[August 23] Olav II, king of Denmark

Parents: Håkon VI, king of Norway, and Margaret I, queen of Denmark
Date of Birth: 1370
House: Bjelbo
Predecessor: Vlademar IV (in Denmark) and Håkon VI (in Norway)
Reign: 1376 – 1387
Summary: The fortunes of three different kingdoms consolidated themselves in the guise of one man: the young prince Olav. Son of the king of Norway, his grandfather was the king of Sweden while his mother was the queen of Denmark. In 1376, King Valdemar IV of Denmark died, leaving the entire state to his grandson through his daughter to Olav II. Margaret, his mother, was to rule as his regent since he was only five-years-old at the time. At the time of his inheritance, his mother forced the Danehof to add the epitaph "true heir of Sweden" to his titles since Sweden was currently being ruled by a parliamentary-elected king, Albrect of Mecklenburg. The Swedish towns of Scania and smaller villages controlled by the Hanseatic League supported his claim and proclaimed him king. When King Håkon VI of Norway, his father, died in 1380, Olav became the undisputed ruler of Denmark and Norway. He was ten-years-old at the time.

Margaret would not let Olav rule even after he turned fifteen—the legal age to rule—in 1385. The union of Denmark and Norway under Olav continued until 1814 with only brief interruptions. But Olav would not be the one to realize the opportunities presented by such a union. The young king died only two years later, in 1387, possibly due to poisoning. He had no wife or children. His mother proclaimed herself regent and became queen in Norway the next year. When King Albert in Sweden was defeated in 1389, she claimed the Swedish throne and united Scandinavia into the Kalmar Union, which was continued for centuries. For Olav, his death ended the Norwegian Bjelbo dynasty and brought an end to Norwegian sovereignty for centuries to come.
Date of Death: 23 August 1387
Successor: Margaret I

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Radagaisus, king of the Goths (406)
• Abu Bakr, caliph of Sunni Islam (634)
• Ali al-Rida, imam of Shi'a Islam (818)
• Magnus, duke of Sxony (1106)
• Rokujo, emperor of Japan (1176)