House of Oldenburg explained

The House of Oldenburg is a German dynasty whose members rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Livonia, Schleswig, Holstein, and Oldenburg. The current kings of Norway and the United Kingdom are patrilineal descendants of the Glücksburg branch of this house.

The dynasty rose to prominence when Count Christian I of Oldenburg was elected King of Denmark in 1448, of Norway in 1450 and of Sweden in 1457.

History

Count Elimar I was first mentioned in 1091. The ancestral home of the family is Oldenburg Castle. In the 12th century, Rastede Monastery near Oldenburg became their house monastery and later their country seat to this day. Marriages of medieval counts of Oldenburg 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 as early as 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 a granddaughter of King Magnus III of Sweden (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 in 1683; however, due to the early deaths of all their children, the crown passed to the House of Hanover, Oldenburgs not gaining that crown until 2022.[1]

Main line

Branches

Family tree of the House of Oldenburg (Senior line)

List of head of the House of Oldenburg

Line of succession

By agnatic primogeniture:

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Book: Burke's Royal Families of the World . 0850110238 . 326.
  2. Although Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, his children and his sons' children are patrilineally descended from this branch, his male-line descendants bearing the style of "Majesty" or "Royal Highness" are de jure members of the House of Windsor, by declaration of the British monarch. (seeRoyal Styles and Titles – 1960 Letters Patent). In July 1947, prior to his engagement to Princess Elizabeth, Philip relinquished his Greek and Danish royal titles and styles and became a naturalised British subject, adopting his maternal grandparents' surname of Mountbatten.

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