Category Archives: Current Monarchies

Harald III, King of Denmark

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Harald III, King of Denmark depicted on his coins with a drawn sword, a show of power; Credit – Wikipedia

King Harald III of Denmark was born circa 1042 and reigned as King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. He was the first of five illegitimate sons of Sweyn II Estridsson, King of Denmark to become King of Denmark. Harald was called Harald Hen, Runic Danish for Harald the Whetstone with whetstone meaning “the soft one”. Perhaps the nickname originated because Harald was gentle and peaceful by nature and did not always want to impose his own will.

Harald III's father Sweyn II Estridsen that marks his place of burial; Credit – Wikipedia

Portrait of Harald’s father King Sweyn II marking his burial place in Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

Harald’s father Sweyn II married twice. His first marriage was childless. According to the chronicle “Jerusalem History”, Sweyn the Crusader, the legitimate son of a King of Denmark, took part in the First Crusade, dying in battle in 1097. Some researchers believe that he was the son of Sweyn II from his second marriage, but there is no documentary evidence of the existence of Sweyn the Crusader. Sweyn the Crusader would have been living when Sweyn II died in 1076. It would seem logical that a legitimate son of Sweyn II would have been considered a candidate to be his successor. However, only his illegitimate sons Harald III, Sweyn II’s successor, and Cnut IV, who succeeded Harald III, were considered.

Sweyn II had many mistresses and fathered at least twenty children. The identity of the mothers of his illegitimate children is uncertain. Sweyn II’s illegitimate children listed below are either Harald III’s full siblings or his half-siblings. “Brother” will be used when discussing Harald’s male siblings, but it is unknown whether they were full brothers or half-brothers.

Harald III married Margareta Asbjørnsdatter, the daughter of Jarl Asbjörn Ulfsen, a Danish nobleman (Jarl was a nobility title), and possibly Harald’s maternal uncle. Margareta’s birth and death dates are unknown, and there are no known children from the marriage.

In 1069, Harald participated in the last Viking invasion of England, attempting to exploit the English people’s dissatisfaction with King William I of England, who in 1066, as Duke of Normandy, invaded England and defeated the last king of the House of Wessex, Harold II Godwinson, at the Battle of Hastings. However, the Viking army was unsuccessful against the stronger Norman army and returned home with nothing accomplished.

When Harald’s father Sweyn II Estridsson, King of Denmark, died in 1076, there were two candidates for the Danish throne, Harald, Sweyn II’s eldest son, and Cnut, Sweyn II’s second son. An assembly of Danish nobles had to choose between the two candidates. Harald was seen as more peaceful, while Cnut wanted to try to reconquer England. To convince the nobles to vote for him, Harald took the vows called Harald’s Laws, declaring that he would uphold the existing rule of law.

Although Harald had conflicts with his brothers Cnut and Eric, his reign was relatively peaceful. He continued his father’s pro-church policies and had a good relationship with Pope Gregory VII. Harald often took the peasants’ side in conflicts between chieftains and peasants. He made the large forests owned by the crown accessible and usable to all, despite protests from the nobles who previously had sole rights.

Harald is particularly known for abolishing the old innocence tests, in which a person accused in a criminal case had to prove their innocence by some ordeal. When Harald came to the throne, the old pagan traditions, such as victory in a duel or trial by fire, were still used to prove innocence or guilt. Harald abolished them and decided that if the accused himself and a certain number of honorable men dared to swear that he was innocent, his innocence was proven.

Harald III, King of Denmark died on April 17, 1080, aged around 38, and was succeeded by his brother, King Cnut IV of Denmark. Harald was buried in Dalby Church, now in Dalby, Sweden. When the church was built, Dalby was part of Denmark. The church was commissioned by Harald’s father Sweyn II and was constructed during the second half of the 11th century.

Dalby Church; Credit – Wikipedia

In Dalby Church, the 13th-century apse ends in a Romanesque tombstone with an incised cross, known as Harald’s Stone. No one is buried under the stone, which probably comes from an earlier canon‘s grave. Harald is possibly buried in the southeast corner of the church by the niche in the sacristy.

The niche in Dalby Church where King Harald III may be buried; Credit – By Oleryhlolsson Own work

A 2015 study suggested that King Harald III may have died of Brugada syndrome, a genetic disorder in which the electrical activity in the heart is abnormal. It increases the risk of abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death. The study showed that perhaps up to fourteen Danish kings who suddenly died at a relatively young age without being ill possibly died of Brugada Syndrome.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Bidragsgivare till Wikimedia-projekten. (2005, April 14). Dalby Kyrka. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalby_kyrka
  • Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2003). Konge af Danmark (1041-1080). Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Hen
  • Flantzer, S. (2025). Sweyn II Estridsson, King of Denmark [Review of Sweyn II Estridsson, King of Denmark]. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/sweyn-ii-estridsson-king-of-denmark/
  • Hadley, Dawn & Richards, Julian. (2022). The Viking Great Army and the Making of England. Thames & Hudson.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Harald Hen. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Norwegian Styles and Titles

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway on their coronation day; Credit – Wikipedia

The Kingdom of Norway was established in 872 as a merger of many small kingdoms. Under the Kalmar Union from 1397 to 1523, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway were ruled together under one monarch. In 1523, Danish rule was overthrown in a rebellion led by Swedish nobleman Gustav Vasa, who became King Gustav Vasa I of Sweden. From 1525  to 1814, Norway was a part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway, and from 1814 to 1905, it was in a personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden.

In 1905, when the union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved, the Norwegian government began searching for candidates to become King of Norway. Because of his descent from prior Norwegian monarchs and the British connections of his wife Princess Maud of Wales, Prince Carl of Denmark, the second son of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, was the overwhelming favorite. Before accepting, Carl insisted that the voices of the Norwegian people be heard concerning retaining a monarchy. Following a referendum with a 79% majority in favor of a monarchy, Prince Carl was formally offered and accepted the throne. He sailed for Norway, arriving on November 25, 1905, and took the oath as King Haakon VII of Norway two days later. His two-year-old son, previously Prince Alexander of Denmark, was given the more Norwegian name Olav and became Crown Prince of Norway, and later King Olav V of Norway.

The Norwegian Royal Family are members of the House of Glücksburg, shortened from House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

The Norwegian Monarch

King Harald V of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia -By Sámediggi – Sametinget

His Majesty King Harald V of Norway is the current King of Norway. He succeeded to the throne on January 17, 1991, when his father King Olav V died.

Prior to 1990, Norway’s succession was male-preference cognatic primogeniture. In 1990, Norway adopted absolute primogeniture whereby the crown goes to the eldest child regardless of gender. However, this applies only to the grandchildren and further eligible descendants of King Harald V. King Harald V’s children are ranked in the line of succession according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture which was in effect before 1990. Crown Prince Haakon, born in 1973, and his eligible descendants take precedence over his older sister Princess Märtha Louise, born in 1971, and her eligible descendants.

The Norwegian Monarch as head of state must be a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway. Only people descended from the reigning monarch can be in the line of succession to the throne of Norway. This makes the line of succession quite short. Currently, only seven people are in the line of succession, King Harald V’s two children and his five grandchildren. If the line of succession comes to an end, the Storting, Norway’s parliament has the right to elect a new king or queen.

The Norwegian Royal Consort

Queen Sonja of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia – Av Tore Sætre – Eget verk

The wives of Norwegian kings have been styled Her Majesty and titled Queen <name> of Norway. The current consort is Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway, born Sonja Haraldsen in Oslo, Norway. Sonja became the first Queen Consort of Norway in 53 years, since Queen Maud, born Princess Maud of Wales, the wife of King Haakon VII, died in 1938.

Norway has had only one reigning Queen. Margarethe I, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden reigned in Denmark 1387 – 1412, reigned in Norway 1388 – 1412, and reigned in Sweden 1389 – 1412. Her husband was a king in his own right – Haakon VI, King of Norway and Sweden – so there is no precedent for the style and title of a husband of a reigning Queen of Norway. However, Norway will likely have a reigning Queen in the future. The eldest child of Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, is second in the line of succession and will become the Crown Princess when her father becomes King and then succeed him as a reigning Queen.

The Heir to the Norwegian Throne – Crown Prince of Norway or Crown Princess of Norway

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia – By Estonian Foreign Ministry

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon is the current heir to the Norwegian throne. The wife of a Crown Prince is Her Royal Highness Crown Princess <name>. Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, born Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in Kristiansand, Norway, is the wife of Crown Prince Haakon.  As explained above, Crown Prince Haakon and his elder sister Princess Märtha Louise are ranked in the line of succession according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture which was in effect before 1990.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

However, following the absolute primogeniture succession now in effect, whereby the crown goes to the eldest child regardless of gender, Crown Prince Haakon’s eldest child Princess Ingrid Alexandra is second in the line of succession to the throne of Norway behind her father and is expected to become the reigning Queen of Norway. Crown Prince Haakon’s youngest child Prince Sverre Magnus is third in the line of succession.

