Norway's top government officials gathered at the Royal Palace to sign an official condolence protocol for Princess Astrid, who died September 11 at age 94 — just two days after attending the funeral of her brother, King Harald V, according to Geo.tv.
The President of the Storting, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and the Chief Justice each signed the book, photographs released by the Norwegian Royal House showed. A digital condolence register has also been opened to the public, allowing people across Norway and beyond to leave messages that will be published alongside senders' names and archived by the Royal Court after her funeral.
Princess Astrid's death marks the end of a generation for Norway's royal family. She was the last surviving child of King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha, born February 12, 1932. When her mother died in 1954, the 22-year-old Astrid stepped into the role of Norway's First Lady, a position she held until her brother Harald married Sonja Haraldsen in 1968.
Her final public appearance came at King Harald's funeral on September 9, where she arrived in a wheelchair. The king died August 28 at age 89 after 35 years on the throne, having been hospitalized earlier that month for treatment of hemolytic anemia and a blood infection. Crown Prince Haakon, 53, immediately succeeded him as King Haakon VIII.
In a statement, King Haakon VIII praised his aunt's decades of service. "Throughout her long life, Princess Astrid represented the Royal House in a warm and dutiful manner," he said. "She was an important support to King Harald and the rest of our family. We learned a great deal from her, and she was not afraid to speak her mind."
Astrid's health had declined in recent months. She was hospitalized with pneumonia in March and had been fitted with a temporary pacemaker in May after being treated for heart failure. Prime Minister Støre said she would be buried at state expense, with flags flown at half-mast across Norway.
Her children — Cathrine, Benedikte, Alexander, Elisabeth, and Carl-Christian Ferner — issued a statement thanking their mother for a lifetime of "love and wisdom, warmth and good humor," adding that she had always shown "genuine care" for those who needed extra support.
Why this matters
Princess Astrid's death, coming just fourteen days after King Harald's, leaves Norway's royal family navigating an unusually concentrated period of mourning and transition. Astrid served as a bridge to an earlier era: she was the last living grandchild of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud, and her tenure as First Lady coincided with the early years of her father Olav V's reign, when the Norwegian monarchy was still consolidating its post-war public role. Her death closes a chapter in which the royal house was led by a generation shaped directly by World War II exile and reconstruction.
