QUEEN OF NORWAY, DENMARK, AND SWEDEN FROM 1388 TO 1412
Margaret I, 1353–1412, queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, daughter of Waldemar IV of Denmark. She was married (1363) to King Haakon VI of Norway, son of Magnus VII of Norway and Sweden. At the death (1375) of her father, her son Olaf became king of Denmark under the regency of his parents. As Haakon was occupied in Norway, Margaret actually wielded the power in Denmark. The death (1380) of Haakon made Olaf king of Norway as Olaf V, and Margaret became regent. She continued to press her late husband's claim to Sweden, and she styled her son king of that country. When Olaf died (1387), Margaret continued to rule Denmark and Norway. In 1389, near Falkoping, Sweden, she defeated and captured the Swedish king, Albert of Mecklenburg. Sweden and Norway were prey to disorder. However, Margaret succeeded in persuading the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish diets to accept her grandnephew, Eric of Pomerania, as king. He was crowned (1397) at Kalmar, and at the same time a tentative act of union of the three realms was drawn up (see Kalmar Union). Stockholm had held out against Margaret, but surrendered in 1398. In spite of Eric's nominal kingship, Margaret remained the actual ruler of all three kingdoms until her death. She ruled autocratically and energetically, leaving many offices unfilled and reducing others to complete dependence on her authority. Norway and Sweden resented her appointment of Danes to office. The empire built by her was one of the largest of Europe, but it was not lasting.
Read more: Margaret I | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/people/margaret-i.html#ixzz2XTxHPIHb
When Olaf died unexpectedly in 1387, Margaret was named Denmark's ruler, "all powerful lady and mistress and the Kingdom of Denmark's Regent," by the Rigsråd. The next year, Norway named her their "reigning queen." In Sweden, Albrecht was increasingly unpopular, and the nobles deposed him in 1389, making Margaret their ruler, "all powerful lady of Sweden."
Without any surviving children, Margaret turned to finding an heir, and selected a grandson of her late sister Ingeborg, Erik of Pomerania, born about 1381. (She had his name changed to the more Scandinavian name "Erik" from his birth name of Bogislav.) He was named king of Norway, ruling with Margaret, in 1389. In 1396, Sweden and Denmark did the same. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/medrenqueens/a/Margaret-Of-Denmark.htm
Click here for a history of Norwegian Kings and succession
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Click here for a history of Danish Kings and successionhttp://www.danmarkskonger.dk/king31.htm
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Categories: Sweden, Monarchs | Spouses of Swedish Monarchs | List of Danish Monarchs | List of Norwegian Monarchs | House of Estridsen
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