Prince and Princess of Norway

Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway

The children of the reigning monarch and the children of the heir apparent are titled Prince of Norway or Princess of Norway. However, only the eldest child is styled His/Her Royal Highness. The other Princes and Princesses are styled His/Her Highness. Crown Prince Haakon’s elder child is styled Her Royal Highness Prince Ingrid Alexandra of Norway but her younger brother is styled His Highness Sverre Magnus of Norway.

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, the younger child of King Harald V of Norway, was styled Her Royal Highness from birth. In 2002, she renounced her Royal Highness style because of her desire to be self-employed. In 2022, in consultation with her father King Harald V of Norway and other close family members, Princess Märtha Louise decided she would not carry out official duties for the Royal House. However, King Harald V decided she would retain her title and is now styled Her Highness Princess Märtha Louise of Norway.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2014). King Harald V of Norway. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-harald-v-of-norway/
  • Monarchy of Norway. (2022). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Norway
  • Princess Märtha Louise to relinquish her official duties. (2022). Royalcourt.no. https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=216586&sek=113027
  • ‌The Royal House of Norway. (2025). https://www.royalcourt.no/
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Norwegian Royal Family. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_royal_family

Sweyn II Estridsson, King of Denmark

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Reconstruction of King Sweyn II Estridsson’s head based on the skull in Roskilde Cathedral, now in the National Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

Sweyn II Estridsson reigned as King of Denmark from 1047 to 1076. Born in England, circa 1019, Sweyn II was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson, a Danish nobleman with the title of Jarl, a Viking chieftain, governor and regent of Denmark under Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway. Sweyn II’s mother was Estrid Svendsdatter, the sister of Cnut the Great and the daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Norway, and England and either Sigrid Storråda or Gunhilda of Wenden. The descendants of King Sweyn II of Denmark have reigned in Denmark ever since. One of his descendants, Margaret of Denmark, daughter of King Christian I of Denmark, married James III, King of Scots in 1469, introducing Sweyn II’s bloodline into the Scottish royal house. In 1603, James VI, King of Scots inherited the English throne upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I and reigned in England as King James I. Since that time, all English and British monarchs have been Sweyn II’s descendants. Sweyn had at least one sibling, a brother, Beorn Estridsson, Earl of Huntingdon (circa 1020 – 1049).

Sweyn II spent his childhood in England. At the time of his birth, circa 1019, the House of Denmark reigned in England. His maternal grandfather Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Norway, and England, reigned in England from 1013 to 1014 and his maternal uncle Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway, reigned in England from 1016 to 1035.

Sweyn II married twice. Around 1047, he married Gyda Anundsdotter of Sweden, daughter of Anund Jacob, King of Sweden and Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir. It was a short marriage as Gyda died in 1048, allegedly poisoned by Sweyn’s concubine Thora. Two years later, Sweyn married Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir, the mother of his first wife Gyda.

Sweyn’s second marriage did not last long. The marriage was considered illegal by the Catholic Church because Sweyn and Gunnhildr were too closely related, either because they were cousins or because Sweyn had been married to Gunnhidr’s daughter, and they were threatened with excommunication.

According to the chronicle “Jerusalem History”, Sweyn the Crusader, the son of the King of Denmark, took part in the First Crusade dying in battle in 1097. Some researchers believe that he was the son of Sweyn II but there is no documentary evidence of the existence of Sweyn the Crusader. Sweyn the Crusader would have been born during Sweyn II’s second marriage and would have been living when Sweyn II died in 1076. It would seem logical that a legitimate son of Sweyn II would have been considered as his successor. However, only his illegitimate sons Harald III, Sweyn II’s successor, and Cnut IV, who succeeded Harald III, were considered.

Sweyn II had many mistresses and fathered at least 20 children. His son from his second marriage who died in the First Crusade was his only legitimate child. Five of his illegitimate sons were later kings.

Illegitimate children of Sweyn II with various concubines:

Sweyn’s uncle Cnut the Great died in 1035. Cnut decreed that any sons of his second marriage to Emma of Normandy should take precedence over the sons of his first marriage to Ælfgifu of Northampton. This meant that Cnut and Emma’s only son Harthacnut was the legitimate heir to England and Denmark. At the time of his father’s death, Harthacnut was in Denmark where he easily succeeded his father as King of Denmark. However, he was unable to come to England because Denmark was under threat of invasion by Norway and Sweden. Because of this, the English council elected Harold Harefoot, Cnut’s son from his first marriage, Regent of England as a temporary measure. He was later proclaimed King of the English.

Harold Harefoot’s rule in England, lasted only five years as he died in 1040, aged about twenty-four. Within months, his half-brother Harthacnut arrived in England with sixty-two warships and ascended the English throne unchallenged. He had Harald Harefoot’s body exhumed, decapitated, and thrown into a swamp but then it was retrieved and thrown in the River Thames. A fisherman pulled Harold Harefoot’s body from the River Thames. It was buried at St. Clement Danes Church in London, originally founded by Danes in the ninth century.

Harthacnut was unmarried and in 1041, he invited his half-brother Edward (the Confessor), the son of Æthelred II the Unready, King of the English and Emma of Normandy, home from his exile in Normandy and made him his heir in England. Sweyn was created a Jarl (earl) in Denmark by Harthacnut. When Harthacunt died in 1042, Sweyn asserted his claims to the Danish and English thrones. However, Edward the Confessor became King of England and Magnus I, King of Norway became King of Denmark. Sweyn entered Magnus’ service and swore an oath of allegiance to him. King Magnus was unmarried and only had one child, an illegitimate daughter. In 1047, the 24-year-old Magnus suddenly died in Denmark. On his deathbed, Magnus named Sweyn his heir in Denmark, and finally Sweyn reigned in Denmark as King Sweyn II.

Perhaps King Sweyn II’s greatest accomplishment was giving the Danish Church, Roman Catholic at that time, a firm and lasting organization by creating a framework for the bishops’ rule. Sweyn brought scholars to Denmark to teach him and his people Latin so they could converse with the rest of Europe on equal terms. The German chronicler Adam of Bremen traveled to Denmark to meet Sweyn and was impressed with his patience and wisdom. Sweyn encouraged the building of churches all over Denmark.

In 1066, William II, Duke of Normandy, known as William the Conqueror, conquered England in 1066, overthrowing Harold II Godwinson, King of England, and becoming King William I of England. King Sweyn II attempted to put England once more under Danish rule. He joined forces with Edgar Ætheling, the grandson of Edmund II Ironside, King of the English and the last remaining heir of the Anglo-Saxon royal house, and sent a force to attack England in 1069. However, after capturing the city of York, Sweyn accepted a payment from King William I of England to desert Edgar, who returned into exile in Scotland. Sweyn made another failed attempt to take over England in 1074 – 1075.

Burial site of Sweyn II Estridsen; Credit By Richard Mortel – Funerary monuments, Roskilde Cathedral CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69758143

King Sweyn II probably died on April 28, 1076, at his estate in Søderup, Southern Jutland, Denmark. He was interred in the southeastern pier at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark, the traditional burial site of Danish monarchs  A pier is similar to a column and is designed to support arches. In the photo above, a portrait of Sweyn II Ertridsen on the right marks the pier where he is buried.

Portrait of King Sweyn II that marks his place of burial in Roskilde Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

A 2015 study suggested that King Sweyn II may have died of Brugada syndrome, a genetic disorder in which the electrical activity in the heart is abnormal. It increases the risk of abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death. The study showed that perhaps up to fourteen Danish kings who suddenly died at a relatively young age without being ill possibly died of Brugada Syndrome.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2003). konge af Danmark (1020-1076). Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svend_Estridsen
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/cnut-the-great-king-of-england-denmark-and-norway/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021). Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/roskilde-cathedral-in-roskilde-denmark/
  • Hadley, Dawn & Richards, Julian. (2022). The Viking Great Army and the Making of England. Thames & Hudson.
  • Retsmediciner: Svend Tveskæg gav dødelig sygdom videre til en række danske konger. (2020). Videnskab.dk. https://videnskab.dk/kultur-samfund/retsmediciner-svend-tveskaeg-gav-doedelig-sygdom-videre-til-en-raekke-danske-konger/
  • Wenande, Christian. (2015). Mystery of Danish king deaths fosters new theory – The Copenhagen Post. The Copenhagen Post. https://cphpost.dk/2015-10-16/general/mystery-of-danish-king-deaths-fosters-new-theory/
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Sweyn II of Denmark. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Monaco Styles and Titles

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

The reigning family of the Principality of Monaco, the House of Grimaldi, descends from Otto Canella, a 12th-century Genoese statesman, and takes its name from his son Grimaldo Canella. Grimaldo had a son, Oberto, known as “Oberto, son of Grimaldo” or “Oberto Grimaldi,” making him the first of the family to use the surname of Grimaldi. The Grimaldi family has ruled Monaco for eight centuries, making it Europe’s longest-ruling royal family.

