Haakon VII of Norway Biography
(Former King of Norway (1905 - 1957))
Birthday: August 3, 1872 (Leo)
Born In: Charlottenlund, Denmark
Haakon VII (birth name Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel or Prince Carl of Denmark) was a Norwegian king who reigned from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. He was the second oldest child of the future Frederick VIII of Denmark and Louise of Sweden and the younger brother of Christian X of Denmark. Prince Carl received his education at the Royal Danish Naval Academy and subsequently joined the Royal Danish Navy. Following the 1905 dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway, Prince Carl was requested to become the king of Norway. After the November plebiscite, he agreed, and the Storting formally chose him as the king through an election. He adopted the old Norse name Haakon and was crowned as Haakon VII, which effectively made him the first independent Norwegian monarch since 1387. After Nazi Germany took control of Norway, Haakon refused to cooperate with them and went on an exile to Britain. Because of this, he became a leading figure in the resistance against the occupation. He came back to Norway after the German defeat in June 1945. Following Haakon’s death at the age of 85, his son, Olav V, became the king