1.
Charles X Gustav of Sweden
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Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav, was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg, after his fathers death he also succeeded him as Pfalzgraf. He was married to Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, who bore his son and successor and he led Sweden during the Second Northern War, enlarging the Swedish Empire. By his predecessor Christina, he was considered de facto Duke of Eyland before ascending to the Swedish throne and his numbering as Charles X derives from a 16th-century invention. The Swedish king Charles IX chose his numeral after studying a fictitious history of Sweden and this king was the fourth actual King Charles, but has never been called Charles IV. In his early childhood raised in the Swedish court alongside Queen Christina he received an excellent civil education, later Charles X learned the art of war under Lennart Torstenson, being present at the second Battle of Breitenfeld and at Jankowitz. In 1648 he gained the appointment of commander of the Swedish forces in Germany, as the recognized heir to the throne, his position on his return to Sweden was dangerous because of the growing discontent with the queen. He therefore withdrew to the isle of Öland until the abdication of Christina on 5 June 1654 called him to the throne, Charles Gustav was crowned on 7 Jun 1654, the day after Christina abdicated. The beginning of Charles Xs reign concentrated on the healing of domestic discords, on the recommendation of his predecessor, he contracted a political marriage on 24 October 1654 with Hedwig Eleonora, the daughter of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was hoping to secure a future ally against Denmark, the Riksdag which assembled at Stockholm in March 1655, duly considered the two great pressing national questions, war, and the restitution of the alienated crown lands. In 1659 he proclaimed severe punishment for anyone hunting in the game reserve in Ottenby, Öland, Sweden. On 10 July 1655, Charles X left Sweden to engage in a war against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, by the time war was declared he had at his disposal 50,000 men and 50 warships. Hostilities had already begun with the occupation of Dünaburg in Polish Livonia by the Swedes on 1 July 1655, on 25 July the Polish noble levy army capitulated, and the voivodeships of Poznań and Kalisz placed themselves under the protection of the Swedish King. Thereupon the Swedes entered Warsaw without opposition and occupied the whole of Greater Poland, the Polish king, John II Casimir of Poland of the House of Vasa, eventually fled to Silesia after his armies had suffered defeats. A great number of Polish nobles and their personal armies joined the Swedes, many Poles saw Charles X Gustav as a strong monarch who could be a more effective leader than John II Casimir. Meanwhile, Charles X Gustav pressed on towards Kraków, which the Swedes captured after a two months siege, the fall of Kraków followed a capitulation of the Polish Royal armies, but before the end of the year a reaction began in Poland herself. On 18 November 1655 the Swedes invested the fortress-monastery of Częstochowa and this success elicited popular enthusiasm in Poland and gave rise to a nationalistic and religious rhetoric concerning the war and Charles X. He was depicted as tactless and his mercenaries barbaric and his refusal to legalize his position by summoning the Polish diet and his negotiations for the partition of the very state he affected to befriend, awoke a nationalistic spirit in the country
2.
Charles XI of Sweden
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Charles XI, also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire. Charles was the son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden. His father died when he was five years old, so Charles was educated by his governors until his coronation at the age of seventeen, soon after, he was forced out on military expeditions to secure the recently acquired dominions from Danish troops in the Scanian War. Changes in finance, commerce, national maritime and land armaments, judicial procedure, church government, Charles XI was succeeded by his only son Charles XII, who made use of the well-trained army in battles throughout Europe. The fact that Charles was crowned as Charles XI does not mean that he was the 11th king of Sweden who had the name Charles. His fathers name was due to his great-grandfather, King Charles IX of Sweden and this descendant was actually the 5th King Charles. The numbering tradition thus begun still continues, with the present king of Sweden being Carl XVI Gustaf, Charles was born in the Stockholm Palace Tre Kronor in November 1655. His father, Charles X of Sweden, left Sweden in July to fight in the war against Poland, after several years of warfare, the king returned in the winter of 1659 and gathered his family and the Riksdag of the Estates in Gothenburg. In mid-January 1660 he fell ill and one month later he wrote his last will, per Brahe was one member of the council. In addition, Charles X Gustav left command of the army and these provisions among others led to the remainder of the council immediately challenging the will. February 14, the day after King Charles Xs death, Hedwig Eleonora sent a message to the council stating that she knew that they contested the will and that she demanded that it should be respected. The council answered that the will must first be discussed with the parliament, and at the council in Stockholm on May 13. The parliament questioned whether it would be good for her health or suitable for a widow to attend council, and her reply that the council would be allowed to meet without her and only inform her when they considered it necessary was met with satisfaction from the council. Hedwig Eleonoras ostensible indifference to politics came as a relief to the lords of the guardian government. His mother, Queen Hedvig Eleonora, remained the regent until Charles XI attained his majority on 18 December 1672. During his first appearances in parliament, Charles spoke to the government through her and he would whisper the questions he had in her ear, and she would ask them aloud and clearly for him. As an adolescent, Charles devoted himself to sports, exercise and he appeared ignorant of the very rudiments of statecraft and almost illiterate. His main difficulties are now seen as evident signs of dyslexia, according to many contemporary sources, the king was considered poorly educated and therefore not qualified to conduct himself effectively in foreign affairs
3.
Hedvig Sophia of Sweden
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Princess Hedvig Sophia Augusta of Sweden, was a Swedish princess and a Duchess Consort of Holstein-Gottorp, the eldest child of King Charles XI of Sweden, and his spouse Queen Ulrica Eleanor. She was heir presumptive to the Swedish throne until her death, some sources refer to her as Sofia. Hedvig Sophia spent the majority of her upbringing at Karlberg Palace, after the death of her mother in 1693, she and her siblings were placed under the custody of her grandmother Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp. At the same time, she was taken care of by Juliana Schierberg. Hedvig Sophia was, and continued to be, the favorite of her grandmother, due to her grandmothers influence, she came to harbor anti-Danish views. She was described as beautiful, passionate but dignified, and as a good student, particularly in painting. She was also noted to be cheerful in the otherwise strict Swedish court, jens Juel are known to have engaged Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck to promote the matches. However, none of the marriages was materialized, on 12 May 1698 at Karlberg she married her cousin, Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. The marriage, which had decided upon during her childhood. She did not like the life of Frederick IV, for which he was known even before their marriage. She visited Holstein-Gottorp in 1698 and remained there for about a year, during Hedvig Sophias stay in Gottorp, Frederick regularly visited his lovers in Hamburg and also brought some of them to Gottorp. In 1699 she returned to Sweden, where she was second in line to the Swedish throne and presumptive heir. Hedvig Sophia was a participant in the frequent partying that dominated her brothers court for a few years before the Great Northern War. On 18 October 1702, Hedvig Sofia became a widow and formal Regent for her minor son and she did have plans to visit Holstein-Gottorp in 1705, but her brother asked her to remain in Sweden, which she consented to do. As Regent, Hedvig Sophia made sure that the old policy of Holstein-Gottorp was kept, as a widow, she was the object of plans to arrange a new political marriage. Among the candidates were the Crown Prince of Hanover, that is the future King George II of Great Britain, however she refused a new arranged marriage. She was by then involved with the young courtier count Olof Gyllenborg and that relationship was open public knowledge at court and seems to have been accepted, though much disliked by her grandmother, Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp. She was a singer, during the Great Northern war, she appeared as a singer at concerts at court, while her sister, Ulrika Eleonora
4.