In 1297, François Grimaldi, dressed as a Franciscan monk, seized the Rock of Monaco. His cousin Rainier I, Lord of Cagnes, was the first Grimaldi ruler of the area now known as Monaco. However, Genoa, Milan, and France occupied the area for several periods. The first rulers were Lords of Monaco. From 1612 onward, the rulers were sovereign Princes. Monaco has had one sovereign Princess, Louise Hippolyte, who reigned for ten months in 1731 before she died from smallpox.

The Style His Serene Highness and Her Serene Highness

Monaco is a principality. A principality is a sovereign state ruled by a regnant monarch with the title of Prince or Princess. The sovereign of Monaco (the reigning Prince or Princess of Monaco) and the other Princes and Princesses of Monaco are all styled His Serene Highness and Her Serene Highness. This is the usual style for a Princely Family of a Principality. The same practice is used in the Principality of Liechtenstein, except Liechtenstein’s succession does not allow for a female Sovereign Princess.

The Monarch of Monaco

Prince Albert II of Monaco; Credit – By Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024 from Belgium – 24_03_07_BLUE_LEADERS_ByPixelshake-344, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=146336017

His Serene Highness Prince Albert II is the current reigning Prince of Monaco. His father Prince Rainier III died on April 6, 2005, and Albert became the reigning Prince of Monaco. Monaco had one reigning Princess, Louise-Hippolyte, who reigned for ten months in 1731 before she died from smallpox.

In 1612, Honoré II, Lord of Monaco started using the title of Prince of Monaco, becoming the first Prince of Monaco. Monaco was recognized as a sovereign principality by King Felipe IV of Spain in 1633 and by King Louis XIII of France in the 1641 Treaty of Péronne. Under the Treaty of Péronne, the Principality of Monaco became a French protectorate and the Spanish troops in Monaco were finally removed. The Princes of Monaco became vassals of the Kings of France while remaining sovereign princes.

Because of the treaty with France, Honoré II lost his Spanish lands and their income. To make up for the loss, King Louis XIII gave Honoré II the Duchy of Valentinois, the Marquisate of Baux, the County of Carladès, the City of Chabeuil, the Baronies of Calvinet, Buis, and the Lordship of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Although the lands connected to these titles eventually reverted to France, some of these titles have been bestowed upon members of the Princely Family of Monaco over the years.

The Consort of Monaco

Princess Charlene of Monaco; Credit – Prince’s Palace of Monaco

The wives of the reigning Prince of Monaco have been styled Her Serene Highness Princess <name> of Monaco. The current consort of Monaco is Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene, born Charlene Lynette Wittstock in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, the former name of the country of Zimbabwe.

So far, there has only been one male consort of Monaco, the husband of Louise-Hippolyte, Princess of Monaco, Jacques François Goyon, Count de Matignon. The greatest concern of Louise-Hippolyte’s father, Antonio I, Prince of Monaco (reigned 1701 – 1731), was the future of the House of Grimaldi. Because Antonio’s only legitimate children were all daughters, the heir to the throne was his only brother François Honoré Grimaldi, a Catholic priest with the title Monsieur l’Abbé de Monaco, later Archbishop of Besançon. In 1715, François Honoré renounced his claim to the throne of Monaco, and Antonio’s elder surviving daughter Louise-Hippolyte became his heir. Antonio decided, with the permission of King Louis XIV of France, that Louise-Hippolyte’s husband would take the surname Grimaldi and jointly rule Monaco with her.

In 1689, Louise-Hippolyte married Jacques François Goyon, Count de Matignon, from a wealthy French noble family, and the couple resided in Paris, France. Jacques was given the style and title His Serene Highness Prince Jacques of Monaco. In 1731, Louise-Hippolyte’s father Antonio I, Prince of Monaco died, and she was now the reigning Princess of Monaco, and Jacques was to co-reign.

However, Louise-Hippolyte traveled alone from Paris to Monaco, and the people of Monaco received her enthusiastically. Louise-Hippolyte immediately took the loyalty oath, but her husband Jacques was not mentioned. Louise-Hippolyte decreed that she would be the sole ruler, all documents would be issued in her name only, and her husband and children would stay in France. Louise-Hippolyte had a very short reign of ten months. She died from smallpox at the age of 34, on December 29, 1731.

Upon Louise-Hippolyte’s death, her husband Jacques became the legal guardian of their eldest son, Prince Honoré III, and returned to Monaco with a plan. Jacques should rule as Prince of Monaco until Honoré reached his twenty-fifth birthday. However, Jacques I, Prince of Monaco neglected the affairs of state and, under pressure, was forced to leave Monaco. In May 1732. Jacques officially abdicated in favor of his son Honoré III on November 7, 1733.

The Heir to the Throne of Monaco – Hereditary Prince of Monaco

Hereditary Prince Jacques of Monaco with his twin sister Princess Gabriella of Monaco

His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Jacques of Monaco, Marquis of Baux is the current heir to the throne. He is the only (legitimate) son of Prince Albert II and has a twin sister Her Serene Highness Princess Gabriella of Monaco, Countess of Carladès, who was born first.

The line of succession to the throne of Monaco is male-preference primogeniture, where males take precedence over females and older children take precedence over younger ones. Illegitimate children have no succession rights, however, if their parents marry, they would be legitimized. If there is no heir, the Crown Council selects a new reigning prince from the more distant members of the family who are citizens of Monaco

Members of the Princely Family must have the sovereign’s consent to marry. Those who marry without consent lose succession rights for themselves and their descendants. If a family member marries without the sovereign’s consent, and no children are born, and the marriage is dissolved, then that person will regain succession rights.

Currently, the title of Hereditary Prince of Monaco is regulated by the second paragraph of Article 2 of the Ordinance of May 15, 1882, revised by order on May 29, 2002, which says “heir of the reigning prince who is closest in the order of succession resulting from the said provisions is hereditary prince”. For a woman to be the Hereditary Princess of Monaco, the sovereign of Monaco must issue a Sovereign Order. The eldest child of Prince Rainier III, Princess Caroline, who descended from the reigning sovereign prince and was first in the order of succession from her birth on January 23, 1957, until the birth of her brother, the future Prince Albert II, on March 14, 1958, was never titled Hereditary Princess, but was titled Princess of Monaco.

There has been only one Hereditary Princess of Monaco, Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois. She started life as Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet, the illegitimate daughter of the future Prince Louis II of Monaco and Marie Juliette Louvet. Because Louis was unmarried and without an heir, the Monegasque throne was likely to pass to his first cousin once removed, Wilhelm, Duke of Urach, a German nobleman, the son of his father’s aunt Princess Florestine of Monaco.

To avoid this, Louis’ father, Prince Albert I had a law passed recognizing Charlotte as Louis’ heir and a member of the princely family. However, this law was later ruled invalid under earlier statutes. In October 1918, another law was passed allowing for the adoption of an heir with succession rights. On May 16, 1919, Prince Louis II legally adopted Charlotte. Prince Albert I gave Charlotte the Grimaldi surname and named her Her Serene Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Duchess of Valentinois. Upon Prince Louis II’s accession in 1922, Charlotte became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco. However, Charlotte knew that because of the circumstances of her birth, the very Catholic Monaco would never fully accept her as the reigning Princess of Monaco. In 1944, Charlotte renounced her succession rights to the Monegasque throne in favor of her son Rainier. Five years later, Charlotte’s father died and her son became Rainier III, the reigning Prince of Monaco.

Prince and Princess of Monaco

Princess Stephanie of Monaco, the younger of the two daughters of Prince Rainier III

The children of the Sovereign of Monaco are styled and titled His/Her Serene Highness Prince/Princess <name> of Monaco. We are surmising that children of the Hereditary Prince of Monaco and other male-line grandchildren, the children of sons of the sovereign of Monaco, are also styled His/Her Serene Highness Prince/Princess <name> of Monaco. However, it has been quite a while since that situation existed. Going back to Prince Joseph of Monaco, the second son of Honoré III, Prince of Monaco, Joseph’s three daughters were princesses, so there is a precedent.

Princess Caroline, daughter of Prince Rainier III and sister of Prince Albert II, is styled and titled Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover. In 1999, Caroline married His Royal Highness Prince Ernst August (V) of Hanover, the pretender to the thrones of the Kingdom of Hanover and the Duchy of Brunswick. In 1919, German royalty and nobility lost their privileges in Germany. Thereafter, hereditary titles could only be used legally as part of surnames. In 1931, Prince Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick declared that his descendants, as the senior male-line descendants of King George III of the United Kingdom, who was also King of Hanover, would continue to use British HRH Prince/Princess. However, legally, they are not British HRH Prince/Princess. All titles used by the family are used in pretense.

Other Titles

The sovereign of Monaco also holds other hereditary titles, some of which are occasionally bestowed on relatives or their spouses. All these titles were received with their lands, at different times and in different ways. These titles no longer imply ownership of territories, although the Princes of Monaco have long owned property in France. The French titles have been considered extinct in France since 1949. The most prominent titles, Duke of Valentinois and Marquis of Baux, are discussed below.

