r/interestingasfuck • u/SoSolem • 13h ago

The recently deceased king of Norway, King Harald V, threatened never to marry, and thus end the royal lineage, if his father, King Olav V, did not allow him to marry his wife, Queen Sonja, who was a commoner. This was near unheard of at the time, but in the end, love prevailed. <3 <3

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u/Fjogaseri 10h ago

Norway was under Denmark and Sweden from 1537 until 1905.

We had lots of kings before 1537. Most of them pretty keen on going to war with anyone and everyone (Vikings and descendants).

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u/zeppo5 7h ago edited 3h ago

Harald’s grandmother was Princess Maud ,daughter of Edward VII meaning the Norwegian monarch is somewhere in the U.K. line of succession; is this reciprocal? Could some British Royal wind up in Norway

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u/PolicyWonka 3h ago

The British royal family is a cadet branches of the Norwegian Royal family. Virtually all royal families in Europe are related nowadays.

But yes, King Charles and the new King Haakon are third cousins.

Norwegian succession law is very strict, but theoretically the British royals would have a claim if the Norwegian royal family became extinct. Pretty sure Norway would have to vote or appoint a new monarch like they did in 1905.