Royal Mourning Jewels for Princess Astrid’s Funeral in Norway

It’s a season of mourning for the Norwegian royal family following the passings of King Harald V and his sister, Princess Astrid. On Wednesday, royals from Norway and abroad gathered to remember Princess Astrid at her funeral in Oslo.

Princess Astrid, who died on Friday, September 11, at the age of 94, was the granddaughter, daughter, sister, and aunt of Norwegian monarchs. She was the second child of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden, and after her mother’s early death, she served as the nation’s first lady for several years. Her final public appearance was at her younger brother’s funeral, two days before her own passing.

In 1961, Astrid married the Olympic sailor Johan Martin Ferner. The couple were married for 54 years, until Ferner’s death in 2015, and had five children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

King Haakon VIII of Norway joined his cousins—Princess Astrid’s five children, Cathrine, Benedikte, Alexander, Elisabeth, and Carl-Christian Ferner—as a pallbearer, carrying Astrid’s coffin out of the church at the conclusion of the service. All three of her daughters wore lovely brooches to pay tribute to their mother.

Almost the entire Norwegian royal family was present for the service, with the exception of Prince Sverre Magnus, who recently began university studies in Lisbon. King Haakon arrived with his wife, Queen Mette-Marit, who wore a brooch linked to generations of family history. The diamond and pearl drop brooch belonged to Princess Astrid’s grandmother, the British-born Queen Maud. It was later worn by Astrid’s sister, Princess Ragnhild.

Astrid’s sister-in-law, Queen Sonja, was elegant at the service in pearl earrings and a pearl necklace, plus a petite diamond and pearl brooch and her signature gold bangle bracelets.

Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra wore pearl earrings with the same necklace she wore for her grandfather’s funeral earlier this month. The pearl necklace, with its diamond and ruby heart pendant, was given to Ingrid by her grandmother, Queen Sonja.

Princess Märtha Louise arrived for the service with her husband, Durek Verrett, and her three daughters. She wore a suite of diamond jewelry with red gemstone centerpieces, echoing Norway’s national colors, and a modern circle brooch with pearl accents.

Through her mother, Astrid was a cousin of the Swedish, Belgian, Luxembourgish, and Danish royals, and several members of the extended family were present for the service. Here, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is pictured with Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein and her twin brother, Prince Jean of Luxembourg. Margaretha and Jean are grandchildren of Queen Astrid of Belgium, Princess Astrid’s aunt and namesake.

Crown Princess Victoria wore pearl earrings with a small heart-shaped enamel brooch. The jewel, which she also wore for King Harald’s funeral, was a gift from Harald, who was her godfather. Beside her, Princess Margaretha wears diamond earrings and a lovely diamond and pearl drop brooch.

Two more Belgian royal cousins were also present for the funeral: Princess Astrid, who shares a name with her late cousin, and her husband, Prince Lorenz. Astrid wore diamond drop earrings and a modern diamond brooch from her personal jewelry collection for the occasion.

The Norwegian royal jewelry historian Trond Noren Isaksen shared that more extended members of the family were also present at the funeral, including Princess Ragnhild’s three children, as well as Count Axel and Countess Désirée  of Rosenborg (grandson and granddaughter of Crown Princess Märtha’s sister, Princess Margaretha of Denmark).