Duke of Valentinois

Prince Honoré II of Monaco, King Louis XIII of France created him Duke of Valentinois; Credit – Wikipedia

Originally in the French peerage, Duke of Valentinois is a title held by the Sovereign of Monaco despite its extinction in French law in 1949.

1498 – First Creation – The title was first created by King Louis XII of France for Cesare Borgia, an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the House of Borgia in 1498. Cesare Borgia had no legitimate sons so the title became extinct when he died.

1548 – Second Creation – King Henri II of France created his mistress Diane de Poitiers Duchess of Valentinois. Because of the Salic Law, when Diane de Poitiers died the title became extinct.

1642 – Third Creation – King Louis XIII of France created the title by letters patent for Honoré II, Prince of Monaco. Honoré II’s only child Hercule Grimaldi, Marquis of Baux predeceased him. When Honoré II died, Hercule’s only son Louis I, Prince of Monaco succeeded his grandfather and then bore all his titles. The title then proceeded to Louis I’s son Antonio I, Prince of Monaco. The title’s inheritance was restricted to males and Antonio had only daughters, so his brother François-Honoré Grimaldi was the heir. However, François-Honoré became a priest and renounced his claims to the throne of Monaco, and Antonio’s elder daughter Louise Hippolyte became his heir. With the permission of King Louis XIV of France, Antonio decided that Louise Hippolyte’s husband would take the surname Grimaldi and jointly rule Monaco with her.

1715 – Fourth Creation – In 1715, Antonio’s eldest daughter and heiress Louise-Hippolyte married Jacques-François de Goyon-Matignon. King Louis XV of France recreated the title of Duke of Valentinois by letters patent for Jacques, who was to rule jointly with his wife Louise-Hippolyte. Like the previous creation, the Duke of Valemtinois’s inheritance was restricted to males. The title passed uninterrupted for several generations from Prince of Monaco to Prince of Monaco: Jacques to Honoré III, Honoré IV, Honoré V, Florestan I, Charles III, Albert I.

As stated above, the only child of Prince Albert I, the future Prince Louis II, was unmarried and without an heir. Prince Albert I had a law passed recognizing Louis II’s illegitimate child Charlotte as Louis’ heir and a member of the princely family and named her Her Serene Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Duchess of Valentinois. At this time, there was not a new creation of the French title Duchess of Valentinois. The fourth creation allowed for only male inheritance. The male descendants of Prince Louis II were legally the only claimants.

In 1949, when Prince Louis II died, he was succeeded by his grandson Prince Rainier III, the son of Princess Charlotte. Rainier III claimed the title Duke of Valentinois, possibly under the assumption that in 1919, France, no longer a monarchy, but a republic, implicitly recreated the French title for his mother Princess Charlotte when she was legally adopted by her father Prince Louis II. However, no French republic has ever created or re-created any title.

Marquis of Baux

Prince Ercole, son of Prince Honoré III was the first heir to use the title, but he predeceased his father; Credit – Wikipedia

The current Marquis of Baux is Hereditary Prince Jacques of Monaco, the only (legitimate) son of Prince Albert II of Monaco. Marquis of Baux is a subsidiary title of the sovereign of Monaco and is usually given to the male heir-apparent or male heir presumptive of the throne of Monaco. The title was originally Lord of Baux and was used by several other noble and royal houses.

King Louis XIII of France re-granted the title Lord of Baux as the Marquis of Baux to Prince Honoré II of Monaco by the 1641 Treaty of Péronne. The first heir to use the title was Prince Honoré III’s only child Prince Ercole, who predeceased his father, dying in a firearms accident.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Contributeurs aux projets Wikimedia. (2005). titres de comtes de Valence (IXe au XIe siècle), puis de comtes de Valentinois (XIIe au XVe siècle). Wikipedia.org; Fondation Wikimedia, Inc. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_comtes_puis_ducs_de_Valentinois
  • Contributeurs aux projets Wikimedia. (2006). Titres des Grimaldi de Monaco. Wikipedia.org; Fondation Wikimedia, Inc. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titres_des_Grimaldi_de_Monaco
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022). Honoré II, Prince of Monaco. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-ii-prince-of-monaco/
  • House of Grimaldi. (2020). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Grimaldi
  • Monarchy of Monaco. (2020). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Monaco
  • Prince’s Palace of Monaco. (n.d.). www.palais.mc. https://www.palais.mc/en/index.html
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Duke of Valentinois. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Marquis of Baux. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Principality. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Serene Highness. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Succession to the Monegasque throne. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Magnus the Good, King of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Magnus the Good; Credit – By Viggo Guttorm-Pedersen – CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52039023

Magnus the Good reigned as King of Denmark from 1042 to 1047 and as King of Norway from 1035 to 1047. Born circa 1024 in Norway, Magnus was the illegitimate son of King Olaf II of Norway (later Saint Olaf) and his English concubine Alfhild, originally a slave of Olaf’s wife Queen Astrid Olofsdotter. Magnus was born prematurely and was not expected to survive. He was hastily baptized and as his father was not present at the birth, his Icelandic skald (poet) Sigvatr Þórðarson named the infant Magnus after King Olaf II’s role model, Karl Magnus (Charlemagne, King of the Franks, King of the Lombards and Emperor of the Carolingian Empire), Magnus did survive, and despite his illegitimacy, as Olaf’s only son, he was vitally important.

Magnus had one half-sister from his father’s marriage to Astrid Olofsdotter:

Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1029, Cnut the Great, King of England and Denmark invaded Norway. King Olaf II and his son Magnus had been in exile since Cnut’s invasion. Eventually, they arrived in Novgorod in Kievan Rus, now in Russia, where King Olaf sought assistance from Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Magnus was left to be fostered by Yaroslav and his wife Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden while Olaf went to fight Cnut the Great. In 1030, King Olaf II of Norway was killed at the Battle of Stiklestad, and Cnut became King of Norway.

For the next few years, Magnus remained in Novgorod where he was educated and trained as a soldier. King Cnut sent his wife Ælfgifu of Northampton and their eldest son Sweyn Cnutsson to govern Norway. The Norwegians considered their rule oppressive and they were expelled in 1035. Eleven-year-old Magnus the Good then became King of Norway. Initially, Magnus sought revenge against his father’s enemies, but on Sigvatr Þórðarson‘s advice, he decided against it and became known as Magnus the Good.

The child kings Magnus (left) and Harthacnut meet at the Gøta River; Credit – Wikipedia

Another son of King Cnut, Harthacnut, King of Denmark and King of England (reigned 1040 – 1042), wanted Denmark to reunite with Norway, so in defense, Magnus initiated a campaign against Denmark around 1040. However, the noblemen of both countries brought the two kings together on the border between the kingdoms on the Gøta River in present-day Sweden. Magnus and Harthacnut made peace and agreed that the first to die would be succeeded by the other.

Sweyn Estridsson; fresco from the 16th century in Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1042, Harthacnut died while in England, and Magnus became King of Denmark, despite a claim by Cnut’s nephew Sweyn Estridsson, whom Harthacnut had left in control of Denmark when he went to England. Sweyn Estridsson continued to oppose Magnus in Denmark, although they reached a settlement by which Sweyn Estridsson became Earl of Denmark under Magnus.

King Magnus wanted to reunite King Cnut’s North Sea empire by becoming King of England. When Harthacnut, King of Denmark and King of England died, his half-brother, the son of Harthacnut’s mother Emma of Normandy and her first husband Æthelred II, King of the English, now known as Saint Edward the Confessor, King of England (reigned 1042 – 1066), succeeded to the English throne. The English were mostly hostile to Magnus but Sweyn Estridsson was welcome in England.

Magnus’ uncle Harald Sigurdsson, the future King Harald III of Norway, also known as Harald Hardrada, returned to Norway and contested Magnus’ rule there. Sweyn Estridsson remained a threat in Denmark. Harald Sigurdsson allied himself with Sweyn Estridsson. King Magnus chose to appease his uncle Harald Sigurdsson and made him his co-king in Norway in 1046, and in the same year, Magnus drove Sweyn Estridsson out of Denmark.

Site of King Magnus’ grave in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway; Credit – By Ole Ryhl Olsson Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=111711349

King Magnus was unmarried and only had one child, an illegitimate daughter. On October 25, 1047, the 24-year-old Magnus suddenly died in Denmark. The exact cause of his death is unknown but there were reports that Magnus fell overboard from a ship and drowned, that he fell off his horse, and that he fell ill while on board a ship. Magnus was buried with his father King Olaf II of Norway in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. On his deathbed, Magnus named Sweyn Estridsson (King Sweyn II Estridsson, reigned 1047 – 1076) his heir in Denmark, and his uncle and co-king in Norway, Harald Hardrada (King Harald III, reigned 1046 – 1066) his heir in Norway.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Bidragsytere til Wikimedia-prosjektene. (2004). Konge av Danmark og Norge. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_den_gode
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/cnut-the-great-king-of-england-denmark-and-norway/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Emma of Normandy, Queen of England, Denmark and Norway. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/emma-of-normandy-queen-of-england-denmark-and-norway/
  • Hadley, Dawn & Richards, Julian. (2022). The Viking Great Army and the Making of England. Thames & Hudson.
  • Magnus the Good. (2024). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_the_Good
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2019). Harald Hardrada. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Hardrada
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Saint Olaf. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Sweyn II of Denmark. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Luxembourg Styles and Titles

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Luxembourg, a microstate in Western Europe, is bordered by Belgium, Germany, and France. It is the only remaining Grand Duchy. During its history, Luxembourg has been a part of several countries. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Luxembourg was made a Grand Duchy and united in a personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The King of the Netherlands was also the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg remained in personal union with the Netherlands until the death of King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1890. His successor was his daughter Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands who could not inherit the throne of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg due to the Salic Law which prevented female succession. The new Grand Duke of Luxembourg was Adolphe who was Duke of Nassau until it was annexed to Prussia in 1866. The Grand Ducal Family was then, and still is, members of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau.