Charles XII of Sweden
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Charles XII, also Carl, Latinized to Carolus Rex, was the King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a line of the House of Wittelsbach. Charles was the surviving son of Charles XI and Ulrika Eleonora the Elder. He assumed power, after a caretaker government, at the age of fifteen. Leading the Swedish army against the alliance Charles won multiple victories despite being usually significantly outnumbered, a major victory over a Russian army some three times the size in 1700 at the Battle of Narva compelled Peter the Great to sue for peace which Charles then rejected. Russia was now the remaining hostile power. The defeat was followed by Surrender at Perevolochna, two campaigns met with frustration and ultimate failure, concluding with his death at the Siege of Fredriksten in 1718. At the time, most of the Swedish Empire was under military occupation. This situation was later formalized, albeit moderated in the subsequent Treaty of Nystad, Charles was an exceptionally skilled military leader and tactician as well as an able politician, credited with introducing important tax and legal reforms. With the war consuming more than half his life and nearly all his reign, Charles, like all kings, was styled by a royal title, which combined all his titles into one single phrase. The fact that Charles was crowned as Charles XII does not mean that he was the 12th king of Sweden by that name, Swedish kings Erik XIV and Charles IX gave themselves numerals after studying a mythological history of Sweden. He was actually the 6th King Charles, the non-mathematic numbering tradition continues with the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, being counted as the equivalent of Charles XVI. In late 1699 Charles sent a detachment to reinforce his brother-in-law Duke Frederick IV of Holstein-Gottorp. A Saxon army simultaneously invaded Swedish Livonia and in February 1700 invested Riga, Russia also declared war, but stopped short of an attack on Swedish Ingria until September 1700. Leading a force of 8,000 and 43 ships in an invasion of Zealand, Charles rapidly compelled the Danes to submit to the Peace of Travendal in August 1700, Russia had opened their part of the war by invading the Swedish-held territories of Livonia and Estonia. Charles countered this by attacking the Russian besiegers at the Battle of Narva, the Russians outnumbered the Swedish army of ten thousand men by almost four to one. Charles attacked under cover of a blizzard, effectively split the Russian army in two and won the battle, many of Peters troops who fled the battlefield drowned in the Narva River. The total number of Russian fatalities reached about 10,000 at the end of the battle, while the Swedish forces lost 667 men, Charles did not pursue the Russian army
5.
Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden
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Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor, also known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen regnant of Sweden from 5 December 1718 to 29 February 1720, and then Queen consort until her death. She was the youngest child of King Charles XI and Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, after the death of her brother King Charles XII in 1718, she claimed the throne. Her deceased older sister, Hedvig Sophia, had left a son, Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, Ulrika Eleonora asserted that she was the closest surviving relative of the late king and cited the precedent of Queen Christina. She was recognized as successor by the Riksdag after she had agreed to renounce the powers of absolute monarchy established by her father and she abdicated in 1720 in favor of her husband, Landgrave Frederick I of Hesse-Kassel. After their mothers death in 1693, Ulrika Eleonora and her siblings were placed in the care of their grandmother, however, her grandmother was known to favor her elder sister. During her childhood, Eleonora was somewhat overlooked in favor of this elder, more extroverted and talented sister, princess Hedvig Sophia. Her elder siblings enjoyed riding and dancing and reportedly somewhat looked down upon her as she did not have the courage to participate in their games and was brought to tears. She was described as friendly, modest and dignified, with posture and beautiful hands. Her grandmother, Hedwig Eleonora, described her as stubborn, and she was a talented musician, and when performing with her sister at court concerts, she would play the clavier while her sister sang. Ulrika Eleonora lived most of her life in the shadow of others, outshone by her brother the king, from 1700, she took care of her dominating grandmother, Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, during her brothers absence in the Great Northern War. Her older sister, Hedvig Sophia, was then the heir presumptive to the throne, as their brother Charles XII was unmarried and childless, Hedwig Sophia was regarded as a likely future heir to the throne, and was thereby attractive on the marriage market. In 1698, an alliance was suggested by marrying her to Prince Charles of Denmark and her brother to Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark. In 1700, there were negotiations of a marriage to Frederick William I of Prussia and these plans were about to be put into effect when they were disrupted, without motivation, by her brother. She was later made the god-mother of Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, in 1702, a marriage to the future King George II of Great Britain was suggested, but was postponed, and in the end nothing came of it. In 1710, she received a proposal from Prince Frederick of Hesse, the negotiations were handled by her favorite and confidante Emerentia von Düben. The engagement was announced on 23 January 1714, and the took place 24 March 1715. During the wedding, her brother Charles XII remarked, Tonight my sister is dancing away the crown, after her grandmothers death in 1715, she became the center of the court, and this was one of the happiest periods of her life. In 1715, she married Landgrave Frederick I of Hesse-Kassel, the marriage, which on her side was a love-match, became another attempt to use her as a political puppet
6.
