UPDATED: Norway had to conduct its second royal funeral in just two weeks on Wednesday. The late King Harald’s older sister, Princess Astrid, was laid to rest in a public ceremony at her large local church in Oslo, and then came news her little dog has died as well.
Princess Astrid, age 94, had remained active to the end, and attended funeral services for her younger brother on September 9. She died just two days later, and her nephew, the new King Haakon VIII, was among those carrying her coffin out of Ris Church on Wednesday, along with his cousins.
Princess Astrid had earlier served as Norway’s “first lady” for 14 years, from the time her mother, the former Crown Princess Martha, died in 1954 until her younger brother Harald married Sonja Haraldsen in 1968. She helped her widowed grandfather, King Haakon VII, until he died in 1957 and then her widowed father when he became King Olav. Her own older sister Princess Ragnhild had moved to Brazil with her shipowner husband, so “first lady” duties fell to Astrid, also after she was finally allowed to marry the divorced commoner Johan Martin Ferner in 1961.
She had to wait nearly as long as her brother Harald did to marry the people they loved, because of royal restrictions at the time. She went on to have five children while also serving as royal hostess at the palace and representing Norway abroad. She was often at her father’s side when he was carrying on royal duties, and she was still a royal patron for 12 organizations when she died, promoting their causes that ranged from dyslexia support to Downs Syndrome, music and sports.
“It means a lot to me,” she told officials at the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra in connection with an international music prize she supported. Her nephew King Haakon and many others referred to her as loyal and hard-working, often accompanied by a small dog sitting in her lap. She loved animals and the outdoors, and the small chihuahua mix named Wilma had been rescued by an animal protection group.
“Wilma means everything to me,” Princess Astrid told state broadcaster NRK last year. “It became a whole new world after she came into the house. I had lost my old dog and that left such a large empty room. It was wonderful to get Wilma … so nice to have her in my lap, and then she got to experience lots of wonderful things together with me.”
On Thursday the Royal Palace confirmed to NRK that Wilma has also died, a few days after the princess. The dog had reportedly gone to live with one of the princess’ grown children, but soon died “lying where she was most comfortable, in a good lap,” according to a statement from the palace. “The dog Wilma had been ill and was 12 years old.”
Funeral guests on Wednesday included royal family members from Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. The entire Norwegian royal family was present, and Jens Stoltenberg spoke on behalf of the Norwegian government. He hailed her “strong personality, firm opinions, good humour and warmth,” in addition to how hard she worked representing Norway at home and abroad.
“She took on great responsibility,” Stoltenberg said, adding that she was interested in and keen to discuss everything from international politics to sports results. Stoltenberg, a former prime minister and NATO chief who now serves as finance minister for Norway, also had a personal connection to Princess Astrid: His father Thorvald Stoltenberg had been president of the high school graduating class (known as russ) in 1950 that included the princess. Stoltenberg’s father had shared memories of meetings at the royal residence “where they had to find a way to combine partying with etiquette.”
More than anything, Stoltenberg added, Princess Astrid was “the ‘big sister’ and King Harald was her ‘little brother,'” noting how that ranking lasts throughout life. “Astrid looked after Harald,” Stoltenberg said, concluding that the nation was “deeply grateful” for her service over the years.
Funeral formalities included attendance of royal guards at her flag-draped coffin, musical interludes featuring the Norwegian boys’ choir known as Sølvguttene,” and the prominent Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø. The princess will be buried alongside her late husband in the graveyard outside the church.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
