Meet Philippa: An English Princess who became a Scandinavian Queen.
As a young girl, she saw her father take the crown of England as king Henry IV. At 12 years old, she married Erik, the king of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the three countries that formed the Kalmar Union. As queen consort she successfully ruled Sweden as the diplomatic link between her unpopular husband and the Swedish nobles. She brought peace and financial stability to the Union, and is said to have led the defence of Copenhagen against enemy forces.
She was a woman who held enormous power and prestige in her lifetime, but whose story is all but forgotten.
Before I start writing her story however, I need to make a long story very short and connect her to Ingeborg. Philippa is, in a way, related to Ingeborg Håkonsdatter by marriage.
Ingeborg’s son Magnus, as we have seen, became king of Sweden and Norway. His youngest son, Håkon, became king of Norway. He married the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag’s daughter Margrete. They had one son – Olav.
Olav was thus son of the king of Norway and grandson to the kings of Sweden and Denmark.
When Valdemar Atterdag died in 1375, Margrete outmaneuvered the other claimants and put her son on the throne. Since Olav was just five years old, Margrete became regent.
Five years later, Håkon died, and Olav became king of Norway as well. Again, Margrete was regent.
Sweden was by then ruled by Ingeborg’s grandson through her daughter Eufemia – Albrecht of Mecklenburg. Margrete however thought her son’s claims were greater, and again managed to get her son elected heir to the throne. Before he could be instated as king, tragedy struck and Olav died, only 16 years old.
But Margrete (above) had no intention of giving up her power. She adopted her sister’s grandson, Bogislav, changed his name to Erik, and made him king in all three Nordic kingdoms. And as he was a child, she continued to rule. She also created a union between the three countries, called the Kalmar Union.
This Erik is important in our next story – because he married Philippa, daughter of king Henry IV of England. The union between Norway and Sweden that began with Ingeborg’s son Magnus, had evolved to incorporate Denmark as well.
And when Philippa enters the stage in the next post, she becomes queen of the geographically largest realm in Europe. And it was the result of the labour of women. Ingeborg laid the foundations, queen Margrete built the Union – and Philippa would have to work really hard to keep it together.
Don’t miss the continuation of the saga of our Forgotten Royal Women and Philippa’s story!
Sources:
Flemberg, Marie-Louise. Filippa. Engelsk prinsessa – nordisk unionsdrottning. (2015)
Högberg, Stefan. Svenska kvinnor historien glömde. (2019)
Lindqvist, Herman. Erik. Nordens härskare och sjörövarkung. (2021)