Adolphe’s son Grand Duke Guillaume IV had six daughters and no sons so he had to do a bit of tinkering with the succession law. The law was changed to the Semi-Salic Law, where succession first goes to all the male dynasts and then to female dynasts only upon the extinction of all the male dynasts. This allowed his two elder daughters to succeed to the throne. Eventually, In 2011, the succession law was changed to absolute primogeniture whereby the succession passes to the eldest child of the sovereign regardless of gender, and males and females have equal succession rights.

His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness

In earlier practice, a reigning grand duke, his heir apparent, and their spouses would use the style of Royal Highness. The male line descendants of a reigning grand duke, other than the heir, would use the style Grand Ducal Highness. This practice was followed by the ruling families of Luxembourg, Hesse and by Rhine, and Baden. The current practice of Princes and Princesses of Luxembourg and Princes and Princesses of Nassau holding the style Royal Highness refers to their Bourbon-Parma origins. See Prince and Princess of Bourbon-Parma below.

The Monarch of Luxembourg

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

The monarch of Luxembourg is His/Her Royal Highness Grand Duke/Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg is the current monarch of Luxembourg. On October 7, 2000, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg abdicated, and his son Henri became Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In his Christmas Eve speech on December 24, 2024, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg announced that he would abdicate in favor of his eldest child Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg on October 3, 2025.

The Consort of Luxembourg

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg is Her Royal Highness Grand Duchess <name> of Luxembourg. The current consort of Luxembourg is Her Royal Highness Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, born Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista Falla in Havana, Cuba.

In 1919, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg married her first cousin Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, the only time so far, when there was a male consort. Felix retained his title as Prince of Bourbon-Parma and was created a Prince of Luxembourg in his own right.

The Heir to the Throne of Luxembourg – Hereditary Grand Duke or Hereditary Grand Duchess

Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg; Credit – Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue

His Royal Highness Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke, the eldest child of Grand Duke Henri is the current Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Since June 2011, Luxembourg’s line of succession has been based on Cognatic (Absolute) Primogeniture, beginning with the children of Grand Duke Henri. The succession passes to the eldest child of the sovereign regardless of gender with males and females having equal succession rights.

The title Hereditary Grand Duke or Hereditary Grand Duchess is held by the heir apparent to the throne of Luxembourg. The eldest child of the reigning Prince or Princess of Luxembourg may be granted the title of Hereditary Grand Duke or Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

Prince and Princess of Luxembourg

Prince Felix of Luxembourg, the second child of Grand Duke Henri, with his wife Princess Claire of Luxembourg with the eldest two children Princess Amalia of Nassau and Prince Liam of Nassau

The children of the reigning Grand Duke/Grand Duchess or the heir apparent, the Hereditary Grand Duke/Hereditary Grand Duchess, hold the titles Prince/Princess of Luxembourg and the additional title Prince/Princess of Nassau with the style of Royal Highness. The wives of Princes of Luxembourg and Princes of Nassau (below) hold the female counterparts of their husband’s titles.

Prince and Princess of Nassau

The Grand Duke of Luxembourg uses the Duke of Nassau as his secondary title. Prince or Princess of Nassau is used as a title by the other members of the Grand Ducal family. The Nassau titles derive from Adolphe, Duke of Nassau who became Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 1890. The Duchy of Nassau was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in the current German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.

Male line descendants of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg who are not the children of a Grand Duke or Hereditary Grand Duke and their wives are titled Prince/Princess of Nassau with the style of His/Her Royal Highness.

For instance, the children of His Royal Highness Prince Félix of Luxembourg, the second child of Grand Duke Henri, are male line descendants and are not children of a Grand Duke of Hereditary Grand Duke. They are styled His/Her Royal Highness and titled Princess Amalia of Nassau, Prince Liam of Nassau, and Prince Balthasar of Nassau.

Prince and Prince of Bourbon-Parma

Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, Prince of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1919, Grand Duchess Charlotte married her first cousin Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, the son of Roberto I, Duke of Parma and his second wife Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. Prince Felix held the style His Royal Highness. Since then, members of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg, besides being members of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, are also members of the House of Bourbon-Parma with the title of Prince or Princesses of Bourbon-Parma and the style Royal Highness.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Autoren der Wikimedia-Projekte. (2004). Adelsgeschlecht. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haus_Nassau
  • Legilux. (2025). Public.lu. https://legilux.public.lu/eli/etat/adm/dec/2012/06/11/n1/jo
  • Official website of the Grand Ducal Court of Luxembourg. (n.d.). Www.monarchie.lu. https://monarchie.lu/en
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Duchy of Nassau. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). House of Bourbon-Parma. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024, December 27). House of Nassau-Weilburg. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • ‌Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Monarchy of Luxembourg. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Nassau Family Pact. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.

Harald II, King of Denmark (reigned 1014 – 1018)

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

King Harald II as depicted in a copper engraving from 1646 by Albert Haelwegh; Credit – Wikipedia

Not much is known about Harald II, King of Denmark who reigned for only four years. Almost every primary source from Denmark, Iceland, and Norway omits Harald II’s brief reign. Most of the information about Harald comes from The Encomium Emmae Reginae, a text completed in 1042 on the orders of Harald’s sister-in-law, Emma of Normandy, Queen of England, Denmark and Norway, the widow of King Æthelred II of the English, the second wife of Harald’s brother Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway, and the mother of Saint Edward the Confessor, King of England via her first husband Æthelred.

In 1893, Danish historian Johannes Steenstrup summed up what was known about Harald. The synopsis uses Danish names. The English names are in parentheses. “Haraldr (Harald) was installed as regent by his father and refused to share power with Knútr (his brother Cnut), but helped with his preparation for conquering England. Son of Sveinn Haraldsson (Sweyn Haraldson, also known as Sweyn Forkbeard) and Gunnhildr (Gunhilda), Haraldr succeeded Sveinn Haraldson right after his death. Haraldr and his brother Knútr brought their mother Gunnhildr back to Denmark. Haraldr died in 1018, barely more than 20 years old.”

In his 2021 article, The Forgotten King of Denmark – Haraldr II, Deniz Cem Gülen theorizes that “the reticence around Haraldr and his reign might be his religious beliefs.” Although his paternal grandfather Harald I Bluetooth, King of Denmark and Norway converted from paganism to Christianity and decided that the Danish people should also convert to Christianity, King Harald II may have been a pagan. Early writers may have omitted King Harald II’s brief reign attempting to have him forgotten as a pagan king.

King Harald II was probably born circa 996 – 998. His father Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Norway, and England had two wives: Sigrid Storråda and Gunhilda of Wenden. Both women are mentioned in the Norse sagas but there is very little information about them in the medieval chronicles. Sweyn Forkbeard had seven known children but which of the two women are their mothers is uncertain. Gunhilda of Wenden was probably the mother of Harald and his brother Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway. Sources say nothing about King Harald II of Denmark having been married.

Harald’s brother Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Harald II had six known siblings:

Sweyn Forkbeard invading England; Credit – Wikipedia

Harald served as regent of Denmark and Norway while his father Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and Norway was fighting Æthelred II, King of the English in England. In 1002 Æthelred was told that the Danish men in England “would faithlessly take his life, and then all his councilors, and possess his kingdom afterward.” In response, Æthelred “ordered slain all the Danish men who were in England.” St. Brice’s Day Massacre occurred on November 13, 1002, the feast day of St. Brice, fifth-century Bishop of Tours. There was a significant loss of life including Gunhilde, Sweyn Forkbeard’s sister. In retaliation, Sweyn Forkbeard attacked England during 1003 – 1004, burning Norwich but a famine in 1005 caused him to retreat. The Danish invaders returned and within a few years, all of England came under Danish rule. On Christmas Day in 1013, Harald’s father Sweyn Forkbeard was formally proclaimed King of England.

Sweyn Forkbeard made his English base in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, and began organizing his new kingdom. However, his reign was short-lived as he suddenly died in Gainsborough on February 3, 1014, at around the age of 54. Harald Bluetooth had named Roskilde the capital of Denmark in 960, and a small wooden church dedicated to the Holy Trinity was built on the site of the current Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial site of the Danish monarchs. Harald Bluetooth was buried at the Holy Trinity Church. Sweyn Forkbeard was first buried in England and his remains were later moved to Denmark where they were interred near his father at the Holy Trinity Church. However, their tombs have never been found.

