Princess Astrid reunited with the husband she fought to marry as she is laid to rest

Princess Astrid of Norway has been laid to rest beside her husband, Johan Martin Ferner, more than a decade after his death and following a lifetime in which their marriage helped challenge long-standing expectations surrounding royal weddings.

The Norwegian royal family gathered at Ris Church in Oslo for the funeral of Princess Astrid, who died on September 11 aged 94. Her funeral came just weeks after the death of her younger brother, King Harald, whose funeral Astrid herself attended shortly before her own death.

King Haakon VIII led the royal family at the service, arriving with Queen Mette-Marit, Queen Sonja and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra. Princess Märtha Louise, her husband Durek Verrett and her daughters were also among those present.

Astrid’s final resting place carries particular significance because she has been buried alongside Ferner, the man she married in 1961 in a union that caused considerable controversy at the time.

Astrid was the second daughter of King Olav and had assumed an important position within the Norwegian royal household after the death of her mother, Crown Princess Märtha, and the decision of her elder sister, Princess Ragnhild, to marry outside royal circles and move to South America.

As the younger Crown Prince Harald remained unmarried, Astrid became the leading female figure at the Norwegian court and effectively served as first lady.

Her decision to marry Ferner therefore presented a significant dilemma.

Ferner was a businessman and Olympic sailor who did not have royal lineage. More controversially for the time, he had already been divorced.

King Olav eventually gave his approval to the relationship, but finding a clergyman willing to conduct the wedding proved considerably more difficult.

The Bishop of Oslo refused to oversee the ceremony, as did the minister at Asker, the church originally chosen by the couple. Eventually, the Bishop of Nidaros agreed to conduct the wedding, with the ceremony taking place on January 12, 1961.

The couple deliberately opted for a relatively understated wedding at the Church at Asker, close to Astrid’s childhood home.

Around 200 people attended, including members of European royal families, but there were no state representatives.

Astrid wore a winter-white wedding gown decorated with silver embroidery, but there was no tiara. Her veil was held in place with flowers and she did not wear a train.

There was also a significant change to her royal status.

Astrid entered the church as an HRH but left as Princess Astrid, Mrs Ferner, having surrendered her style of Royal Highness as a consequence of the marriage.

Despite that change, her role within the Norwegian royal family did not disappear.

With her sister living abroad and Harald still unmarried, Astrid continued to accompany her father at major occasions and remained a prominent figure at the Norwegian court. She continued supporting the royal family even after Harald married Sonja Haraldsen in 1968.

Astrid and Ferner went on to have five children together. He died in 2015.

More than 60 years after their wedding, the couple have now been reunited in death.

The service in Oslo was attended by members of several European royal families, including Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Belgium’s Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz. Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg was also present.

There was a British royal connection despite no member of the Royal Family travelling to Norway for the funeral.

The Princess Royal sent a wreath of white roses carrying a message signed simply “Anne”: “With love and happy memories.”

Princess Anne is King Haakon’s godmother and had attended King Harald’s funeral alongside Prince William earlier this month.

King Haakon also played a particularly personal role in the funeral, serving as one of seven pallbearers who carried his aunt’s coffin from the church.

He was joined by Astrid’s five children – Cathrine, Benedikte, Alexander, Elisabeth and Carl-Christian Ferner.

Astrid’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren placed red roses on her coffin during the service.

Her death marked the end of a remarkable chapter in the Norwegian royal family’s history. Once expected to play a central role within the court, Astrid ultimately chose to marry for love despite the conventions surrounding royal marriages at the time.

Her relationship with Ferner endured for more than five decades until his death in 2015. She will now rest beside him at Akershus Fortress, where her brother King Harald is also buried.