House of Wittelsbach
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The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria. The family also provided two Holy Roman Emperors, one King of the Romans, two Anti-Kings of Bohemia, one King of Hungary, one King of Denmark and Norway, the familys head, since 1996, is Franz, Duke of Bavaria. Berthold, Margrave in Bavaria, was the ancestor of Otto I, Count of Scheyern, whose third son Otto II, the Counts of Scheyern left Scheyern Castle in 1119 for Wittelsbach Castle and the former was given to monks to establish Scheyern Abbey. Duke Ottos son Louis I, Duke of Bavaria acquired also the Electorate of the Palatinate in 1214. On Duke Otto IIs death in 1253, his sons divided the Wittelsbach possessions between them, Henry became Duke of Lower Bavaria, and Louis II Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine. When Henrys branch died out in 1340 the Emperor Louis IV, the Bavarian branch kept the duchy of Bavaria until its extinction in 1777. His six sons succeeded him as Duke of Bavaria and Count of Holland, the Wittelsbachs lost the Tyrol with the death of duke Meinhard and the following Peace of Schärding - the Tyrol was finally renounced to the Habsburgs in 1369. In 1373 Otto, the last Wittelsbach regent of Brandenburg, released the country to the House of Luxembourg, on Duke Alberts death in 1404, he was succeeded in the Netherlands by his eldest son, William. A younger son, John III, became Bishop of Liège, however, on Williams death in 1417, a war of succession broke out between John and Williams daughter Jacqueline of Hainaut. This last episode of the Hook and Cod wars finally left the counties in Burgundian hands in 1432, with the Landshut War of Succession Bavaria was reunited in 1505 against the claim of the Palatinate branch under the Bavarian branch Bavaria-Munich. From 1549 to 1567 the Wittelsbach owned the County of Kladsko in Bohemia, strictly Catholic by upbringing, the Bavarian dukes became leaders of the German Counter-Reformation. From 1583 to 1761, the Bavarian branch of the dynasty provided the Prince-electors and Archbishops of Cologne and many other Bishops of the Holy Roman Empire, namely Liège. Wittelsbach princes served for example as Bishops of Regensburg, Freising, Liège, Münster, Hildesheim, Paderborn and Osnabrück, in 1623 under Maximilian I the Bavarian dukes were invested with the electoral dignity and the duchy became the Electorate of Bavaria. His grandson Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria served also as Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands and his son Emperor Charles VII was also king of Bohemia. With the death of Charles son Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria the Bavarian branch died out in 1777, the Palatinate branch kept the Palatinate until 1918 and succeeded also in Bavaria in 1777. With the Golden Bull of 1356 the Counts Palatine were invested with the electoral dignity, princes of the Palatinate branch served as Bishops of the Empire and also as Elector-Archbishops of Mainz and Elector-Archbishops of Trier. Jülich and Berg fell to the Wittelsbach Count Palatine Wolfgang William of Neuburg, in 1619, the Protestant Frederick V, Elector Palatine became King of Bohemia but was defeated by the Catholic Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, a member of the Bavarian branch. As a result, the Upper Palatinate had to be ceded to the Bavarian branch in 1623, when the Thirty Years War concluded with the Treaty of Münster in 1648, a new additional electorate was created for the Count Palatine of the Rhine
7.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
8.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
9.
Rupert, King of Germany
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Rupert of the Palatinate, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 and King of Germany from 1400 until his death. Rupert was born at Amberg in the Upper Palatinate, the son of Elector Palatine Rupert II and Beatrice of Aragon, ruperts great-granduncle was the Wittelsbach emperor Louis IV. He was raised at the Dominican Liebenau monastery near Worms, where his widowed grandmother Irmengard of Oettingen lived as a nun, from his early years Rupert took part in the government of the Electoral Palatinate to which he succeeded on his fathers death in 1398. He and the three ecclesiastical prince-electors met at Lahneck Castle in Oberlahnstein on 20 August 1400 and declared the Luxembourg king Wenceslaus deposed. On the next day the same four electors met at Rhens to ballot for Rupert as next German king, as the Imperial City of Aachen refused to let him enter through its gates, Rupert was crowned by Archbishop Frederick III in Cologne on 6 January 1401. Lacking a solid base in the Empire, his rule remained contested by the mighty House of Luxembourg. In the Western Schism, Rupert backed Pope Boniface IX who, however, was reluctant to acknowledge his rule in view of the Luxembourg claims. In the autumn of 1401 he crossed the Alps, but his troops, checked before Brescia, melted away during wintertime and in April 1402 Rupert, too poor to continue the campaign, had to return to Germany. The news of this increased the disorder in Germany. The Luxembourg resistance waned after Wenceslaus was arrested at Prague Castle by his brother Sigismund in March 1402, Rupert also gained the support of England by the marriage of his son Louis with Blanche of Lancaster, daughter of King Henry IV on 6 July 1402. In his Palatinate hereditary lands, Rupert turned out to be a capable ruler and it was nevertheless only the indolence of Wenceslaus that prevented his overthrow. On his deathbed Rupert had decreed the division of his heritage among his four surviving sons, in the following Imperial election on September 20, Elector Louis III voted for Sigismund of Luxembourg, who however lost to his cousin Margrave Jobst of Moravia. He was married in Amberg on 27 June 1374 to Elisabeth of Hohenzollern, daughter of Burgrave Frederick V of Nuremberg and he also commissioned the Ruprecht building in Heidelberg Castle. He was related to other king of Germany
10.
John Casimir, Count Palatine of Kleeburg
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In 1591 his father stipulated that, as the youngest son, John Casimir would receive as appanage the countship of Neukastell in the Palatinate. On 11 June 1615, Casimir married his second cousin Catherine of Sweden, five of his children with Catherine survived infancy, Christina Magdalena, married Frederick VI, Margrave of Baden-Durlach. King Adolf Frederick of Sweden was her great-grandson, King Charles X Gustav of Sweden. Maria Eufrosyne, married Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, eleonora Catherine, married Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Eschwege
11.