Sweyn Forkbeard’s younger son succeeded him as Harald II, King of Denmark, and his elder son Cnut (the Great), was proclaimed King of England by the Danes in England. King Harald II of Denmark died in 1018, probably in his early 20s but his burial place is unknown. His brother Cnut succeeded Harald as King of Denmark.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2003). Harald II. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_2.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/cnut-the-great-king-of-england-denmark-and-norway/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Emma of Normandy, Queen of England, Denmark and Norway. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/emma-of-normandy-queen-of-england-denmark-and-norway/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2025). Harald I Bluetooth, King of Denmark and Norway. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/harald-i-bluetooth-king-of-denmark-and-norway/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Norway, and England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/sweyn-forkbeard-king-of-denmark-king-of-norway-king-of-england/
  • Hadley, Dawn & Richards, Julian. (2022). The Viking Great Army and the Making of England. Thames & Hudson.
  • View of The Forgotten King of Denmark – Haraldr II | Scandinavian-Canadian Studies. (2025). Scancan.net. https://scancan.net/index.php/scancan/article/view/203/40

Liechtenstein Styles and Titles

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Liechtenstein is a micro-state in Alpine Central Europe bordered by Switzerland and Austria. The House of Liechtenstein which takes its name from Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria, near Vienna, built circa 1140, has ruled in the area since the 12th century. Over the centuries, the family gained land in Moravia, Lower Austria, Silesia, and Styria. Several Liechtenstein princes served as close advisors to the Habsburg family.

In 1608, Karl I, Baron of Liechtenstein was made the Fürst (Prince) of Liechtenstein by Holy Roman Emperor Matthias after siding with him in a political battle. The family purchased the Lordship of Schellenberg in 1699 and the County of Vaduz in 1712 from the Hohenems family. Then, in 1719, Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor elevated the territory to a Fürstentum (Principality). Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein (reigned 1938 – 1989) was the first sovereign prince to live full-time in Liechtenstein.

The succession to the throne of Liechtenstein is based upon agnatic primogeniture which forbids women to succeed. A United Nations committee raised concerns regarding gender equality with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In 2007, Prince Hans-Adam II explained that the succession law is older than the Principality of Liechtenstein itself, it is a family tradition that does not affect the citizens, and the Constitution of Liechtenstein states that succession to the throne is a private family matter.

His Serene Highness and Her Serene Highness

Liechtenstein is a principality. A principality is a sovereign state reigned by a monarch with the title of Prince or Princess. As stated above, Liechtenstein forbids female succession so, in the past and currently, a Sovereign Princess is not allowed. The reigning Prince of Liechtenstein and the other Princes and Princesses of Liechtenstein are all styled His Serene Highness and Her Serene Highness. This is the usual style for the Princely Family of a Principality. The same practice is used in the Principality of Monaco except Monaco’s succession is male-preference primogeniture, where males take precedence over females and older children take precedence over younger ones. Monaco had one reigning Princess, Louise Hippolyte, who reigned for ten months in 1731 before she died from smallpox.

The Monarch of Liechtenstein

Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

His Serene Highness Prince Hans-Adam II is the current reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. On August 26, 1984, Prince Franz Josef II appointed his son Prince Hans-Adam as his deputy, handing over most of his duties as Head of State. Franz Josef died on November 13, 1989, and Hans-Adam became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II. In a similar move, in 2004, Prince Hans-Adam II appointed his son Hereditary Prince Alois as his deputy. While Prince Hans-Adam remains Head of State, Hereditary Prince Alois assumed most of the duties of the Head of State. The reigning Prince bears the titles Prince of Liechtenstein, Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, Count of Rietberg, and Ruler of the House of Liechtenstein.

The Consort of Liechtenstein

The late Princess Marie of Liechtenstein, the last Consort; Credit – Wikipedia

The wives of the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein have been styled Her Serene Highness Princess <name> of Liechtenstein. Currently, there is no Consort of Liechtenstein. Prince Hans-Adam II’s wife Princess Marie of Liechtenstein, born Countess Marie Aglaë of Wchinitz and Tettau, in 1940, in Prague, Czechoslovakia, now in the Czech Republic, died in 2021. The Consort bears the titles Princess of Liechtenstein, Duchess of Troppau, Duchess of  Jägerndorf, and Countess of Rietberg, and retains these titles while a widow.

The Heir to the Throne of Liechtenstein – Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein

Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

The title Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein is held by the heir apparent to the throne of Liechtenstein. The eldest son of the Prince of Liechtenstein automatically becomes the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein when his father succeeds to the throne. The current Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein is His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, the eldest son of Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein.

The right to succeed to the throne of Liechtenstein is reserved for male patrilineal descendants of Prince Johann I Joseph (reigned 1805 – 1836), who were born to married parents, excluding those born of a marriage to which the sovereign did not consent. If there is no eligible male patrilineal descendant, the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein has the right to adopt an heir presumptive. There is no scenario under which a woman could succeed to the throne of Liechtenstein.

Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Hereditary Prince Alois’ wife is Her Royal Highness Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein. However, Sophie is styled Her Royal Highness and not Her Serene Highness, like the other members of the Liechtenstein Princely Family. Sophie is the eldest of the five daughters of Prince Max-Emanuel, Duke in Bavaria, and descends in a direct line from the last Bavarian King Ludwig III, her great-great-grandfather. Sophie’s uncle Franz, Duke of Bavaria is the current pretender to the throne of the former Kingdom of Bavaria. Franz never married, so his heir is his brother, Sophie’s father, Prince Max-Emanuel, Duke in Bavaria. In 1973, Sophie’s father inherited the family name and style Duke in Bavaria from his great-uncle Duke Ludwig Wilhelm of Bavaria who had adopted him as heir in 1965. From birth, Sophie was styled Her Royal Highness Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, Princess of Bavaria. On her marriage in 1993, she became Her Royal Highness Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein, with the Principality of Liechtenstein recognizing and retaining her use of the style Her Royal Highness.

Sophie is a member of the House of Wittelsbach, formerly the reigning house of the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Jacobites sought to restore the British crown to King James II of England after he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and subsequently, to his heirs. The current Jacobite heir is Sophie’s childless uncle Franz, Duke of Bavaria, who has never pursued the claim. Franz’s heir is Sophie’s father, Max-Emanuel, Duke in Bavaria who only has five daughters. As the eldest of her father’s daughters, Sophie will be her father’s heir to the Jacobite claim, and her eldest son Prince Joseph Wenzel (born 1995) will be her heir and the Jacobite claim to the British throne will reside in the House of Liechtenstein.

See Unofficial Royalty – The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne for more information including a line of the the Jacobite succession.

Prince of Liechtenstein and Princess of Liechtenstein

Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, son of Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein, and his wife Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, born a Princess of Luxembourg

Members of the Princely House of Liechtenstein are the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein and all those who descend in the male line from Prince Johann I of Liechtenstein (reigned 1805 – 1836) and are the result of a marriage consented to by a reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. Members of the Princely House of Liechtenstein are styled and titled His/Her Serene Highness Prince/Princess <name> of Liechtenstein, except for Her Royal Highness Hereditary Princess Sophie as noted above.

A Princess of Liechtenstein by birth does not lose her membership in the Princely House of Liechtenstein when she marries. However, her children do not acquire membership in the Princely House by birth and are not Princes or Princesses of Liechtenstein. The wives of the Princes of Liechtenstein become members of the Princely House at their marriage and are styled Her Serene Highness Princess <name> of Liechtenstein.

Count of Rietberg and Countess of Rietberg

All dynastic members of the House of Liechtenstein and their wives bear the title Count or Countess of Rietberg along with their princely title. The County of Rietberg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present-day German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was an independent territory from 1237 to 1807 when the County of Rietberg was redistributed to the Kingdom of Westphalia. The House of Liechtenstein claimed the County of Rietberg in 1848 when the last member of the Moravian branch of the Kaunitz family, Prince Aloys von Kaunitz-Rietberg, died.

Duke of Troppau and Duke of Jägerndorf

The Duchy of Troppau, now in the Czech Republic, was a territory split off from the Margraviate of Moravia circa 1269 by King Ottokar II of Bohemia to provide for his illegitimate son, Nicholas I, the first Duke of Troppau. When that branch became extinct in 1464, the Duchy of Troppau reverted to the Bohemian Crown, and in 1526, it became part of the Habsburg monarchy. Prince Karl I of Liechtenstein was invested with the Duchy of Troppau in 1614 by Holy Roman Emperor Matthias.

In 1377, the Duchy of Jägerndorf (also known as the Duchy of Krnov), now in the Czech Republic, emerged from the Duchy of Troppau. It was a Hohenzollern territory since 1523. However, the Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire regarded the duchy as a reverted fief, and after the 1620 Bohemian Revolt, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II confiscated the Hohenzollern possessions in his Bohemian lands. Ferdinand’s loyal supporter Prince Karl I of Liechtenstein, received the Duchy of Jägerndorf which was merged with the Duchy of Troppau in 1623.

