Just two days after the funeral of Norway’s king, his older sister died quietly at the age of ninety-four. Princess Astrid had lived through the reigns of four kings and had stood beside her brother from his birth until his death. Few people knew the extraordinary path her life had taken: how she became Norway’s first lady at just twenty-two, how she broke centuries of tradition for love and defied both the King and the Church, and how she found herself in the middle of a scandal that no one expected. Astrid was the second child of Crown Prince Olav of Norway and Crown Princess Märtha.
She grew up with her older sister Ragnhild and her younger brother Harald, and their childhood was happy until Germany invaded Norway. At eight years old, Astrid fled the country with her mother, her sister, and three-year-old Harald. Crown Princess Märtha first took the children to Sweden, and then, at the personal invitation of President Franklin Roosevelt, to the United States. For five years they lived far from home while their father and grandfather remained in London with the Norwegian government in exile.
The family returned only after Norway’s liberation. After the war, Astrid finished school and then earned a degree at Oxford in England. But her mother’s health was failing quickly, and Astrid could not stay far from home for long. A series of painful events followed.
Her older sister Ragnhild married businessman Erling Lorentzen and moved with him to Brazil. When the newlyweds’ car disappeared through the gates of the family residence at Skaugum, Astrid burst into tears right there on the street. She later admitted that she realized at that moment: now everything depends on me. Eleven months later, her mother, Crown Princess Märtha, died.
The young woman who had only recently been a student suddenly became the only adult woman in the royal household. She also had to be a source of support for seventeen-year-old Harald, who struggled especially hard with their mother’s death. At that time, Norway was ruled by her grandfather, King Haakon VII. His wife, Queen Maud, had died before the war, Ragnhild had moved to Brazil, and now Märtha was gone.
Much of what her mother had once done now fell under Astrid’s responsibility. No one asked whether she was ready. At twenty-two, she became the country’s first lady, and she remained in that role for the next fourteen years, first alongside her grandfather Haakon and then alongside her father Olav. She received foreign monarchs and presidents, opened exhibitions and charity bazaars, made official visits, and at the same time managed the household at the royal residence Skaugum.
At one point, Astrid and her cousins even ended up on the set of a Hollywood film. Elvis Presley was so charmed by his royal guests that he fell to one knee before them. A photograph of the King of Rock and Roll at the feet of three princesses appeared in newspapers around the world. But how did Princess Astrid meet the love of her life, the man for whom she would break centuries of tradition and defy both the King and the Church?
Only a few months after her mother’s death, Astrid was sent on the famous Cruise of the Kings, which brought together more than a hundred members of European royal families on a single ship. The press called it a floating fair for royal brides and grooms. It was there that Juan Carlos met the future Queen Sofía. But Astrid herself returned to Norway alone: her royal relatives failed to find her a suitable partner.
The princess found her true love not among the titled guests of the cruise, but through her greatest passion: sailing. She competed in regattas on her yacht, Astra. For one of the competitions, she needed an experienced sailor. That man was Johan Martin Ferner, a businessman and Olympic silver medalist.
They soon developed real feelings for each other. But in the eyes of the royal court, he was completely unsuitable as a husband for a princess: a commoner and, even worse in their eyes, a divorced man. When their engagement was announced, a true scandal erupted. Newspapers accused Astrid of irresponsibility, church officials refused to conduct the wedding ceremony, and some opponents of the marriage demanded that she be removed from her duties as first lady.
But there was no one who could replace Astrid. After Haakon’s death, her widowed father, Olav V, ascended the throne, and the princess became his right hand. So when people demanded that his daughter be removed, the king replied: And who will take her place? There was still no other woman in the royal family who could replace Astrid at official events.
The princess herself had no intention of backing down. She gave her father a firm ultimatum: either she would be allowed to marry Ferner, or she would stop performing her duties as first lady entirely. The king had to personally search for a priest willing to perform the ceremony, despite the Church’s opposition. But the scandal continued right up to the wedding day.