Catherine of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg
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Catherine of Sweden was a Swedish princess and a Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken as the consort of her second cousin John Casimir of Palatinate-Zweibrücken. She is known as the periodical foster-mother of Queen Christina of Sweden, Catherine was the daughter of King Charles IX of Sweden and his first spouse Maria of the Palatinate-Simmern. Her personality was described as A happy union of her fathers power and wisdom and her mother died in 1589, and she was placed in the care of the German Euphrosina Heldina von Dieffenau, whom she praised much later in life. In 1592, her father remarried to Christina of Holstein-Gottorp, in later letters to her consort, however, it seems that she was not always as much in agreement with her stepmother as she gave the impression to be. Her father became regent in 1598, and was crowned king in 1607, in 1611, her brother succeeded her father as King Gustavus Adolphus. Her brother found her sensible and wise, and she is reported to have acted as his confidante, Catherine married late for a Princess of her period. Henry married Marguerite de Béthune in 1603, after the Treaty of Knäred in 1613, her status became more secure. Though relatively poor, he had contacts which were deemed valuable to Sweden, the marriage took place on 11 June 1615 in Stockholm. Catherine was, by the will of both her parents as well as by the law regarding the dowry of Swedish Princesses, one of the wealthiest heirs in Sweden. As the economic situation at the time was strained, she remained in Sweden the first years after her marriage to guard her interests, in January 1618, she left for Germany. There, the couple was given the Kleeburg Castle in Northern Alsace as their residence, the year after, John Casimir started to build a new residence, the Renaissance Palace Katharinenburg near Kleeburg. In 1620, the Thirty Years War forced them to flee to Strassburg, in 1622, her brother King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden asked her to return to Sweden with her family. The death of her brother in Sweden, as well as the lack of heirs to the Swedish throne was evidently the reason why the monarch wished to move her to safety away from the Thirty Years War. Catherine accepted the invitation and arrived to Sweden with her family in June 1622, at her arrival, the birth of her son Charles immediately strengthened her position. In Sweden, she and her consort were granted Stegeborg Castle, Catherine and John Casimir settled in well at Stegeborg, where they maintained a royal standard of living, they kept a court with sixty formal ladies-in-waiting and courtiers and an official table. Catherine actively engaged herself in the management of the estates, and was in 1626 given Skenas royal estate as her personal fief, Catherine was on very good terms with her brother King Gustavus Adolphus, who is known to have asked her for advice. During his trips, he asked her to try to console and control his consort. Catherine was exposed to certain intrigues at court with the purpose of blackening her name in the eyes of the royal couple, but she managed to avoid these plots
12.
County of Veldenz
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The County of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mosel in the Archbishopric of Trier, a municipality of the same name, Veldenz, and a castle, Schloss Veldenz, are located in the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich. The Counts of Veldenz separated from the Wildgraves of Kyrburg and Schmidburg family in 1112, the direct male line of the first comital house ceased in 1260 with the death of Gerlach V of Veldenz and his daughter Agnes of Veldenz inherited the county in 1260. Her husband Heinrich of Geroldseck became the founder of the line of Counts of Veldenz or the House of Veldenz-Geroldseck. In 1444 the county came under the rule of Count palatine Stefan of Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken by his marriage to Anna of Veldenz, in 1543, by the Marburg treaty, it was agreed that the uncle of Duke Wolfgang of Zweibrücken, Ruprecht, should receive the county of Veldenz. Ruprecht died in 1544 but his son Hans Georg married Anna Maria of Sweden, Wolfgang had in 1553 with the Heidelberg Succession agreement regulated the mutual inheritance of all Wittelsbach lines reaching from Veldenz-Palatinate to the county Lützelstein in Alsace. The grandson of Georg Hans, Leopold Ludwig von Lützelstein, died in 1694 without legitimate offspring, in 1801 it was incorporated into the Saardepartement of the First French Empire. The Congress of Vienna,1815, gave the part of the county lying on the Mosel to Prussia. In 1543, he handed Veldenz to his uncle Ruprecht, Crollius, Georg Christian, Vorlesung, Von dem ersten geschlecht der alten graven von Veldenz und dessen gemeinschaftlichen abstammung mit den ältern Wildgraven von den graven im Nohgau. Academiae Electoralis Scientiarvm et Elegantiorvm Litterarvm Theodoro-Palatinae, mannhemii Typis Academicis 1770 Crollius, Georg Christian, Vorlesung, von dem zweiten geschlechte der grafen von Veldenz, aus dem hause der herren von Geroldseck in der Ortenau. Academiae Electoralis Scientiarvm et Elegantiorvm Litterarvm Theodoro-Palatinae, mannhemii Typis Academicis 1778 Gerbert, Martin, Pragmatische Geschichte des Hauses Geroldsek, wie auch derer Reichsherrschaften Hohengeroldsek, Lahr und Mahlberg in Schwaben. Frankfurt und Leipzig 1766 www. schlossveldenz. com List of the countys belonging locations ca.1350 Historical map
13.
Palatinate-Neuburg
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Palatine Neuburg was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau and its area was about 2,750 km², with a population of some 100,000. The Duchy of Pfalz-Neuburg was created in 1505 as the result of the Landshut War of Succession, after the so-called Kölner Spruch the duchy was created from the territories north of the Danube for Otto Henry and Philipp, the sons of Ruprecht of the Palatinate. While they were minors, their grandfather Philip, Elector Palatine, ruled the duchy until his death in 1508, in 1557 Otto Henry ceded his duchy to Count Palaine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken. The eldest son of Wolfgang, Philipp Louis, founded in 1569 the elder line of Palatine Zweibrücken-Neuburg, Pfalz-Neuburg joined the Protestant Union in 1608. In 1800, the duchy was invaded by the France and on June 26,1800, after fighting for most of a day, the Coalition armies withdrew. Neuburg was occupied by the French, and General Ney established his headquarters in the castle there, the Duchy of Palatine Neuburg was abolished in 1808. In the partition of Bavaria in 1837 Pfalz-Neuburg was joined with Swabia, charles Theodor of the Sulzbach line was a descendant of Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach, a brother of Wolfgang Wilhelm. Charles Theodore, 1742–99 Maximilian Joseph, 1799-1808, Palatinate
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Palatinate-Sulzbach
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Palatinate-Sulzbach was the name of two separate states of the Holy Roman Empire located in modern Amberg-Sulzbach, Bavaria, Germany, ruled by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Palatinate-Sulzbach was partitioned from Palatinate-Zweibrücken upon the death of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken in 1569 and his will provided that Palatinate-Sulzbach should be created out of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and ruled by his younger son Otto Henry. Otto Henry died in 1604 without any heirs so Palatinate-Sulzbach passed to Palatinate-Neuburg, in 1614 Palatinate-Sulzbach was partitioned from Palatinate-Neuburg following the death of Count Palatine Philip Louis for his son Augustus. It consisted of two areas separated by the Electorate of Bavaria. It was bordered on the west by the territory of the Imperial city of Nuremberg and on the east by the Kingdom of Bohemia
15.
