The Royal House shares photographs of Princess Astrid beside her brother's coffin
Photo: The Royal Court
The Royal House shared three photographs of Princess Astrid (94) on Thursday. In the first she sits alone in front of King Harald's coffin in the Palace Chapel; in the other two she looks out over the sea of flowers on the Palace Square. They are the first images of the princess since her brother's death.
On Thursday the Norwegian Royal House shared three photographs of Princess Astrid (94) from the days following her brother's death. In the first she sits alone in a wheelchair in front of King Harald's coffin in the Palace Chapel.
Princess Astrid beside her brother's coffin in the Palace Chapel. Photo: The Royal Court of Norway
The coffin is draped in the royal standard, with the crown, the sword of state and the sceptre placed on it, surrounded by wreaths and tall silver candelabras.
Princess Astrid is King Harald's elder sister and the only surviving child of King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha. Her elder sister, Princess Ragnhild, died in 2012.
• Looking out over the sea of flowers
The two other photographs were taken inside the Palace, where the princess sits at a window looking down over the Palace Square, where the public have laid flowers, flags and candles.
The princess at the Palace window, with two candles lit on the sill. Photo: The Royal Court of Norway
The sea of flowers on the Palace Square, seen from the window where the princess sat. Photo: The Royal Court of Norway
• Rarely seen in public
The princess has been little seen in public in recent months. At the end of March she was admitted to Rikshospitalet with pneumonia. On 4 May she returned to official duty, attending the 50th anniversary of Dysleksi Norge at Oslo City Hall together with the then Crown Prince Haakon.
On 13 May she was admitted again, and two days later the Palace announced that the princess had been admitted with heart failure and had been fitted with a temporary pacemaker. The Palace said at the time that she would remain in hospital for some time. The event at Oslo City Hall on 4 May remains her most recent official engagement.
Princess Astrid was among the family members who visited King Harald at Rikshospitalet while his condition was serious, and she was there on the Thursday before he died.
These are the first photographs of the princess since her brother's death. The funeral will be held in Oslo Cathedral at 1pm on Wednesday 9 September.