(
1426 –
1481 ), Danish monarch and union king of
Denmark (
1448 –
1481 ),
Norway (
1450 –
1481 ) and
Sweden (
1457 –
1464 ), under the
Kalmar Union . In Sweden his short tenure as monarch was preceded by regents,
Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and
Erik Axelsson Tott and succeeded by regent
Kettil Karlsson Vasa . Also Duke of
Schleswig and
Holstein 1460-81.
He was born in February 1426 in
Oldenburg . His father was Count
Dietrich Of Oldenburg (died
1444 ) whom he succeeded as Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. His mother was his father's second wife, Hedwig of Schleswig and Holstein (
Helvig Of Schauenburg ) (died
1436 ). Christian had two brothers, Count Moritz V of Delmenhorst (
1428 -
1464 ) and Count Gerhard VI of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (
1430 -
1500 ), and one sister Adelheid.
In 1448 Christian was elected to the vacant Danish throne, as a cognatic descendant of King
Eric V Of Denmark . The throne was first offered by the Statsraad to the most prominent feudal lord of Danish dominions, i.e Duke
Adolf VIII of Schleswig-Holstein, but (being relatively old and childless) he declined and recommended his nephew.
Christian soon married
Dorothea Of Brandenburg (
1430 -
November 25 1495 ), the widow of his predecessor King
Christopher (of Bavaria) and thus
Dowager queen, on
October 28 1449 in
Copenhagen . Dorothea and Christian had five children:
# Olaf (
1450 -
1451 )
# Knud (
1451 -
1455 )
#
John ''(Kong Hans)'' (
1455 -
1513 ), Duke of
Schleswig and
Holstein , King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden
#
Margarete Of Denmark (
1456 -
1486 ), 13 years old married to the 17 years old King
James III Of Scotland
#
Frederick (
1471 -
1533 ), Duke of Schleswig and Holstein, in Gottorp, later also King of Denmark and Norway
In 1450 Christian was also recognised to succeed to the hereditary throne of
Norway as a cognatic descendant of King
Haakon V Of Norway . The throne had originally been left vacant at the death of Christian's predecessor as union king of the three countries, King
Christopher Of Norway , but was briefly occupied in 1449 by a Swedish rival Charles Knutsson (
Charles I Of Norway ). Knutsson was not a blood relative of the Norwegian kings, and was deposed as king of Norway in 1450. At the time, Norway was the only Scandinavian kingdom which was hereditary. However, beginning from the 14th century, it had become so weak that its hereditary succession tended to follow the monarch-elections in Denmark and Sweden.
Charles Knutsson had been elected King of Sweden in 1448, but became increasingly unpopular and was driven into exile in 1457. Christian was finally elected to the Swedish part of the Kalmar Union, receiving power from temporary Swedish regents archbishop
Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and lord
Erik Axelsson Tott . However, Sweden being volatile and split by factions (benefits of union being against nationalistic benefits), his reign there ended in
1464 when bishop
Kettil Karlsson Vasa was installed as the next regent. Charles Knutsson was recalled as King of Sweden, although he was later exiled a second time, recalled again and died during his third term as king. Christian's final attempt at regaining Sweden ended in a total military failure at
Brunkeberg (outside Stockholm) October
1471 where he was defeated by the Swedish regent
Sten Sture The Elder who was supported by the Danish-Swedish nobleman's clan the
Thott family. Christian maintained his claim to the swedish kingdom up to his death in 1481.
In
1460 King Christian also became Duke of
Schleswig and Count of
Holstein (in
1474 Holstein was elevated to a Duchy by the Holy Roman Emperor). Christian inherited Schleswig-Holstein after a short "interregnum" as the eldest son of the sister of late Duke
Adolf VIII , Duke of Schleswig (Southern Jutland) and Count of Holstein, of the
Schauenburg Fürst clan, who died
4 December 1459 , without children. There would have been several genealogically senior claimants of Holstein, but Christian was nephew of the incumbent, the closest relative to that very branch which had lived longest and acquired most fiefs. Christian's succession was confirmed by the Estates (nobility and representatives) of these provinces in Ribe
5 March 1460 .
Christian's personal territory was at its largest in 1460-64, before the loss of Sweden. However, many parts of his realm wanted to govern themselves locally, and there were constant struggles. Denmark was his most important center of power. The
Hereditary Kingdom Of Norway provided a bulwark for his heirs, requiring the other elective monarchies to choose them as kings, in order to preserve the union.
Christian's mother Hedwig of Schauenburg was a descendant, and in her issue the heiress-general, of
Ingeborg Of Mecklenburg (Countess consort of Holstein and Schauenburg), a daughter of
Euphemia Of Sweden (Duchess Consort of Mecklenburg), herself the only daughter of
Ingeborg Of Norway , Duchess Consort of Sudermannia, who was the only daughter and sole surviving child of
Haakon V Of Norway and
Euphemia Of Rugen .
Euphemia of Sweden herself was the sister of King
Magnus II Of Sweden (King Magnus Eriksson) and daughter of Duke Eric of Sudermannia, the second son of
Magnus I Of Sweden (King Magnus Ladislaus Birgersson). In addition to the families of Holstein, Lauenburg, Wolgast, and Mecklenburg, Christian of Oldenburg was one of the few surviving descendants of ancient Swedish kings.
King Christian died in Copenhagen on
May 21 ,
1481 , at the age of 55. He is interred at
Roskilde Cathedral . Through his fourth and fifth children respectively, he was an ancestor to
James VI , of Scotland and England, and his wife,
Anne Of Denmark . He is therefore an ancestor to the present-day British royal family, including
Elizabeth II , Queen of
Great Britain and
Northern Ireland . Through his eldest surviving son, he is ancestor of Dukes of
Lorraine (later Emperors of Austria) and also of Electors of Brandenburg-Prussia. Through his youngest son, he is ancestor of kings of Denmark, Greece, Norway, some kings of Sweden, as well as Tsars of Russia.
