List of Norwegian monarchs



The list of Norwegian monarchs (kongerekken or kongerekka) begins in 872, the traditional dating of the Battle of Hafrsfjord, after which the victorious Harald Fairhair merged several petty kingdoms into that of his father. Harald's realm was later to be known as the Kingdom of Norway.

In 970, the Fairhair dynasty became patrilineally extinct upon the death of Harald I's grandson Harald II. After short periods under the kings of Denmark in the late 10th and early 11th century, Norway was ruled by native dynasties, including kings such as Olaf II, Harald III, and Sverre, until the 14th century. During the civil war era (1130–1240), several pretenders fought each other. Some rulers from this era are not traditionally considered lawful kings and are usualy omitted from lists of monarchs.

In 1387, Norway entered the personal union with Denmark and Sweden, known as the Kalmar Union. Sweden left the union in 1523, but Norway and Denmark remained under the same crown. Between 1450 and 1814, the kings of Norway were Oldenburgs residing in Copenhagen. Absolute monarchy was adopted in 1660.

In 1814, Norway gained political independence and introduced constitutional monarchy. Christian Frederick, then heir presumptive to the throne, was elected king following the abdication of Frederick VI. He was soon forced to abdicate in favour of Charles XIII of Sweden, creating a new personal union between Norway and Sweden.

When Oscar II was dethroned in 1905, the union with Sweden dissolved. The House of Oldenburg regained the throne upon the subsequent election of Haakon VII, whose heirs have held it ever since.

The kings of Norway used many additional titles between 1450 and 1905, such as King of the Goths, King of the Wends, Duchy of Schleswig, Duke to Holstein, Principality of Rügen, and County of Oldenburg). They called themselves Konge til Norge (rather than Konge af Norge), indicating that the country was their personal possession, usually with the style His Royal Majesty. With the introduction of constitutional monarchy in 1814, the traditional style "by the grace of God" was extended to "by the grace of Grace and due to the Kingdom's Constitution", but was only briefly in use. The last king to use it was Haakon VII, who died in 1957. The king's title today is formally Norges Konge (literally "Norway's King"), indicating that he belongs to the country (rather than the other way around), with the style "His Majesty".

Established in the 9th century, the Kingdom is over 1,100 years old and as such one of the oldest in Europe today. King Harald V, who has reigned since 1991, is the 64th monarch.

Fairhair dynasty
Besides becoming sole king after his father's death, Eric Bloodaxe was king jointly with his father for three years before the latter's 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.

House of Knýtlinga/Earl of Lade
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.

House of Knýtlinga/Earls of Lade (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, Carl of Denmark was elected King of Norway and took the name Haakon VII. With him the House of Oldenburg was again sitting on the throne of Norway.

Notes and references

 * General references


 * Notes