User:Thhist/List of Norwegian monarchs

The list of Norwegian monarchs begins in 872, the traditional dating of the Battle of Hafrsfjord, after which victor Harald Fairhair united many of the Norwegian petty kingdoms into a single kingdom. Harald's realm was later to be known as the Kingdom of Norway. Harald was thus the founder of the first royal house on Norway's throne, the so-called Fairhair dynasty. Although this house became patrilineally extinct already when Harald's grandson Harald II died in 970, most of the Norwegian monarchs until 1387 have traditionally been regarded as part of the Fairhair dynasty. Modern scholars have however largely rejected this view, and shifted towards seeing the later kings as forming their own dynasties, the most important which were the Hardrada dynasty and Sverre dynasty.

Aside from short periods under the Danish king in the late 10th and early 11th century, Norway was ruled as an independent kingdom until the 14th century. In addition to sporadic conflicts between individual kings and branches, the rivalry over the Norwegian kingship was most dividing between 1130 and 1240, during what is known as the civil war era. During this period, the two parties called the Birkebeiner (rioting commoners) and Bagler (members of the Norwegian nobility) fought over the kingship, although the Birkebeiner generally held most power and ultimately prevailed.

In 1387, Norway became part of the so-called Kalmar Union, in which Norway, Denmark and Sweden were united under the same monarch. Norway's throne was inherited by the Danish king Christian I in 1450, and thereafter possessed by Copenhagen-based monarchs until 1814, bringing the kingdoms of Norway and of Denmark into a personal union, known as Denmark–Norway. Norway finally gained constitutional independence with a constitutional monarchy in 1814, ending the absolutism of 1660, and elected the Danish king's son, the Christian Frederick, as Norway's king. After several months, however, the king was forced to abdicate, and the throne was given to Charles XIII of Sweden (Charles II in Norway), which brought the kingdoms of Norway and of Sweden into a personal union, the Union between Sweden and Norway. In 1905, the union ended, and Norway has since then been ruled by members of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

Especially between 1450 and 1905, the Danish and Swedish kings of Norway possessed and used several other titles, among others King of the Goths, King of the Wends, Duke to Sleswick, Duke to Holsatia, Prince to Rügen, and Count to Oldenburg. They called themselves "King to Norway" (Konge til Norge), indicating that the country was theirs, usually with the style His Royal Majesty. With the introduction of the constitutional monarchy in 1814, the traditional style "by God's Grace" was extended to "by God's Grace and after the Kingdom's Constitution", but was only briefly in use. The last king to use the style "by God's Grace" was Haakon VII, who died in 1957. The King's title today is formally "Norway's King" (Norges Konge), indicating that he is the country's king, with the style "His Majesty". A construction like "King of Norway" (Konge av Norge) is formally incorrect in Norwegian.

Fairhair dynasty
Besides becoming sole king after his father's death, Eric Bloodaxe was king jointly with his father for three years before his death. After Harald's death, Eric ruled as "overking" of his brothers, who also held status as kings and had control over certain regions. Harald Greycloak also ruled as "overking" of his brothers. All dates for the kings of the Fairhair dynasty are approximate and/or just scholarly estimates. Slight differences might therefore occur between different sources. The following table uses the dates given in Norsk biografisk leksikon/Store norske leksikon.

Danish rule
The Danish king Harald Bluetooth had himself hailed as king of Norway after the Battle of Fitjar (c. 961). Besides gaining direct control of Viken in south-eastern Norway, he let Harald Greycloak rule the rest of Norway as king, nominally under himself. Harald Bluetooth later switched his support to Harald Greycloak's rival, Haakon Sigurdsson, Earl of Lade, who eventually captured Harald Greycloak's kingdom. Haakon thereafter ruled Norway (except Viken), at first nominally under Harald. All dates are estimates and subject to interpretations. Haakon is generally held as the ruler of Norway from 970 to 995.

Danish rule (restored)
After the Battle of Svolder, the Danes recaptured Norway under Sweyn Forkbeard. As before, the Danes controlled the petty kingdoms of Viken as vassals, while the two Earls of Lade, Eric Haakonsson and Sweyn Haakonsson, ruled Western Norway and Trøndelag, nominally as earls under Sweyn. Eric is generally held as the de facto ruler of Norway from 1000 to 1015, together with his brother Sweyn, a lesser known figure, with whom he shared his power.

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
In 1905 Prince Carl of Denmark was elected King of Norway and took the name Haakon VII for himself and Olav for his son.

Notes and references

 * General references


 * Notes