Norway’s royal family has been hit by a second loss just days after burying its king. Princess Astrid, sister of the late King Harald V and a longtime public face of the monarchy, died at 94 on Friday, two days after attending Harald’s funeral, the palace announced. Her nephew, newly crowned King Haakon VIII, praised her “warm and dutiful” service, the BBC reports. “In her work, Princess Astrid was always particularly concerned with care and inclusion for the most vulnerable in society,” he said. Flags will be lowered nationwide, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said.
Astrid, the last surviving child of King Olav V, effectively acted as Norway’s first lady for 14 years after her mother’s death in 1954, retaining the role until Harald married in 1968. Harald, who served as king for 35 years, died last month at age 89. Another sibling, Princess Ragnhild, died in 2012. Astrid, born in 1932, fled Norway with the rest of the royal family after Germany invaded in 1940 and spent the war years with her mother and siblings near Washington, DC, per a royal biography. She married Olympic medal-winning sailor Johan Ferner in 1961.
Her five children—Cathrine, Benedikte, Alexander, Elisabeth, and Carl-Christian Ferner—honored her in a joint statement, USA Today reports. “Throughout your life you were there for us—with love and wisdom, warmth and good humor,” they said. Astrid’s health had worsened in recent months and she was treated for pneumonia in March. In her final public appearance, she attended her brother’s funeral in a wheelchair.