House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld
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Palatinate-Birkenfeld, later Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was the name of a collateral line of the Palatine Wittelsbachs. The Counts Palatine from this line ruled over only a relatively unimportant territory, namely the Palatine share of the Rear County of Sponheim, however. All living members of the House of Wittelsbach descend from Palatinate-Birkenfeld, the patriarch of the line was Karl I of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. He was a son of Duke Wolfgang of Zweibrücken, who when he died in 1569, under him, Birkenfeld Castle underwent major expansion. Following Karls death in 1600, he was succeeded by Georg Wilhelm and he was succeeded by Karl Otto, who however died in 1671. He was succeeded by his son Christian IV, who however was married below his station, to the dancer Marianne Camasse, after Christians death his nephew Karl III August Christian became ruler. Under his rule, the Rear County of Sponheim was finally partitioned and it was agreed that of the two joint rulers, the Margrave of Baden was to make the division and then the Count Palatine by Rhine was to choose his share. His brother Maximilian I Joseph succeeded him after his death in 1795, as a result of the wars of succession of the French Revolution he was the last Duke of Zweibrücken, becoming in 1799 Palatine and Bavarian Elector and in 1806 the first King of Bavaria. Prior to this, in 1645, John Charles, a brother of Christian II, had founded the collateral line of Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen. From 1799 on, his descendants were styled His Royal Highness Duke in Bavaria, leben und Treiben an einer kleinen Fürstenresidenz 1584-1717. Wild, Klaus Eberhard, Zur Geschichte der Grafschaften Veldenz und Sponheim und der Birkenfelder Linien der pfälzischen Wittelsbacher, mitteilungen des Vereins für Heimatkunde im Landkreis Birkenfeld 43
16.
House of Vasa
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The House of Vasa was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden, ruling Sweden 1523–1654, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1587–1668 and the Tsardom of Russia 1610–1613. Its agnatic line became extinct in Poland with the death of King John II Casimir of Poland in 1672, the House of Vasa descended from a Swedish 14th century noble family, tracing agnatic kinship to Nils Kettilsson, fogde of the castle Three Crowns in Stockholm. Several members held high offices during the 15th century, in 1523, after the abolishment of the Kalmar Union, Gustav Eriksson became King Gustav I of Sweden and the royal house was founded. Yet, his son, King John III of Sweden, married a Catholic Polish Queen Catherine Jagiellon, as a result, the dynasty was split into a Protestant Swedish branch and a Catholic Polish one, which would rival for royal titles in subsequent wars. The involvement of the famous Protestant General and King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in the Thirty Years War gave rise to the saying that he was the incarnation of the Lion of the North. Yet, notably, his daughter and heiress Queen Christina of Sweden abdicated from the Swedish throne in 1654 after converting to Roman Catholicism, in Poland, John II Casimir of Poland abdicated from the throne in 1668. With his death, the royal House of Vasa became extinct in 1672, Gustav Eriksson, a son of Cecilia Månsdotter Eka and Erik Johansson Vasa, was probably born in 1496. The birth most likely place in Rydboholm Castle, northeast of Stockholm. The newborn got his name, Gustav, from Eriks grandfather Gustav Anundsson, since the end of the 14th century, Sweden had been a part of the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway. The Danish dominance in this union led to uprisings in Sweden. During Gustavs childhood, parts of the Swedish nobility tried to make Sweden independent, Gustav and his father Erik supported the party of Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden from 1512, and its struggle against the Danish King Christian II. Following the battle of Brännkyrka in 1518, where Sten Stures troops beat the Danish forces, it was decided that Sten Sture and King Christian would meet in Österhaninge for negotiations. To guarantee the safety of the king, the Swedish side sent six men as hostages to be kept by the Danes for as long as the negotiations lasted. However, Christian did not show up for the negotiations, violated the deal with the Swedish side, the six members of the kidnapped hostage were Hemming Gadh, Lars Siggesson, Jöran Siggesson, Olof Ryning, Bengt Nilsson – and Gustav Eriksson. The election of Gustav Eriksson as a regent made many Swedish nobles, some noblemen, still loyal to the king, chose to leave Sweden, while others were killed. As a result, the Swedish Privy Council lost old members who were replaced by supporters of Gustav Eriksson, most fortified cities and castles were conquered by Gustavs rebels, but the strongholds with the best defences, including Stockholm, were still under Danish control. In 1522, after negotiations between Gustav Erikssons people and Lübeck, the Hanseatic city joined the war against Denmark, the winter of 1523 saw the joint forces attack the Danish and Norwegian areas of Scania, Halland, Blekinge and Bohuslän. During this winter, Christian II was overthrown and replaced by Frederick I, the new king openly claimed the Swedish throne and had hopes Lübeck would abandon the Swedish rebels
17.
House of Hesse
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Originally the western part of the Landgraviate of Thuringia, in the mid 13th century it was inherited by the younger son of Henry II, Duke of Brabant, and became a distinct political entity. From the late 16th century it was divided into several branches. The Electorate of Hesse was annexed by Prussia in 1866, while Grand Ducal Hesse remained a sovereign realm until the end of the German monarchies in 1918, donatus, Landgrave of Hesse is the current head of the house. Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, died in 1567, Hesse was divided between his four sons, four new lines which arose, Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Marburg and Hesse-Rheinfels. The Battenbergs who later settled in England changed that name to Mountbatten after World War I at the behest of George V, who substituted British peerages for their former German princely title. Those descended from the marriage of Alexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria, hesse-Philippsthal died out in the male line in 1925, Hesse-Darmstadt in 1968. The male-line heirs of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld flourish, list of rulers of Hesse This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Dutch Wikipedia
18.
