: They’re all descendants of the U.K.’s Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 until her death in 1901.
Today, the throne’s role is largely symbolic and power lies with the elected government and parliament, but the Norwegian royal family retains a role in promoting the wealthy Scandinavian nation around the world.
