Just two days after the funeral of the King of Norway, his older sister, ninety-four-year-old Princess Astrid, passed away quietly. She had lived through the reigns of four kings and had been at her brother’s side from his birth until his death. But few people knew the remarkable story of her life. How did she suddenly become the First Lady of Norway at age twenty-two?
How did she break centuries-old tradition for the sake of love, defying both the King and the Church? Why was no priest willing to marry the couple? The answers lie in a life shaped by war, duty, and a love that would not be denied. Astrid was the second child of King Olav of Norway and Crown Princess Märtha.
She grew up with her older sister Ragnhild and her younger brother Harald. Their happy childhood ended when Germany invaded Norway. At just eight years old, Astrid had to flee the country urgently with her mother, her sister, and three-year-old Harald. Crown Princess Märtha first took the children to Sweden, then traveled with them to the United States at the personal invitation of President Franklin Roosevelt.
For five years they lived far from home while their father and grandfather remained in London with the Norwegian government in exile. The family was only able to return after the liberation of Norway. After the war, Astrid finished school and then graduated from Oxford in England. But her mother’s health was deteriorating quickly, so she could not stay away 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. Later she 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. Astrid also had to become 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 to Astrid. No one asked whether she was ready. At twenty-two, she became the First Lady of the country and remained in that role for the next fourteen years, first for her grandfather Haakon and then for her father Olav.
She received foreign monarchs and presidents, opened exhibitions and charity bazaars, made official visits, and simultaneously ran the household at the royal residence of Skaugum. At one point, Princess Astrid and her cousins even found themselves on a Hollywood film set. Elvis Presley was so charmed by his royal guests that he dropped 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-old 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 one ship. The press called it a floating fair for royal brides and grooms. It was there that Juan Carlos met his 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 race, she needed an experienced sailor.
That man was Johan Martin Ferner, a businessman and Olympic silver medalist. They soon developed genuine 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 view, a divorced man. When their engagement was announced, a real scandal erupted.
Newspapers accused Astrid of irresponsibility, church officials refused to conduct the wedding ceremony, and some opponents of the marriage demanded 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 his daughter be removed, the King responded: “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 presented her father with 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 resistance.
But the scandal continued right up to the wedding day. Official government representatives 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 in the church. Despite all the obstacles, Astrid and Johan became husband and wife.
But the victory came at a price for the princess. By her father’s decision, after her marriage she was no longer addressed as “Her Royal Highness,” although she retained the title of princess. Astrid also voluntarily gave up her state allowance and continued to perform her duties without pay. The couple had five children, three daughters and two sons.
None of them received a royal title. Johan continued his business while the children grew up away from constant press attention. That was why the public saw Astrid far 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 the duties of First Lady to the new crown princess.
Her own struggle for love had ended in a happy marriage, and now her younger brother had also 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 related to 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 only about 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 in her beloved pet.
Vilma found a new home and for many years accompanied her mistress even to official events. The palace had not yet said who would care for the beloved dog. 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 lasted fifty-four years. Her own health also brought many trials. When she was still young, during one trip, Astrid spent several hours with her father in an open car under freezing rain.
Their clothes were soaked through, and a few days later she developed severe joint pain. A doctor insisted she be sent for treatment immediately, but Olav insisted his daughter finish the event because people were waiting for them. After that, the joint pain tormented her for decades, and the princess repeatedly had to use crutches. Astrid suffered several fractures, used a wheelchair after a hip injury, became 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, would say with a smile: “I like being useful. My legs may fail me, but my head works perfectly. ”
In the final days of King Harald’s life, 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 the badge with Harald’s portrait, a special distinction received for service to the Crown. But Astrid had three of them, bearing the portraits of her grandfather Haakon, her father Olav, and her brother Harald, because the princess had served all three. And 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 passed away quietly.
Her children described their mother as someone who gave them endless warmth, wisdom, sparkling humor, and countless happy memories. Astrid would not be buried in the royal mausoleum where her grandparents, parents, and brother rested. She would instead be laid to rest in the Ris cemetery beside Johan Martin Ferner, the man she had once chosen despite the resistance of the court and the Church, and with whom she had spent more than half a century. Princess Astrid died at ninety-four.
As a child she fled the war with three-year-old Harald, supported him after their mother’s death, helped him defend his love for Sonja, and stayed beside him throughout his life. After the death of her younger brother, she lived only fourteen more days.