Fairhair dynasty
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The Fairhair Dynasty is traditionally regarded as the first royal dynasty of the united kingdom of Norway. It was founded by Harald I of Norway, known as Haraldr hinn hárfagri, the first King of Norway, according to the traditional view, after Harald Fairhair first unified the kingdom, Norway was inherited by his agnatic descendants. In the 13th century, this was codified in law, unlike other Scandinavian monarchies and Anglo-Saxon England, Norway was never an elective monarchy. The first such period was from about 975 to about 995 under Haakon Sigurdsson, also, although Harald Fairhairs kingdom was the kernel of a unified Norway, it was still small and his power centre was in Vestfold, in the south. And when he died, the kingdom was divided between his sons, some historians put emphasis on the actual monarchical control over the country and assert that Olav II, who reigned from 1015, was the first king to have control over the entire country. He is generally held to be the force behind Norways final conversion to Christianity and was later revered as Rex Perpetuum Norvegiæ. Some provinces did not actually come under the rule of the Fairhair kings before the time of Harald III, either of these may therefore be regarded as further unifiers of Norway. And some of the rulers were nominally or actually vassals of the King of Denmark and it is undisputed that later kings, until Magnus IV, were descended from Harald Hardrada, the Hardrada dynasty. Sverre Sigurdssons claim to be the son of Sigurd Munn is also considered to be dubious. Scholars now consider the Fairhair dynasty at least partly the product of medieval invention, one motive would be to increase the legitimacy of rulers by giving them a clear royal ancestry dating back to the foundation of the kingdom. Another was to provide pedigrees for other people by connecting them to the royal house, Claus Krag argued that an important motive was to establish a hereditary claim to Viken, the region around Oslo, because the area had been paying taxes to the King of Denmark. - in fulfillment of prophetic dreams, according to Heimskringla, in which the genealogy reaches its full form, in this critical view, only three generations of Fairhair kings reigned, from 930 to 1030, for 40 years altogether. The kings Olav Tryggvason and St. Olav, their ties with the Fairhair dynasty perhaps a 12th-century invention, ruled for 18 years altogether. There may be as many as 6 dynasties altogether subsumed under the title of Fairhair dynasty, Harald Fairhairs, Olav Tryggvasons, St. Olavs, Harald Hardradas, Magnus Erlingssons and Sverres. After Olav II of Norways recognition as a saint, successors of his half-brother, Olav I is historically known to have claimed male-line descent from Harald I, as grandson of Haralds alleged son Olav in Vika. And Olav II is known to also have claimed descent from Harald I. Opposing sources claim that Viken and its region of Norway, Vestfold, were not parts of Harald Is dominions, the reliability of these two claims depends on the credibility of the Icelandic accounts and the sources used to compile them. Much later legends claim Harald IIIs father also to have descended from Harald I, thus, Harald III started the Hardrada dynasty, a putative branch of the Fairhair dynasty
19.
House of Estridsen
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The House of Estridsen, sometimes called the Estridsen or Estrith Dynasty, was the dynasty that provided the Kings of Denmark from 1047 to 1412. The dynasty is named after its ancestor Estrid Svendsdatter, the dynasty is sometimes called the Ulfinger, after Estrids husband, Ulf the Earl. Their family coat of arms became the coat of arms of Denmark, the reliable ancestry traces no earlier than Ulfs own father, the obscure Thorgil Sprakling. The dynasty reached its peak with the Kalmar Union, when its members reigned as kings of Denmark, Norway, the dynasty came to end in 1412 with the death of its last member Queen Margaret I. All of the subsequent monarchs of Denmarks were cognatic descendants of the House of Estridsen, agneta Agnes, founding Abbess of St
20.
House of Griffins
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The House of Griffins or House of Pomerania, also known as House of Greifen, was a dynasty of dukes ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name Griffins was used by the dynasty after the 15th century and had taken from the ducal coat of arms. Wartislaw I was the first historical ruler of the Duchy of Pomerania, the most prominent Griffin was Eric of Pomerania, who became king of the Kalmar Union in 1397, thus ruling Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The last Griffin duke of Pomerania was Bogislaw XIV, who died during the Thirty Years War, duchess Anna von Croy, daughter of Duke Bogislaw XIII and the last Griffin, died in 1660. The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means along the sea, the origins of the Griffins are not clear. Most theories derive them from either local Slavic nobility or a branch of Polish house of Piasts. In the 17th century, the Griffins derived their roots from legendary beings from Sorbs mythology called Gryphus or Baltus, the first known members of the Griffins were the brothers Wartislaw I and Ratibor I. The first known member of the Swantiborides branch of the Griffins, ∞ Sophia, daughter of Bolesław IV. of Poland Bogislaw II. ∞ Sophia, daughter Bogislaw IX of Pomerania-Stolp Bogislaw X Casimir VII, a daughter of Mieszko III of Poland Bogislaw, ∞ another daughter of Mieszko III of Poland Ratibor II The Swantiborides were related to the Griffins, but the link remains unclear. Probably they descend from Swantibor, a Pomeranian duke overthrown in a rebellion and this Swantibor might have been a cousin of Swantopolk, a Pomeranian duke defeated by Boleslaw III of Poland in a campaign of 1111/12. Yet, these assumptions all remain speculative, daughter 3 ∞ Czyrnek, Castellan of Kolberg Eric of Pomerania, son of Wartislaw VII, was King of Norway, elected King of Denmark, and of Sweden. He was the first king of the Nordic Kalmar Union, euphemia of Pomerania, daughter of Bogislaw IV, married Christopher II of Denmark and became queen of Denmark. Elizabeth of Pomerania, daughter of Bogislaw V, was the fourth and last wife of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and her daughter Anne of Bohemia, of Luxembourg and of Pomerania became Queen of England as a wife of King Richard II of England. She was known as Good Queen Anne, sophie of Pomerania, daughter of Bogislaw X, married King Frederick I of Denmark and became Queen of Denmark and Norway. Edward Rymar, Rodowód książąt pomorskich, Szczecin 1995, martin Wehrmann, Genealogie des pommerschen Fürstenhauses. Veröffentlichungen the landesgeschichtlichen Forschungsstelle für Pommern, Reihe 1, Bd.5, martin Wehrmann, Geschichte von Pommern. genemaas. net/Pommern. htm Rulers of Pomerania Greifen, Herzöge von Pommern
21.
House of Palatinate-Neumarkt
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Palatinate-Neumarkt was a subdivision of the Wittelsbach dynasty of the German Palatinate. Its capital was Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Palatinate-Neumarkt prospered under Ruperts son John. From his marriage with Catherine of Pomerania-Stolp, Christopher of Bavaria was born, with Christophers death, Palatinate-Neumarkt line expired, and its possessions fell to the line Palatinate-Mosbach, which became Palatinate-Mosbach-Neumarkt. In 1524, a new apanage named Palatinate-Neumarkt was created for Wolfgang, when he died in 1558, it fell back to the Electoral Palatinate
22.
House of Oldenburg
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The House of Oldenburg is a European royal house of North German origin. It is one of Europes most influential royal houses with branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Schleswig, Holstein, and Oldenburg. It rose to prominence when Count Christian I of Oldenburg was elected King of Denmark in 1448, of Norway in 1450, the house has occupied the Danish throne ever since. Marriages of medieval counts of Oldenburg had paved the way for their heirs to become kings of various Scandinavian kingdoms, through marriage with a descendant of King Valdemar I of Sweden and of King Eric IV of Denmark, a claim to Sweden and Denmark was staked, since 1350. At that time, its competitors were the successors of Margaret I of Denmark. In the 15th century, the Oldenburg heir of that claim married Hedwig of Schauenburg, since descendants better situated in genealogical charts died out, their son Christian became the king of all three kingdoms of the whole Kalmar Union. The House of Mecklenburg was its chief competitor regarding the Northern thrones, different Oldenburgine branches have reigned in several countries. EU, retrieved August 2012
23.
