Princess Astrid's funeral will be on 23 September
Photo: Thomas Fure / NTB
The Royal Court has announced that Princess Astrid's funeral will take place on Wednesday 23 September at 1 pm in Ris Church in Oslo. The Princess will receive a funeral at the expense of the state, and the service will be broadcast live. Princess Astrid died on 11 September, aged 94.
Princess Astrid's funeral will take place on Wednesday 23 September at 1 pm in Ris Church in Oslo. This was announced by the Royal Court in a press release.
People have laid flowers and candles in the Palace Square since Princess Astrid died. Photo: Thomas Fure / NTB
The Princess will receive a funeral at the expense of the state.
The service in Ris Church will be broadcast live, and the Royal Court says it will be made available to Norwegian media. NTB and NRK will have a photo pool inside the church.
• About Ris Church
Ris Church is the parish church for Ris parish in Vestre Aker in Oslo. It is a long church, and it was consecrated on 12 June 1932, the same year Princess Astrid was born.
Ris Church in Oslo. Photo: Trond Strandsberg / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
• Died on 11 September
Princess Astrid passed away on Friday 11 September, aged 94. It happened exactly two weeks after her brother, King Harald V, died.
In the press release from the Royal Court, the Princess's children shared words in memory of their mother.
"Thank you for being the best mother we could have had. Throughout our lives you were there for us, with love and wisdom, warmth and good humour," the family wrote.
Princess Astrid with her dog Wilma at the Norwegian Women's Public Health Association centenary in May. Photo: Ola Vatn, The Royal Court / NTB
• Norway's first lady for 14 years
When Crown Princess Märtha died in 1954, Princess Astrid became Norway's first lady, only 22 years old. That is the same age as Princess Ingrid Alexandra is today.
She held the role until Crown Princess Sonja took over in 1968, and represented the royal house at home and abroad, often together with her father, King Olav. The Princess continued to carry out engagements for the royal house right up until her death.
The Norwegian Women's Public Health Association was under Princess Astrid's patronage from 1954 until she died.
• Gave up her title
Princess Astrid married the businessman and sailor Johan Martin Ferner in 1961. She then gave up the title of Royal Highness and the annual allowance of 50,000 kroner, and became known as Princess Astrid, Mrs Ferner.
Princess Astrid in 2012. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
The couple had five children. Johan Martin Ferner died in January 2015, and the service for him was private and held at Holmenkollen Chapel on 2 February that year.
When Princess Astrid's sister, Princess Ragnhild, Mrs Lorentzen, two years her senior, died in 2012, the service took place in the Palace Chapel in Oslo with around 120 people present.