The Duchy of Troppau and the Duchy of Jägerndorf were dissolved with the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, however, the titles of Duke of Troppau and Duke of Jägerndorf still exist, and belong to the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • 1993.100 | Lilex – Gesetzesdatenbank des Fürstentums Liechtenstein. (2025). Gesetze.li. https://www.gesetze.li/konso/1993100000
  • Das Fürstenhaus von Liechtenstein. admin. (2021. Fuerstenhaus.li. https://fuerstenhaus.li/en/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021). The Jacobite Succession – Pretenders to the British Throne. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/the-jacobite-succession-pretenders-to-the-british-throne/
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Duchy of Krnov. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). County of Rietberg. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Duchy of Troppau. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Monarchy of Liechtenstein. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Succession to the Liechtensteiner throne. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succession_to_the_Liechtensteiner_throne

Harald I Bluetooth, King of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Harald Bluetooth – 16th-century fresco  at Roskilde Cathedral, Harald’s burial place; Credit – Wikipedia

A Viking warrior, Harald I Bluetooth, King of Denmark, reigned circa 958 – 986, and King of Norway reigned circa 970 – 986, unified Denmark and Norway in the tenth century. His nickname Bluetooth first appears in the Roskilde Chronicle in 1140. Blár means “blue” in Old Norse but it also means “dark”. Possibly Harald had a conspicuous bad tooth that was dark.

Harald Bluetooth was the inspiration for the name of the wireless technology company Bluetooth. The name was based on an analogy that the technology would unite devices the way Harald Bluetooth united the tribes of Denmark into a single kingdom. The Bluetooth logo    is a bind rune merging the runes  Runic letter ior.svg (Hagall) (ᚼ) and Runic letter berkanan.svg (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), Harald’s initials.

Harald Bluetooth was born in Denmark, before 936, probably about 932. He was the son of Gorm the Old, King of Denmark and Thyra Dannebod. Gorm the Old is the earliest reliably verified Danish ruler. His father was supposedly Harthacnut who reigned in the early 10th century. A Norse saga says that Harthacnut was the son of legendary Danish king Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, one of the sons of legendary Danish king Ragnar Lodbrok. The existence of Harald’s mother Thyra Dannebod is documented in Viking Age runestone inscriptions, but very little is known about her. Medieval historians and 12th and 13th-century Icelandic sagas disagree with her origin, describing her as the daughter of an English king, the daughter of an Earl of Jutland, or from the area of present-day Germany.

Harald had three siblings:

Harald’s first wife was Gunhild of Wenden, probably the mother of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Norway, and England. Besides Gunhild, Harald Bluetooth had two other wives, Tove of the Obotrites and Gyrid Olafsdottir of Sweden. Harald had three other children besides Sweyn but it is not certain which of his wives were their mothers.

Harald’s children:

Harald succeeded his father Gorm as King of Denmark. It is speculated that Gorm died in the winter of 958 – 959, based on dendrochronology, the scientific method of dating tree rings, showing that his tomb in a burial mound in Jelling, Denmark was made from wood felled in 958. Gorm was around sixty years old when he died, and because of his father’s old age, Harald had already played an important role in governing Denmark.

During Harald Bluetooth’s reign, Denmark was peaceful and Harald focused on foreign affairs. Richard I, Count of Normandy, the great-grandfather of William III, Duke of Normandy, better known as William the Conqueror, King William I of England, allied himself with Harald who then supported Richard I, a descendant of Vikings, against his opponents. Originally Normandy was a French fiefdom created as the County of Rouen in 911 by King Charles III “the Simple” of France for Rollo, a Viking leader whose original name may have been Hrólfr. After participating in many Viking raids along the Seine, culminating in the Siege of Paris in 886, Rollo was finally defeated by King Charles III. Rollo swore fealty to the French King and converted to Christianity. Charles then granted Rollo territories around Rouen, which came to be called Normandy after the Northmen/Norsemen, another name for Vikings. Rollo is the great-great-great-grandfather of William the Conqueror.

In 961, when King Haakon I of Norway was defeated and killed in battle, Harald Bluetooth went to Norway and proclaimed himself King of Norway and appointed the Norwegian regional kings as his vassals. Harald II Greycloak of Norway, the leader of the Norwegian vassal kings and also Harald Bluetooth’s nephew (the son of his sister Gunnhild), killed his most important opponents and became increasingly independent of his uncle Harald Bluetooth. In 970, Harald Greycloak was tricked into visiting Denmark and was killed by allies of his uncle Harald Bluetooth. Harald Bluetooth regained a strong position as King of Norway and appointed Harald Greycloak’s murderers as Jarls in Norway.

Poppo baptizing Harald Bluetooth; Credit – Wikipedia

Harald Bluetooth converted to Christianity. Allegedly, around 965, Poppo, a German priest who was Bishop of Schleswig in the 10th and early 11th centuries, convinced Harald that Jesus Christ was a far stronger deity than the Norse gods. Poppo baptized Harald who then decided that the Danish people should convert to Christianity.

The Great Jelling Stone showing Jesus Christ with outstretched arms but without a cross. Erected by Harald Bluetooth in the latter half of the 10th century; Credit – Af Casiopeia – fotografiert von Casiopeia, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=197286

Harald’s father Gorm was first buried in the North Mound in Jelling, Denmark. After his conversion to Christianity, Harald had his father’s body reburied in the wooden church he built next to the North Mound in Jelling. Harald erected the Jelling stones including the Great Jelling Stone for his father and mother with the inscription: “King Harald bade these memorials to be made after Gorm, his father, and Thyra, his mother. The Harald who won the whole of Denmark and Norway and turned the Danes to Christianity.”

The modern memorial to Harald Bluetooth in Wolin, Poland. The Danish and Polish inscription, in rune style, commemorates Harald’s death in Jómsborg; Credit – By Radosław Drożdżewski (Zwiadowca21) – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4318187

In 986, Sweyn Forkbeard rebelled against his father and seized the throne. Wounded after a battle with his son, Harald Bluetooth was driven into exile and died in November 986 in Jomsborg, a Viking stronghold built by Harald Bluetooth on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. Jomsborg is thought to be the present-day town of Wolin in Poland.

Roskilde Cathedral on the site of Holy Trinity Church built by Harald Bluetooth; Photo Credit © Susan Flantzer

Harald Bluetooth named Roskilde the capital of Denmark in 960. He had a small wooden church dedicated to the Holy Trinity built on the site of the current Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial site of the Danish monarchs. Harald Bluetooth was buried at the Holy Trinity Church. His son Sweyn Forkbeard was first buried in England and his remains were later moved to Denmark where they were interred near his father at the Holy Trinity Church. However, their tombs have never been found.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2003). Harald Blåtand. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Bl%C3%A5tand
  • Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2021). Poppo. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppo
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2025). Gorm the Old, King of Denmark. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/gorm-the-old-king-of-denmark-reigned-936-958/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021). Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/roskilde-cathedral-in-roskilde-denmark/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Norway, and England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/sweyn-forkbeard-king-of-denmark-king-of-norway-king-of-england/
  • ‌Harald Bluetooth. (2021). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Bluetooth

Dutch Styles and Titles

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

After Napoleon’s first defeat and surrender in May 1814, Willem VI, Prince of Orange, urged by the powers who met at the Congress of Vienna, proclaimed the Netherlands a monarchy on March 16, 1815. After Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and his second exile, the Congress of Vienna formally confirmed Willem VI, Prince of Orange as the hereditary ruler, King Willem I, the first King of the Netherlands.

The Netherlands’ line of succession to the throne is based upon absolute primogeniture where males and females have equal succession rights. The Dutch Constitution limits the line of succession to those within three degrees of kinship to the Monarch. Therefore, upon King Willem-Alexander’s accession in 2013, two of his cousins who had previously had succession rights were removed from the succession. Members of the Dutch royal family must have the consent of the monarch and the government to marry. Several family members were excluded from the succession due to marriage without proper consent.

The Dutch Royal House and The Dutch Royal Family

Members of the Dutch Royal Family include people born into the family who are legally recognized as such or who have married into the family. However, not every royal family member is a member of the royal house.

Members of the Dutch Royal House are those Dutch Royal Family members who can succeed the monarch according to the Dutch Constitution and are related to the monarch in the first or second degree of consanguinity, any former monarch who had abdicated, and the spouses of the persons mentioned above. The first degree of consanguinity refers to a direct parent-child relationship, and the second degree of consanguinity refers to siblings, grandparents, or grandchildren of an individual. Members of the Royal House will lose their membership if they lose their Dutch nationality, are dismissed by Royal Decree, or marry without the permission of parliament.