House of Mecklenburg
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The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. The main branch of the house was elevated in 1347 to ducal rank, the Dukes of Mecklenburg pursued from the 14th century a claim to inheritance in Sweden. The Duke of Mecklenburg was a descendant and the heir of two women whom legends tied to Scandinavian royal houses, christina was the mother of John I of Mecklenburg, whose son was Henry I, Lord of Mecklenburg. Lord Henry II of Mecklenburgs maternal grandmother, a lady named Marianna, was the first wife of Duke Barnim I of Pomerania, Lord of Wolgast, as well as sister of King Eric XI of Sweden. Marianna had given birth to a surviving child, a daughter named Anastasia of Pomerania. The Sverker dynasty had long been extinct, having lost the throne ultimately to Eric XI, the male dynasty of Eric X was already extinct, and issue of his other daughters had been sidestepped by Birger Jarl, the husband of his daughter, Ingeborg Eriksdotter of Sweden. Birger took great care to secure the kingship for his own sons, the couples second son duke Albert III deposed his uncle from the Swedish throne, and ascended as king. Margaret I of Denmark chose Eric of Pomerania as her heir, Eric descended from the elder brother of Albert III. Monarchs of the Kalmar union were all descendants of the House of Mecklenburg. The Hereditary Kingdom of Norway, has been the only medieval Scandinavian realm whose kingship was hereditary, already when Olav IV of Norway was young and his mother Margaret was regent, the Dukes of Mecklenburg advanced their claims. The Dukes of Mecklenburgs claim to the Norwegian throne is based on their descent from Euphemia of Sweden, when Olav IV died in 1387, Norway was without a monarch, under the government of the regentess Margaret. She soon chose an heir, Eric of Pomerania, whose mother Maria of Mecklenburg had been Eufemias eldest granddaughter, the Dukes of Mecklenburg continued to regard themselves as the rightful heirs to the throne of Norway but they were unable to gain the kingdom from the Oldenburgs. The legality of that treaty concession has been, and still is under discussion, because not all of the then agnates of the House participated in the deed, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the duchy was divided several times between agnates of the ducal house. Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Mecklenburg-Strelitz were typical partition principalities, with the extinction of Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz is now the only surviving branch of the Grand Ducal house in the male line. The current head of house is Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg. His grandfather was Count Georg of Carlow, the son of Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg. Count Georg of Carlow was adopted in 1928 by his uncle Duke Charles Michael of Mecklenburg the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and he succeeded his uncle as head of the house on 6 December 1934 and was granted the style of Highness on 18 December 1950. Rhema-Verlag, Münster 2007, ISBN 978-3-930454-78-5 Erstling, Frank, Frank Saß, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region
24.
House of Holstein-Gottorp (Swedish line)
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The House of Holstein-Gottorp, a cadet branch of the Oldenburg dynasty, ruled Sweden from 1751 until 1818, and Norway from 1814 to 1818. He became King of Sweden in 1751, King Gustav III, Adolf Fredericks eldest son, was enthusiastic about the fact that through his great-great-grandmother their dynasty descended from the royal House of Vasa. He expressed wishes that their house be known as Vasa, as the new house of Vasa. There was no way to force this change. Historians have not agreed with Gustavs desires, and the house is referred to as Holstein-Gottorp. In 1809, Gustav IIIs son King Gustav IV Adolf was deposed following the loss of Finland, and the dynasty disappeared from Swedish history with the death of his uncle King Charles XIII in 1818. In 1810, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, a Marshal of France, was elected prince, and became the founder of the next and current Swedish dynasty. In 1836, Gustav, the son of the deposed Gustav IV Adolf, was created Prince of Vasa in Austria, however, the use of that name ceased when the princes only surviving child, his daughter Carola died without children. 1751–1771, Adolf Frederick 1771–1792, Gustav III 1792–1809, Gustav IV Adolf 1809–1818, Charles XIII 1814–1818, Charles II
25.
House of Romanov
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The Romanovs achieved prominence as boyars of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, later the Tsardom of Russia. In 1613, following years of interregnum, the zemsky sobor offered the Russian crown to Mikhail Romanov and he acceded to the throne as Michael I, becoming the first Tsar of Russia from the House of Romanov. His grandson Peter I established the Russian Empire and transformed the country into a continental power through a series of wars, the direct male line of the Romanovs came to an end when Elizabeth of Russia died in 1762. After an era of crisis, the House of Holstein-Gottorp, a cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg which reigned in Denmark, ascended the throne in 1762 with Peter III. All rulers from the middle of the 18th century to the revolution of 1917 were descended from that branch, though officially known as the House of Romanov, these descendants of the Romanov and Oldenburg dynasties are sometimes referred to as Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. In early 1917 the Romanov dynasty had 65 members,18 of whom were killed by the Bolsheviks, the remaining 47 members went into exile abroad. In 1924, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, the senior, surviving male-line descendant of Alexander II of Russia by primogeniture, since 1991, the succession to the former Russian throne has been in dispute, largely due to disagreements over the validity of dynasts marriages. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia claims to hold the title of empress in pretense with her child, George Mikhailovich. There is also a rival non-Romanov claim put forth by Prince Karl Emich of the House of Leiningen supported by the Monarchist Party, according to the Almanach de Gotha, the name of Russias ruling dynasty from the time of Peter III was Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. However, the name Romanov and House of Romanov were often used in references to the Russian imperial family. The coat of arms of the Romanov boyars was included in legislation on the imperial dynasty, after the February Revolution all members of the imperial family were given the surname Romanov by special decree of the Provisional Government of Russia. Their earliest common ancestor is one Andrei Kobyla, attested around 1347 as a boyar in the service of Semyon I of Moscow, later generations assigned to Kobyla an illustrious pedigree. An 18th-century genealogy claimed that he was the son of the Prussian prince Glanda Kambila, indeed, one of the leaders of the Old Prussian rebellion of 1260–1274 against the Teutonic order was named Glande. His actual origin may have been less spectacular, not only is Kobyla Russian for mare, some of his relatives also had as nicknames the terms for horses and other domestic animals, thus suggesting descent from one of the royal equerries. One of Kobylas sons, Feodor, a member of the boyar Duma of Dmitri Donskoi, was nicknamed Koshka and his descendants took the surname Koshkin, then changed it to Zakharin, which family later split into two branches, Zakharin-Yakovlev and Zakharin-Yuriev. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the family became known as Yakovlev. The family fortunes soared when Romans daughter, Anastasia Zakharyina, married Ivan IV, since her husband had assumed the title of tsar, which literally means Caesar, on 16 January 1547, she was crowned the very first tsaritsa of Russia. Her mysterious death in 1560 changed Ivans character for the worse, suspecting the boyars of having poisoned his beloved, Tsar Ivan started a reign of terror against them
26.