Official representatives of the government did not attend, and the door of the room where the priest was supposed to prepare for the service turned out to be locked. He had to change into his vestments right there in the church. Despite all the obstacles, Astrid and Johan became husband and wife. But the victory came at a cost.
By her father’s decision, after her marriage she was no longer addressed as Her Royal Highness, although she kept the title of princess. Astrid also voluntarily gave up her state allowance and continued to perform her duties for free. The couple had five children, three daughters and two sons, none of whom received a royal title. Johan continued his business career, and the children grew up away from constant press attention.
That is why the public saw Astrid much more often beside her father and Harald than with her husband and children. Soon her younger brother faced a similar test of love. Harald fell in love with a commoner, Sonja Haraldsen, but for many years the court refused to accept his choice. His older sister became his strongest ally.
No one understood him better than she did. When Harald and Sonja finally married, Astrid handed over her duties as first lady to the new crown princess. Her own struggle for love had ended in a happy marriage, and now her younger brother had won the right to start a family with the woman he had chosen. Her role as first lady was over, but Astrid continued to work.
She led a foundation in memory of her mother and supported twelve organizations connected with women’s health, families, culture, and chronic pain. Helping people with dyslexia was especially close to her heart: the princess lived with the condition herself and never hid it. But her life was not limited to duty. Astrid was an excellent skier, worked with ceramics, and created her own small workshop.
She often appeared with Harald at royal ceremonies and competitions. Astrid also loved animals. Instead of buying purebred dogs, she adopted pets from shelters. That was how Vilma came into her home.
The dog’s previous owner had been terminally ill and feared above all that Vilma would be left alone after her death. Before she died, the woman learned that Princess Astrid herself would take her beloved pet. Vilma found a new home and for many years accompanied her owner even to official events. The palace has not yet said who will care for her beloved dog after Astrid’s death.
Most likely, one of her five children will take her in. As she aged, the princess increasingly had to say goodbye to those closest to her. First, Astrid lost her older sister Ragnhild, who died in Brazil at eighty-two but was buried in her homeland. Then Johan died, the man for whom Astrid had once defied the royal court and the Church.
Their marriage had lasted fifty-four years. Her own health also brought many trials. When she was still young, during one journey, Astrid spent several hours with her father in an open car under icy rain. Their clothes were soaked through, and a few days later she developed severe joint pain.
A doctor insisted that she be sent for treatment immediately, but Olav insisted that his daughter finish the event because people were waiting for them. After that, joint pain troubled her for decades, and the princess repeatedly had to use crutches. She suffered several fractures, used a wheelchair after a hip injury, fell seriously ill with pneumonia, and later had a pacemaker implanted due to heart failure. But she continued to work, and even in her final years she would say with a smile: I like being useful.
My legs may fail me, but my head works perfectly. During King Harald’s final days, Astrid stayed close to him. She visited him in the hospital, said goodbye to him in the palace chapel after his death, and then attended his funeral. On that day, the women of the royal family wore badges bearing Harald’s portrait, special honors received for service to the Crown.
But Astrid wore three of them, carrying the portraits of her grandfather Haakon, her father Olav, and her brother Harald, because the princess had served all three. Before her death, she lived to see a fourth king ascend the throne: her nephew, Haakon VIII. Two days after her brother’s funeral, Princess Astrid died quietly. Her children described their mother as someone who gave them endless warmth, wisdom, sparkling humor, and countless happy memories.
Astrid will not be buried in the royal mausoleum where her grandparents, parents, and brother rest. She will be buried in the Ris cemetery beside Johan Martin Ferner, the man she once chose despite the resistance of the court and the Church, and with whom she spent more than half a century. Princess Astrid died at ninety-four. As a child, she fled the war with three-year-old Harald.
She supported him after their mother’s death, helped him defend his love for Sonja, and stayed beside him throughout his life. After her younger brother’s death, she lived only fourteen more days.