Princess Astrid of Norway is in hospital in Oslo this evening
after being admitted following a sustained illness.
The 94 year old princess, sister of King Harald V of Norway, is
being treated at the Rikshospitalet in the Norwegian capital.
It’s understood she’s been unwell for several weeks but has been
admitted after being unable to shake off the illness.
King Harald, 88, and Queen Sonja, 87, were seen arriving at the
hospital to visit the princess.
Astrid still carries out regular engagements and is often seen
at high profile events. However, she was noticeably absent at the
State Visit of the King and Queen of the Belgians earlier this
week.
Princess Astrid was born at a time when women weren’t allowed to
succeed to the throne and she has never been in the line of
succession.
She married a ”commoner”, Johan Martin Ferner, in 1961. He was
also divorced and Astrid gave up her HRH on her wedding day, taking
the title of Her Highness Princess Astrid instead.
However, she continued to be a working member of the Norwegian
royal family and was for a while ”first lady” after her widowed
father, Olav, became king in 1957. When her brother, Harald,
married Sonja Haraldsen in 1968, Astrid’s role as leading lady went
to her. The princess remained a stalwart supporter of her father
throughout his reign and has been at her brother’s side since he
took the throne in 1991.
The princess, who was widowed in 2015, has five children and is
also a great grandmother.
The Norwegian royal court hasn’t commented on her illness.
In recent months, the royal family has come in for a wave of
criticism as the Crown Princess, Mette-Marit, was revealed to have
stayed at the home of convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
Meanwhile, her son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Hoiby,
is on trial for rape.