After the funeral of King Harald of Norway, a deeply moving scene spread across the world. Ninety-four-year-old Princess Astrid was bidding her final farewell to her younger brother. No one imagined at the time that this would be her last public appearance. Just two days later, the royal court announced that she had died.
But why was the simple Ris Church chosen for Astrid? What was the funeral like, and who came to say goodbye to the princess? We will also tell you more about who her husband’s first wife was and how Astrid joked about her famous antenna tiara. Watch to the end to see the most touching moments of Princess Astrid’s farewell and to learn which gesture by King Haakon people have been talking about most since the funeral.
King Harald’s funeral drew a massive procession through the streets of Oslo, with gun salutes and royal representatives from many countries. Astrid’s farewell was expected to be much quieter, yet the state still covered the cost of the princess’s funeral. After all, Astrid had represented the royal family and performed official duties for more than seventy years. Flags on Norwegian government buildings were lowered to half-staff.
Long before the ceremony began, the first guests started arriving at Ris Church. The princess’s coffin was placed before the altar, surrounded by flowers and wreaths given by her family. Astrid’s five children arrived first. Her three daughters, Cathrine, Benedikte, and Elisabeth, and her two sons, Alexander and Carl Christian.
None of them had ever been given royal titles, nor did they perform formal duties for the court. They had always lived quite private lives, focusing on business and their own projects. Astrid’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren also came with them to say their last goodbye. After their mother’s death, Astrid’s five children issued a joint statement.
They called her the best mother for them and thanked her for her love, wisdom, lively sense of humor, and many happy memories. Among the foreign guests were Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Princess Astrid of Belgium with her husband Prince Lorenz, and Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg. Princess Märtha Louise also came with her husband and daughters. She had been very close to her aunt Astrid, and there are many family photographs of the two of them together.
Interestingly, among all the women present, only Märtha Louise’s youngest daughter, Emma Tallulah, wore a mourning veil. She stood out completely from the other guests. Shortly before the ceremony, King Harald, Queen Sonja, Mette-Marit, and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra arrived. For the entire royal family, this was the second painful farewell in less than two weeks.
Just days earlier, they had stood beside Harald’s coffin. Now they had come to say goodbye to the woman who had been by his side since birth. Prince Sverre Magnus, however, was not present. He had started his studies in Lisbon just a few days earlier and this time remained in Portugal.
The Queen’s son, Marius, was also absent. Even though Sverre Magnus and Marius could not attend, their names were included on the family wreath. In that way, they symbolically took part in the ceremony bidding farewell to Astrid. Among the many wreaths placed beside the coffin was one sent by Britain’s Princess Anne.
On the card, she had written by hand, “With love and happy memories. ” A wreath was also sent from Buckingham Palace. In total, over a hundred people attended the ceremony. They included Astrid’s family and friends, representatives of the government and parliament, and members of the organizations under her patronage.
Many had hoped to see Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who was Astrid’s relative and longtime friend. But due to health problems and a recent hospital stay, she could not come. Many remembered the famous photograph from 1960, in which Elvis Presley knelt before the young Astrid, Margrethe, and Princess Margaretha of Sweden. After everyone took their seats, the prayers began.
The service highlighted Astrid’s many years of work and the dozens of organizations she had supported. With the deaths of Harald and Astrid, many charities and public projects lost their royal patrons almost at the same time. But why was Ris Church chosen for Astrid’s farewell instead of the palace chapel? King Harald’s funeral had been held in the palace chapel.
In 2012, the family had said goodbye there to Ragnhild, the older sister of Harald and Astrid. But for Astrid, the family chose Ris Church over the palace. And this was no coincidence. Astrid had lived in this area for many years with her husband Johan Ferner and their five children.
Johan is buried in the local cemetery, and after cremation, Astrid’s ashes will be buried beside him. Their love story was remarkable, and they had to fight for many years to be together. Johan was not of royal descent, and he was also divorced. His first wife was the artist Ingeborg Bitter Hasselberg Meyer.
Their marriage lasted three years and produced no children. Both the princess’s father and the Church opposed the marriage. Johan had already been married once in the Church, so the clergy refused to marry him a second time. But Astrid insisted, and King Olav, with great difficulty, found a clergyman who agreed to marry them.
In the end, Astrid and Johan spent fifty-four years together and had five children. Johan was buried in the Ris Church cemetery, and at that time the family reserved three more plots beside his grave for future funerals. Now Astrid will be buried beside him. What do you think those plots were reserved for?
But after the princess’s death, people were not only talking about where she would be buried. Many remembered her jewelry. The most famous piece is a small aigrette made of diamonds and rubies, from which two long antenna-like parts rise. It was a wedding gift to Astrid’s grandmother, Norway’s future Queen Maud.
This tiara can also be changed. On its thin diamond base, one can attach either those antennas with ruby flowers or diamond wings. Astrid used to joke that with these antennas she could pick up radio stations in both London and Moscow at the same time. This tiara was Astrid’s own, and along with her other jewelry, it will now remain with her children.
But not all the jewelry she wore was her personal property. Some pieces belonged to the royal family and were only lent to Astrid for special occasions. Among these are two of the most well-known tiaras: the Vasa diamond tiara and the turquoise tiara. One day we may see these worn by Mette-Marit or Ingrid Alexandra.
Meanwhile, the farewell ceremony at Ris Church was drawing to a close. King Harald himself, together with the princess’s five children, carried her coffin out of the church. They brought it to the waiting hearse, where the family said goodbye to Astrid one more time. Helping to carry Harald’s coffin became one of the most discussed moments of the ceremony.
The new king personally accompanied his aunt on her final journey, with her children at his side. With that, the formal part of the funeral came to an end. After cremation, the princess’s ashes will be buried in the local cemetery beside her beloved husband Johan Ferner. In less than two weeks, Norway lost both Harald and Astrid.
Many say it was as if the princess had been waiting to say goodbye to her younger brother and then followed him. Do you believe in such coincidences?