As King Harald marks his 30
th year on the Norwegian throne, we’re looking back at the three very modern monarchs of Norway since the dissolution of Sweden and Norway in 1905 and the independence of a Norwegian monarchy.
King Haakon VII
The very first modern monarch of Norway was elected in a plebiscite by the newly-independent people of his soon-to-be country in November 1905, though before that, he was just another prince of Denmark.
Born Prince Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel of Denmark in 1872, Prince Carl was the second son of King Frederick VIII and Queen Louise (his older brother ascended to the Danish throne as King Christian X, grandfather of Queen Margrethe) and spent his formative years in the country, ultimately serving in the Royal Danish Navy.