House of Oldenburg

House of Oldenburg
Country	Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Russian Empire, Kingdom of Denmark, Kingdom of Norway, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Greece, Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, Duchy of Schleswig, Duchy of Holstein
Titles	Emperor of Russia King of Denmark King of Norway King of Sweden King of Greece King of Iceland Grand Duke of Oldenburg Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg Duke of Schleswig and Holstein
Founded	1448
Founder	Elimar I, Count of Oldenburg
Final ruler	Russia: Nicholas II of Russia (1894–1917) Sweden: Charles XIII of Sweden (1809–18) Oldenburg: Friedrich August II (1900–18) Saxe-Lauenburg: Christian IX (1864) Schleswig-Holstein: Christian IX (1864) Augustenborg: Albert (1921–31)
Current head	Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein
Deposition	Russia: February Revolution 1917 Sweden: 1818 (line extinct) Greece: Greek military junta of 1967–74 1973 Oldenburg: German Revolution of 1918–19 1918 Saxe-Lauenburg: Second Schleswig War 1864 Schleswig-Holstein: Second Schleswig War 1864 Augustenborg: 1931 (line extinct)
Cadet branches	Augustenburg (extinct) House of Glücksburg Mountbatten-Windsor line House of Holstein-Gottorp Romanov line Swedish line (extinct) Grand ducal line

The House of Oldenburg is a European royal house of North German origin. It is one of Europe's most influential royal houses with branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Schleswig, Holstein, and Oldenburg. The current Queen of Denmark, the King of Norway and the former King of Greece, as well as consorts of Greece and the United Kingdom, belong to this house.

It rose to prominence when Count Christian I of Oldenburg was elected King of Denmark in 1448, Norway in 1450 and Sweden in 1457. The house has occupied the Danish throne ever since.

History

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, a descendant of Euphemia of Sweden and Norway and also a descendant of Eric V of Denmark and Abel of Denmark. Since descendants better situated in genealogical charts died out, their son Christian (the abovementioned) became the king of all three kingdoms of the whole Kalmar Union. The House of Mecklenburg was its chief competitor regarding the Northern thrones, and other aspirants included the Duke of Lauenburg. Different Oldenburgine branches have reigned in several countries. The House of Oldenburg was briefly poised to claim the British thrones through the marriage of Queen Anne and Prince George of Denmark and Norway; however, due to the early deaths of all their children, the crown passed to the House of Hanover.

The head of the house since 1980 is Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein.^[1]

Main line

• Kings of Denmark (1448–1863)
• Kings of Norway (1450–1814)
• Kings of Sweden (1457–64, 1497–1501 and 1520–21)
• Counts of Oldenburg (1101–1773)
• Dukes of Schleswig and Counts of Holstein (1460–1544)
• Dukes of Schleswig and Holstein ruling only part of the Duchies (1544–1721/1773)
• Dukes of Schleswig (1721–1864) (ruling the entire Duchy)
• Dukes of Holstein (1773–1864, ruling the entire Duchy)

Branches

• Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, extinct
  1. claimant Duke of Schleswig-Holstein in 1863
• Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
  1. Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
  2. Kings of Denmark (since 1863)
  3. King of Iceland (1918–44)
  4. Kings of the Hellenes (1863–1924, 1935–73)
     • Although Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, his sons and their children are patrilineally descended from this branch, by declaration of the British monarch, his sons and other descendants bearing the style "Royal Highness" are de jure members of the House of Windsor.^[2]
  5. Kings of Norway (since 1905)
• Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp
  1. Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp (1544–1739)
  • Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov (commonly still called Romanov)
    1. Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp (1739–73)
    2. Tsars of Russia (1762 and 1796–1917)
  • Holstein-Gottorp (Swedish line), extinct
    1. Kings of Sweden (1751–1818)
    2. King of Norway (1814–18)
  • Holstein-Gottorp (Grand ducal line)
    1. Dukes, later Grand Dukes of Oldenburg (1773–1918)

Gallery

• 

  The first Oldenburg king was Christian I of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1426-1481)

• 

  The current (2016) head of the House of Oldenburg Christoph of Schleswig-Holstein (*1949)

• 

  Former King Constantine II of Greece (*1940) and wife, a princess of Denmark (*1946)

• 

  Sweden's most prominent Oldenburg king was Gustav III (1746-1792)

• 

  King Harald V of Norway (*1937)

• 

  Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (*1940)

• 

  Nicholas II (1868-1918) was the last Emperor of Russia

• 

  Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Greece and Denmark (*1921)

• 

  Queen Sofía of Spain, Princess of Greece and Denmark (*1938)

See also

List of rulers of Oldenburg List of consorts of Oldenburg List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein (contains more information about the partitions of Schleswig and Holstein) List of members of the House of Oldenburg (male descendants of the Glücksburg branch)

Family tree of Oldenburg monarchs of Denmark Genealogical Chart of the Danish House of Oldenburg/Oldenborg and Glucksburg/Glucksborg Oldenborg Dynasty Family Tree (in Czech) Genealogy of the House of Oldenburg from 1040 to the present day (in German)

Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, for the minor branches of the House of Oldenburg Coat of arms of Oldenburg Armorial of the House of Oldenburg (in French)

Footnotes

1. Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XVI. Haus Holstein. C.A. Starke Verlag, 2001, pp.44-50. ISBN 3-7980-0824-8. In German.
2. Royal Styles and Titles – 1960 Letters Patent

External links

Media related to House of Oldenburg at Wikimedia Commons

• Marek, Miroslav, The House of Oldenburg, Genealogy.EU, retrieved August 2012 External link in |publisher= (help).