Royal coronations in Norway

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Coronation of Karl III Johan in Nidaros Cathedral 1818, by Jacob Munch

This is a list of royal coronations in Norway from the 12th century through to the modern era. They began in Bergen (Bjørgvin) at a time when the city was the the capital of Norway's growing overseas empire, came to Oslo when King Haakon V moved the capital there, and ended up in the first historical capital of Norway and seat of the Norwegian Roman Catholic Archbishopric, Trondheim. During the 20th century the coronation was replaced with a benediction.

Before this the Norwegian kings had been proclaimed (konungstekja in Old Norse) at the Øyrating in Trondheim (Nidaros). The tradition had begun with King Harald I Fairhair or King Haakon I the Good in the 10th century, and continued after the coronations began. This could lead to a situation of competing claims. King Sverre was, for example, hailed as king at Øyrating in 1177, but not crowned until well after the death of King Magnus V in 1184.

For kings before the independent Norway of 1905 the modern Norwegian name forms are given in parenthesis where relevant.

1 Christ Church (Old Cathedral), Bergen
2 Oslo
3 Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim
4 See also
5 Sources and External links

[edit] Christ Church (Old Cathedral), Bergen

The first coronation in Norway, and Scandinavia, took place in Bergen in 1163 or 1164. The Christ Church (Old Cathedral) in Bergen remained the place of coronations in Norway until the capital was moved to Oslo with King Haakon V.

Coronation	Name	Reign
1163/1164	Magnus V Erlingsson	1161 - June 15, 1184
June 29, 1194	Sverre Sigurdsson	1184 - March 9, 1202
July 29, 1247	Haakon IV Haakonsson (Håkon IV Håkonsson) with Queen Margrete	1217 - December 16, 1263
September 14, 1261	Magnus VI the law-mender (Magnus VI Lagabøte) with Queen Ingeborg	December 16, 1263 - May 9, 1280
1280	Eric II Magnusson (Eirik II Magnusson)	May 9, 1280 - 1299
1281	Queen Margrete (consort of Eric II Magnusson)

[edit] Oslo

When King Haakon V took over after his brother's death the capital of Norway was moved from Bergen to Oslo, where it has remained. The other coronations in Oslo took place during the Kalmar Union (note the overlap with Trondheim).

Coronation	Name	Reign	Other regnal titles
1299	Haakon V Magnusson (Håkon V Magnusson) with Queen Eufemia	November 1, 1299 - May 8, 1319
July 2, 1442	Christopher of Bavaria (Kristoffer av Bayern)	1442 - January 5, 1448	King of Denmark King of Sweden
July 29, 1514	Christian II (Kristian II)	July 22, 1513 - January 20, 1523	King of Denmark King of Sweden

[edit] Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim

With King Charles I in 1449 the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim became the place of coronations in Norway, and, with the exception of King Christian II, has remained so. The first three took place during the Kalmar Union, and later the tradition was re-established with the Constitution of Norway of 1814 and the Union between Sweden and Norway. In the intermediate period, during the time of the double monarchy of Denmark–Norway, a joint coronation was held in Copenhagen with both a Norwegian and a Danish bishop present.

Coronation	Name	Reign	Other regnal titles
November 20, 1449	Charles I (Karl I or Karl Knutsson Bonde)	November 20, 1449 - June, 1450	King of Sweden
August 2, 1450	Christian I (Kristian I)	1450 - May 21, 1481	King of Denmark King of Sweden
July 20, 1483	John (Hans)	1483 - July 22, 1513	King of Denmark King of Sweden
September 7, 1818	Charles III John (Karl III Johan)	February 5, 1818 - March 8, 1844	King of Sweden
August 5, 1860	Charles IV (Karl IV), with Queen Louise	July 8, 1859 - September 18, 1872	King of Sweden
July 18, 1873	Oscar II (Oskar II), with Queen Sofia	September 18, 1872 - October 26, 1905	King of Sweden
June 22, 1906	Haakon VII, with Queen Maud	November 18, 1905 - September 21, 1957

At the beginning of the 20th century the act of coronation had become widely viewed as an anachronism by Norwegian politicians, and two years after King Haakon VII and Queen Maud were crowned, in 1908, the coronation paragraph was removed from the Constitution with only two votes against in the Parliament. When Olav V became king in 1957 he introduced a new tradition of benediction in the Nidaros Cathedral. He was followed by his son, Harald V, in 1991.