King Haakon VII - 1906

Handmade 60 mm tin soldier of King Haakon VII in admiral’s uniform from 1906.

King Haakon VII was born as Prince Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel in Denmark on August 3, 1872. He was the son of Crown Prince Frederik (later King Frederik VIII) and Princess Louise of Sweden. As a Danish prince, he received a thorough military education in the navy and rose through the ranks as a skilled officer. When the union with Sweden was dissolved in 1905, Norway was left without a king. The choice fell on the Danish Prince Carl, who was offered the throne on the condition that the people wanted a monarchy. After a referendum with a clear majority in favor of a kingdom, he accepted the offer and took the historic name Haakon VII – a name with deep roots in Norway’s royal lineage. He arrived in Kristiania (Oslo) with his British wife, Maud, and their young son, Alexander, who was given the name Olav. On November 25, 1905, he was formally elected by the the Norwegian Parliament, and the following year he was crowned in Nidaros Cathedral – the first Norwegian coronation in nearly six hundred years.