See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy ELIANA SILVER, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:28 BST, 11 September 2026 | Updated: 18:24 BST, 11 September 2026
Norway's Princess Astrid, an older sister of the late King Harald, died on Friday at the age of 94, the royal palace said in a statement.Astrid's brother Harald died last month, aged 89, after more than 35 years on the throne, and the princess made her last public appearance at his funeral on Wednesday.'Throughout her long life, Princess Astrid represented the Royal House in a warm and dutiful manner,' King Haakon VIII said in the statement.Norway's King Harald V, who died on August 28, was laid to rest on September 9 in a memorial service that evoked profound displays of raw and unfiltered emotion from typically stoic royals.Harald was Europe's oldest reigning sovereign after Queen Elizabeth II, ruling Norway for over 35 years.Harald was being treated for haemolytic anaemia, a disorder that causes red blood cells to be destroyed at an abnormally fast rate. Following news of his death, countless mourners descended on the palace in Oslo on Friday in an outpouring of grief - laying flowers and Norwegian flags in his honour.Harald is succeeded by his son, Haakon, who addressed the nation for the first time since his father's passing last Saturday. Princess Astrid attending the state funeral of King Harald Princess Astrid attending the state funeral of King Harald King Harald of Norway, cousin of King Charles III, died at the age of 89 after a brief stay in hospitalFollowing Harald's death, the palace said his health had 'deteriorated' after he contracted an infection.'It is with deep grief that we announce that His Majesty King Harald has passed away,' Norway's Royal Court said in a statement.'King Harald died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, Friday, August 28 at 6.35am.'King Charles III said he had extended his 'deepest and most heartfelt condolences' to the Norwegian royal family following the death of his 'dear cousin'.The pair were second cousins once removed, sharing great-great-grandparents King Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark.'As Norway mourns the loss of so towering a figure, my whole family join in remembering a much-loved kinsman and friend whose kindness, compassion and deep sense of duty echoed from across the sea and across the decades,' Charles said.'The Queen and I extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Queen Sonja and all her family, as Britain shares in Norway's grief at this time of such heartbreaking loss.'The new monarch's wife, Mette-Marit, 53, has faced intense scrutiny following the release of the Epstein Files, which revealed she stayed at paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach residence in 2013 – after he was convicted for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.One email released suggested she was still in contact with the billionaire financier just months before his death.The new queen claimed this year that she had been misled by the late sex offender as she sought to contain the fallout. Fresh scandal also came in June when Mette-Marit's son, Marius Borg Høiby, was convicted on two counts of rape and jailed for four years following a six-week trial that laid bare allegations of violence, drug abuse and sexual misconduct. An Oslo court also found him guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend, Nora Haukland, issuing threats and committing traffic offences, although he was acquitted of two other rape charges. The 29-year-old had been charged with sexually assaulting four women who were asleep or otherwise unable to resist between 2018 and 2024.
