A referendum on retaining the

monarchy A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...

or becoming a republic was held in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

on 12 and 13 November 1905. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1437 Voters were asked whether they approved of the Storting's decision to authorise the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

to make the offer of the throne of the newly self-ruling country. The Storting had wanted to offer the throne to Prince Carl of Denmark, but the prince insisted that the Norwegian people have a chance to decide whether they wanted to retain a monarchy.Kong Haakon VII (1872–1957)
Kongehuset The proposal was approved by 78.9% of voters. Following the referendum, the Storting formally offered the throne to Carl on 18 November; Carl accepted, assuming the throne as King

Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick ...

. The new royal family arrived in Norway on 25 November. King Haakon and Queen Maud were crowned in a ceremony in Nidaros Cathedral in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

on 22 June 1906.Kroninga av Kong Haakon og Dronning Maud
Kongehuset Haakon became Norway's first separate monarch in 518 years.

Summary

On 7 June 1905, the Storting approved the

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

of the union with Sweden; as a result,

Swedish King This is a list of Swedish kings, queens, regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union. History The earliest record of what is generally considered to be a Swedish king appears in Tacitus' work ''Germania'', c. 100 AD (the king of the Suiones). Howe ...

Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

abdicated as

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

. He refused the reconciliation offer to allow a Swedish prince to take the Norwegian throne. The Storting thus turned to the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Prince Carl. In addition to the positive personal qualities, it was pointed out that he was

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

n and would understand the

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

. He was the second son of Crown Prince Frederick and

Louise of Sweden Louise Josephine Eugenie of Sweden ( sv, Lovisa Josefina Eugenia; 31 October 1851 – 20 March 1926) was Queen of Denmark from 1906 until 1912 as the spouse of King Frederick VIII. Born into the House of Bernadotte, Louise was the only surviv ...

, the only surviving child of Oscar's older brother

Charles XV Charles XV also Carl (''Carl Ludvig Eugen''); Swedish: ''Karl XV'' and Norwegian: ''Karl IV'' (3 May 1826 – 18 September 1872) was King of Sweden (''Charles XV'') and Norway, there often referred to as Charles IV, from 8 July 1859 until his dea ...

and, before the birth of Oscar's sons, a serious contender as heir to the dissolved union. Frederick's brother had also been similarly invited to become a monarch of another nation as

George I of Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...

. Carl's wife Princess Maud was

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

's daughter, so he had close ties to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the British royal family, and an heir-apparent to the throne was already guaranteed through his son, the two-year-old Prince Alexander. In Norway, it was debated whether the country should remain a monarchy or become a republic. Prince Carl demanded that the issue should be submitted to a referendum, as he wanted an assurance that a majority of the population wanted Norway to remain as a monarchy. The question posed was: A majority voted in favour of monarchy, and on 18 November the Parliament formally elected Prince Carl as king. The Speaker of Parliament sent him a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

offering him the throne of Norway. The prince accepted the election, and on 25 November 1905 the new Norwegian royal family landed at

Vippetangen Vippetangen is the southern tip of the Akersnes peninsula in central Oslo, Norway, located southeast of Akershus Fortress and bounded on three sides by the Oslofjord. It has in the past served as an important part of the port of Oslo. The area is ...

in Christiania (Oslo). He took the name Haakon and gave his son Alexander the name Olav, names that linked the new royal house to the Norwegian kings from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Specifically

Haakon VI Haakon VI of Norway ( no, Håkon, sv, Håkan; August 1340 – 11 September 1380), also known as ''Håkan Magnusson'', was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden between 1362 and 1364. He is sometimes known as ''Haakon Magnus ...

and Olaf IV were the last monarchs before the Kalmar Union. On 22 June 1906, King Haakon VII and Queen Maud were crowned in Nidaros Cathedral in

Results

References

External links

Referendum - Prins Carl of Denmark for King of Norway
{{Norwegian elections Political history of Norway Referendums in Norway 1905 referendums 1905 in Norway Norwegian monarchy Republicanism in Norway Monarchy referendums November 1905 events

Summary

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External links