Members of the Royal House are:

  • The reigning King or Queen
  • An abdicated King or Queen
  • The legitimate descendants of King William I who are related to the current King or Queen in the 1st or 2nd degree of consanguinity and are eligible for succession to the throne
  • The spouses of those mentioned above

The Dutch Monarch

Willem-Alexander, the current King of the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander is the current King of the Netherlands. On January 28, 2013, Willem-Alexander’s mother Queen Beatrix (known as Princess Beatrix after her abdication) announced her intention to abdicate in favor of him. Queen Beatrix signed the Instrument of Abdication at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam on April 30, 2013. Afterward, Willem-Alexander was inaugurated as King at the Nieuwe Kerk, adjacent to the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.

The Netherlands’ line of succession to the throne is based upon cognatic primogeniture where males and females have equal succession rights. The Dutch Constitution limits the line of succession to those within three degrees of kinship to the Monarch. Therefore, upon King Willem-Alexander’s accession in 2013, two of his cousins who had previously had succession rights were removed from the list.

Members of the Dutch Royal Family must have the monarch’s and the government’s consent to marry. Several family members were excluded from the succession due to marriage without the proper consent. These include King Willem-Alexander’s younger brother Prince Friso (died 2013), his aunt Princess Irene, and his aunt Princess Christina (died 2019).

The Dutch Royal Consort

Queen Máxima, current royal consort of the Netherlands – Credit: Dutch Royal House, © RVD, photo by Rineke Dijkstra

The wives of Kings of the Netherlands have been titled Queen of the Netherlands and styled Her Majesty. Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is the current royal consort.

From 1890 – 2013, the Netherlands had three Sovereign Queens: Queen Wilhelmina (reigned 1890 – 1948, abdicated in favor of her daughter), Queen Juliana (reigned 1948 – 1980, abdicated in favor of her daughter), and Queen Beatrix (reigned 1980 – 2013, abdicated in favor of her son). These three Queens succeeded to the throne because their monarch parents had no sons. From 1814 until 1887, a monarch could only be succeeded by their closest female relative if there were no eligible male relatives. Male-preference cognatic primogeniture (sons and their lines of descent come before the daughters and their line) was adopted in 1887. In 1983, absolute primogeniture (males and females have equal succession rights) came into effect.

In 1901, Queen Wilhelmina married Duke Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the youngest of the four children of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (reigned 1842 – 1883) and his third wife Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Following the wedding, Heinrich became a Prince of the Netherlands, with the style His Royal Highness, and was known by Hendrik, the Dutch version of his name. Wilhelmina decreed that the Dutch royal house would remain the House of Orange-Nassau and not change to the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

In 1937, Princess Juliana, the daughter of Queen Wilhelmina and the future Queen Juliana, married His Serene Highness Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, the elder son of Prince Bernhard of Lippe (younger brother of Leopold IV, the last Prince of Lippe, forced to abdicate on November 12, 1918) and his wife Armgard von Cramm. His parents’ marriage was considered morganatic, so the younger Bernhard was styled Graf von Biesterfeld (Count of Biesterfeld) at birth. In 1916, Bernhard’s uncle, the reigning Prince of Lippe, created Armgard a Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld with the style Serene Highness and this title and style also extended to her two sons. Before the wedding, Bernhard had been granted Dutch citizenship and on his wedding day, he became His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.

On March 10, 1966, Princess Beatrix, the eldest of the four daughters of Queen Juliana and the future Queen Beatrix, married Klaus-Georg von Amsberg, a member of the German diplomatic corps, born at Haus Dötzingen, his family’s estate near Hitzacker, Germany. He was the only son of the seven children of Klaus von Amsberg, a member of the German Niederer Adel (lower nobility), and Baroness Gösta von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen. On December 10, 1965, Klaus-Georg received a Dutch passport and on February 16, 1966, his name was officially changed to Claus. After his marriage, Claus was granted the style and titles His Royal Highness Prince Claus of the Netherlands. In 1980, after his wife became Queen of the Netherlands, Claus was granted the title His Royal Highness The Prince of the Netherlands.

The Heir to the Dutch Throne – The Prince of Orange or The Princess of Orange

Princess Catharina-Amalia, The Princess of Orange, the current heir apparent to the Dutch throne; Credit – Wikipedia

The title Prince/Princess of Orange is held by the heir apparent to the Dutch throne. The eldest child of the Dutch monarch, regardless of gender, automatically becomes The Prince of Orange or The Princess of Orange when his/her father or mother succeeds to the Dutch throne. The current Princess of Orange is Princess Catharina-Amalia, the eldest of the three daughters of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. Her style and title are Her Royal Highness The Princess of Orange.

Prince of Orange is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange is known as the Vader des Vaderlands (Father of the Fatherland) and is the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau and the ancestor of the Dutch monarchs. When Willem’s childless cousin René of Châlon, Prince of Orange died in 1544, he left the Principality of Orange to Willem. Over the years, the title Prince of Orange became prestigious in the Netherlands and throughout the Protestant world despite losing the territory that had originally gone with the title. The Princes of Orange were also Stadtholders of various Dutch provinces during the period of the Dutch Republic and gained much power.

By the Proclamation of March 16, 1815, the title Prince of Orange was retained by King Wilhelm I, the first King of the Netherlands, formerly Willem VI, Prince of Orange, and immediately given to his eldest son. Until the constitutional amendment of 1983, the “eldest son of the King” automatically bore that title. Since 2002, the Royal House Act has determined that the title Prince or Princess of Orange is granted to the presumed successor of the Sovereign King or Queen of the Netherlands.

Prince or Princess of the Netherlands

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima with their three daughters Princess Catharina-Amalia (The Princess of Orange), Princess Alexia, and Princess Ariane

Children of the Dutch monarch, and spouses and children of The Prince of Orange or Princess of Orange, the heir apparent to the Dutch throne, are His/Her Royal Highness Prince or Princess of the Netherlands. It is customary for wives and widows of male members of the Dutch royal family to be accorded the female counterparts of their husbands’ titles.

Two of Queen Juliana’s daughters, Princess Irene and Princess Christina, married Roman Catholics. Before her marriage, Princess Irene converted to Catholicism, forfeiting her place in the royal succession. Princess Christina had not received the consent of the monarch and the government to marry and relinquished her succession rights to the Dutch throne for herself and her descendants and her position as a member of The Royal House. However, both princesses retained their royal style and title.

Prince or Princess of Orange-Nassau

Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, eldest of the four sons of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Pieter van Vollenhoven

Prince/Princess of Orange-Nassau is a historical title of members of the House of Orange-Nassau and is currently used by members of the Dutch Royal House. The title Prince or Princess of Orange-Nassau originated among the legitimate children and descendants of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange (reigned 1559 – 1584), who was both Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau and thus founder of the House of Orange-Nassau.

In 1901, when Queen Wilhelmina married Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, there was concern that “Nassau” was in danger of being lost from the name “of Orange-Nassau”. By Royal Decree in 1937, Queen Wilhelmina declared that Prince or Princess of Orange-Nassau would be borne by all children of her daughter Princess Juliana with and in addition to any name derived from their father.

According to the Royal House Membership Act adopted on May 30, 2002, the Dutch monarch, his/her heir presumptive, and the King or Queen who has abdicated bear the title Prince or Princess of Orange-Nassau. The title can be granted as a personal, non-hereditary title by Royal Decree to other members of the Royal House and former members of the Royal House. It is customary for wives and widows of male members of the Dutch royal family to be accorded the female counterparts of their husbands’ titles.

When Princess Margriet, the third daughter of the four daughters of Queen Juliana, married Pieter van Vollenhoven, it was decreed that any children from the marriage would be titled Prince/Princess of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, with the style of Highness. However, the title would not be held by their descendants.

In June 2003, the engagement of Prince Friso, the second son of Queen Beatrix, to Mabel Wisse Smit was announced. (Prince Friso died on August 12, 2013 due to injuries received when he was buried under an avalanche on February 17, 2012.) There was public controversy regarding Mabel’s past and her reported relationship with a known drug lord. Having been somewhat vague in their responses to questions about the issue, and Friso’s insistence that he would marry Mabel with or without formal approval from the government, the decision was made not to request formal consent from the Dutch parliament for the marriage. In doing so, Prince Friso relinquished his rights to the Dutch throne and his title of Prince of the Netherlands. However, he retained his personal title of Prince of Orange-Nassau and was granted the hereditary title Count of Orange-Nassau, with the surname Orange-Nassau van Amsberg. His wife was styled Her Royal Highness Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau.

Count or Countess of Orange-Nassau

Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau, the eldest child of Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands

To limit the number of Dutch princes and princesses, changes were made in who would be a prince or princess. By Royal Decree of May 11, 2001, it was declared that all children and male-line descendants of Queen Beatrix’s third son Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands and his wife Princess Laurentian of the Netherlands, born Laurentien Brinkhorst, would bear the title of Count or Countess of Orange-Nassau. Similarly, by Royal Decree of March 19, 2004, it was declared that any children born to Queen Beatrix’s second son Prince Friso and Mabel Wisse Smit, after her marriage, Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, would also bear the title of Count or Countess of Orange-Nassau.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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