Hardrada dynasty
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The Hardrada dynasty was a powerful royal house or dynasty which ruled, at various times in history, Kingdom of Norway, Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, Earldom of Orkney. The royal house was founded, albeit unknowingly, by Harald Sigurdsson when he was king of Norway. His descendants would expand the influence, wealth and power of the dynasty after his death at Stamford Bridge September 25,1066. It is very unlikely that the rulers referred to their dynasty as the House of Hardrada. The younger saga writers claimed that Harald Hardrada descended from Norways first king Harald Fairhair and it replaced the Saint Olaf dynasty, and was again replaced by the Gille branch, whose founder Harald Gille claimed to be a descendant of the Hardrada line. Sometimes this line is considered a part of the House of Hardrada, the line was briefly restored under Magnus Erlingsson, a cognatic descendant of the dynasty, but was replaced again by the House of Sverre in 1184. The rulers within the house or dynasty would often have a rival king to oppose the legitimate kings right to rule the realm
27.
Sverre dynasty
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The House of Sverre was a royal house or dynasty which ruled, at various times in history, the Kingdom of Norway, hereunder the kingdoms realms, and the Kingdom of Scotland. The house was founded with King Sverre Sigurdsson and it provided the rulers of Norway from 1184 to 1319. The house was founded with King Sverre Sigurdsson, who claimed to be a son of King Sigurd Munn. After Sverres death, his descendants would expand the influence, wealth, under his grandson Haakon IVs rule, medieval Norway reached its peak. Also Margaret, Maid of Norway was a member of this family, the house replaced the Gille dynasty, and was again replaced by the House of Bjelbo, which inherited Norways throne. They were the last reigning family that claimed descent from Harald Fairhair. See also, Coat of arms of Norway The main arms of the kings belonging to the House of Sverre, was a crowned lion on a red field. The lion was later supplied with a silver axe symbolising Olaf the Holy and this became the coat of arms of Norway. The rulers within the house or dynasty would often have a junior king along with a senior king. Here is a list of the rulers when the house held the power in Norway, Margaret, Maid of Norway Ingeborg of Norway List of Norwegian monarchs Norwegian Royal Family Norwegian nobility
28.
House of Bernadotte
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The House of Bernadotte, the current royal house of Sweden, has reigned since 1818. Between 1818 and 1905, it was also the house of Norway. Its founder, Charles XIV John of Sweden, was adopted by Charles XIII of Sweden, following the conclusion of Finnish War in 1809, Sweden lost possession of Finland, which had constituted roughly the eastern half of the Swedish realm for centuries. Resentment towards King Gustav IV Adolf precipitated an abrupt coup détat, Gustav Adolf was deposed and his uncle Charles XIII was elected King in his place. However, Charles XIII was 61 years old and prematurely senile and he was also childless, one child had been stillborn and another died after less than a week. It was apparent almost as soon as Charles XIII ascended the throne that the Swedish branch of the House of Holstein-Gottorp would die with him. In 1810 the Riksdag of the Estates, the Swedish parliament, elected a Danish prince, Prince Christian August of Augustenborg and he took the name Charles August, but died later that same year. At this time, Emperor Napoleon I of France controlled much of continental Europe, the Riksdag decided to choose a king of whom Napoleon would approve. On 21 August 1810, the Riksdag elected Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, a Marshal of France, the coat of arms of the House of Bernadotte dimidiates the coat of arms of the House of Vasa and the coat of arms of Bernadotte as the Prince of Pontecorvo. It is visible as an inescutcheon in the Greater Coat of Arms of the Realm, Bernadotte, born in the town of Pau, in the province of Béarn, France, had risen to the rank of general during the French Revolution. In 1798, he married Désirée Clary, whose sister was married to Joseph, in 1804, Napoleon promoted Bernadotte to a Marshal of France. Napoleon also granted him the title Prince of Pontecorvo, as the Crown Prince of Sweden, he assumed the name Charles John and acted as regent for the remainder of Charles XIIIs reign. In 1813, he broke with Napoleon and led Sweden into the anti-Napoleon alliance, when Norway was awarded to Sweden by the Treaty of Kiel, Norway resisted and declared independence, triggering a brief war between Sweden and Norway. The war ended when Bernadotte persuaded Norway to enter into a union with Sweden. Instead of being merely a Swedish province, Norway remained an independent kingdom, though sharing a common monarch, Bernadotte reigned as Charles XIV John of Sweden and Charles III John of Norway from 5 February 1818 until his death on 8 March 1844. The House of Bernadotte reigned in both countries until the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905, Prince Carl of Denmark was then elected as King Haakon VII of Norway. Carl was a grandson of King Charles XV of Sweden and a great-great-grandson of Charles XIV, King Charles Johns first known paternal ancestor was Joandou du Poey, who was a shepherd. He married Germaine de Bernadotte in 1615 in the southern French city of Pau, through her the couple owned a building there called de Bernadotte
29.
House of Eric
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The House of Eric was one of the two clans that were rivals for the kingship of Sweden between 1150 and 1220. The other was the House of Sverker, the first king from the House of Eric was Eric IX of Sweden also known as Saint Eric. Almost all the subsequent kings of Sweden have been descendants of the House of Eric, the House of Eric favored the Varnhem Abbey, and several of its members are interred there. Foremother of the dynasty was Eric IXs wife Christina Björnsdatter, whom legend claims to have been the granddaughter of King Inge I of Sweden. The female first name Catherine seems to have been favored within the Erik dynasty, two branches of the dynasty came into conflict in 1226. Canute the Tall, allegedly the adult heir of Filip, younger son of Eric IX, deposed the underage Eric XI, the Lisp and Lame, conflict continued between the royal senior branch and Canutes two sons until the sons were executed in 1248 and 1251. Eric XI was the last king of the line of this dynasty. He died in 1250 and apparently left no surviving children, though some romantic genealogies, and later research influenced by them, have attributed one or two daughters to him, they were more likely daughters of his sister and Birger jarl. Eric XIs nephew, the then underage son of his sister Ingeborg, was elected king Valdemar I of Sweden, under the regency of his father Birger Jarl
