Nordic Monarch. He reigned as King Olaf II (Oluf) of Denmark from 1375 to 1387, and as King Olaf IV of Norway from 1381 to 1387. He belonged to the Bielbo Dynasty of Sweden, as its last member, and was the only child of King Hacon VI of Norway and Queen Margaret I the Great of Denmark-Norway-Sweden. He was born in Oslo at the fortress of Akershus. At the age of 5 he was elected king of Denmark, following the death of his grandfather King Waldemar IV Otherday, and was the youngest king ever in Denmark. He inherited the throne of Norway when his father died five years later. When this happened, Greenland, Iceland, the Orkneys, the Shetlands and the Faeroe Islands all came in under the Crown of Denmark. The union then formed between the kingdoms of Norway and Denmark lasted until 1814. When King Olaf died at the age of only 17 at Falsterbo Castle in Scania his tough mother Margaret continued to rule both kingdoms as his inheritance. His death without an heir of his own was one of the worst dynastic catastrophes in history, and with him all three of the old royal families in Scandinavia became extinct in any presumptive male line whatsoever. His mother adopted Olaf’s first cousin once removed, who thus formally succeeded him as King Erik the Pomeranian of Scandinavia, though Queen Margaret actually kept the power in her determined hands until she died in 1412. In our time, King Olaf has been remembered where he died with his monumental plaque at the castle’s ruins.
Nordic Monarch. He reigned as King Olaf II (Oluf) of Denmark from 1375 to 1387, and as King Olaf IV of Norway from 1381 to 1387. He belonged to the Bielbo Dynasty of Sweden, as its last member, and was the only child of King Hacon VI of Norway and Queen Margaret I the Great of Denmark-Norway-Sweden. He was born in Oslo at the fortress of Akershus. At the age of 5 he was elected king of Denmark, following the death of his grandfather King Waldemar IV Otherday, and was the youngest king ever in Denmark. He inherited the throne of Norway when his father died five years later. When this happened, Greenland, Iceland, the Orkneys, the Shetlands and the Faeroe Islands all came in under the Crown of Denmark. The union then formed between the kingdoms of Norway and Denmark lasted until 1814. When King Olaf died at the age of only 17 at Falsterbo Castle in Scania his tough mother Margaret continued to rule both kingdoms as his inheritance. His death without an heir of his own was one of the worst dynastic catastrophes in history, and with him all three of the old royal families in Scandinavia became extinct in any presumptive male line whatsoever. His mother adopted Olaf’s first cousin once removed, who thus formally succeeded him as King Erik the Pomeranian of Scandinavia, though Queen Margaret actually kept the power in her determined hands until she died in 1412. In our time, King Olaf has been remembered where he died with his monumental plaque at the castle’s ruins.
Bio by: Benny Chordt Hansen
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