Princess Astrid of Norway, the 94-year-old sister of King Harald V, has been discharged from hospital after a bout of heart failure — and Norwegian media spotted her out shopping in Oslo with her chihuahua mix, Wilma, tucked in her arms (Town & Country).

It is a notably upbeat coda to a frightening stretch for Norway's royal family. Astrid was admitted to Rikshospitalet, Oslo's National Hospital, in May 2026. The Norwegian Royal Court confirmed at the time that she had been hospitalized with heart failure and had a temporary pacemaker inserted (Royal Court of Norway). She was 94 at the time of admission and turned 94 again in February — the same age at which her sister-in-law, Queen Sonja, was also hospitalized with heart failure that same month. Queen Sonja was discharged after treatment and a medication adjustment.

The royal household struck a measured tone through the summer. In a July 2026 email to the Norwegian magazine Se og Hør, palace communications advisor Simen Løvberg Sund said Astrid "is receiving good help and follow-up from both health personnel and others who assist her" (Town & Country). No further medical detail has been released.

Astrid's last official engagement before her hospitalization was in May 2026, when she attended the 50th anniversary of Dyslexia Norway — a cause she has supported for decades. She has long been the hardest-working senior royal outside the immediate line of succession, maintaining a steady calendar of patronages and public appearances well into her nineties.

She has been candid about the trade-offs of age. On her 93rd birthday, she said in an interview that her legs fail but not her head, and that she can still stay involved with the things that matter to her (Town & Country). The shopping-trip sighting, complete with Wilma, suggests the head is still very much in charge.

The broader royal household has faced a demanding few months on the health front. Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who has chronic pulmonary fibrosis, underwent a lung transplant and was discharged from hospital in mid-July 2026. That procedure came after years of public disclosure about her condition — a rarity for a royal family, and one that has drawn sympathy across Norway.

For American readers tracking the European monarchies from the outside, the Norwegian royals tend to sit a step behind the British in visibility. But the story is the same one that plays out in every royal house with aging senior members: a family navigating public duty and private medical crises at the same time, with the public kept informed through carefully timed palace statements.

Astrid, for her part, appears to be taking it in stride. A chihuahua, a shopping bag, and a walk through Oslo — not a bad way to mark a recovery.