My latest article: The last King of Romania

Because of Christmas, the January issue of Majesty (Vol. 39, No. 1) is out in Britain already today. In it, I write about the life of King Mihai I of Romania, who died two weeks ago at the age of 96. Mihai, who was the last surviving adult head of state from World War II, reigned from 1927 to 1930, when he was deposed by his father, but returned to the throne ten years later. In 1944, he played a key role in toppling the dictator Antonescu and shifting Romania from the Axis to the Allied side, but in 1947 he was forced to abdicate while being held at gunpoint by the Communists. After the fall of the Iron Curtain he enjoyed tremendous respect and popularity in his former kingdom and was given a state funeral with full military honours last Saturday.

My latest article: Erling Wryneck's holy wars

Erling Wryneck (c. 1115-1179) was one of the most feared, gifted and ruthless men to rule Norway. In the early 1150s he travelled in the footpaths of his father-in-law, King Sigurd the Crusader, on a crusade to Jerusalem, and after he gained power in 1161 as regent for his son, King Magnus Erlingsson, he transferred the crusading ideas to the war for the Norwegian throne. It thus became a holy war in which pretenders had to conquer or die and with biblical zeal Erling exterminated all those of his son's real and potential rivals he could lay his hands on, including his own stepson.
In the December issue of Aftenposten Historie, Norway's largest history magazine, which is on sale from today, I write about Erling Wryneck and his holy wars, and he is also one of the main protagonists of my new book, Hellig krig om Norges krone - Tronstrid, borgerkrig og korstog fra Sigurd Jorsalfare til kong Sverre ("Holy War for the Crown of Norway: Wars of Succession, Civil Wars and Crusades from Sigurd the Crusader to King Sverre").

My latest article: The Crusader's daughter

One of the most interesting women in medieval Norwegian history was Kristin Sigurdsdatter (c. 1125-178). After he father, King Sigurd the Crusader, had gone mad and died in 1130 and her brother, King Magnus the Blind, had been blinded, castrated and mutilated by their uncle Harald Gilchrist and later killed she was the only one left of the crusader's family, but eventually her son, Magnus Erlingsson, won the crown back from Harald Gilchrist's line. On several occasions Kristin herself took an active part in the wars for the throne, for instance when she spied on King Håkon the Broadshouldered and thereby revealed his schemes and paved her own son's way to the throne, or when she went to Denmark to negotiate a peace treaty with her cousin, King Valdemar the Great.
Kristin also travelled to Constantinople and possibly to Jerusalem, and she lived to see that her husband, Erling Wryneck, executed her illegitimate son so that he would not challenge his half-brother for the throne. This interesting woman's life is the topic of an article I have written for the yearbook of Etne Historical Society (the village where she lived as a married woman), which may be ordered from www.etnesogelag.no (external link). She also features in my new book, Hellig krig om Norges krone - Tronstrid, borgerkrig og korstog fra Sigurd Jorsalfare til kong Sverre ("Holy War for the Crown of Norway: Wars of Succession, Civil Wars and Crusades from Sigurd the Crusader to King Sverre").

My latest article: Margaretha the matriarch

In the December issue of the British monthly magazine Majesty (Vol. 38, No. 12) I write about Princess Margaretha of Denmark (1899-1977), who may have been less famous than her sisters, Crown Princess Märtha of Norway and Queen Astrid of the Belgians, but outlived them both by far to become (in the words of her niece, Princess Astrid of Norway) the female head of the family, the person who held the family together, one of King Olav's few confidantes and a valued adviser to younger relatives. The magazine is already out in Britain and from today also in Norway.

At the road's end: Ex-King Mihai I of Romania (1921-2017)

The last King of Romania, Mihai I, died in his home in Aubonne, Switzerland at noon Central European Time today, aged 96.
Born on 25 October 1921, ex-King Mihai was the longest living king in history and the last surviving adult head of state from the Second World War.
Mihai I became King as far back as in 1927, following the death of his grandfather, Ferdinand I. He was deposed by his father, Carol II, in 1930, but again became King after Carol's abdication in 1940. Romania at first sided with the Axis powers, but King Mihai played a key role in toppling the Fascist dictator Antonescu and switching to the Allied side in 1944. In December 1947, he was forced to abdicate while being held at gunpoint by the Communists.
My obituary of the former King will appear in the next issue of Majesty.