Olav V of Norway

His Majesty King Olav V (July 2, 1903 - January 17, 1991) reigned as King of Norway from 1957 to 1991. Born in England, the son of Prince Carl of Denmark and of Princess Maud, (daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom), and given the names and title of Alexander Edward Christian Fredrik, Prince of Denmark, he assumed the name Olav when his father became King Haakon VII of Norway in 1905.

Controversy regarding his biological father

In 2004, biographer Tor Bomann-Larsen raised the possibility that Haakon VII might not have been the biological father of Olav. Bomann-Larsen provided non-conclusive evidence that Maud could have been made pregnant through artificial insemination with the semen of either her doctor, Sir Francis Laking, or his son Guy Laking. In addition to circumstantial evidence related to the whereabouts of Haakon (then Prince Carl) at the time of conception, Bomann-Larsen supported his hypothesis with photographs of Guy Laking which show a resemblance with Olav.

Related Topics:
2004 - Biographer - Tor Bomann-Larsen - Artificial insemination - Sir Francis Laking - Guy Laking

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In a press release from the Royal House it was stated that King Harald "has no information that suggests that King Olav should not be the son of King Haakon".

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In March 2005, historian Odd Arvid Storsveen at the University of Oslo published a highly critical review of Bomann-Larsen's book. Storsveen claims that there does not exist adequate sourcing for Bomann-Larsen's "hypothesis" that Olav wasn't the biological son of Haakon and is further extremely critical of the way Bomann-Larsen uses photographic resemblance as "proof". In september 2005 historian Bodil Katarina Nævdal, Ph. D. at the University of Uppsala published an academic review of Bomann-Larsen's hypothesis. She found the sources to be severely lacking and that there existed no doubt about King Haakon VII being Olav's biological father.

Related Topics:
Odd Arvid Storsveen - University of Oslo - Bodil Katarina Nævdal - Ph. D. - University of Uppsala

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Royalists agree that even if Bomann-Larsen's theory should be true, it would not have constitutional consequences for the royal house of Norway, in large part because the plebiscite that made Haakon king also included consideration of Olav's hereditary status. Furthermore, traditionally, the husband of a child's mother is considered to be legally its father so long as he acknowledges the child as his own.

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Regarding his genealogical ancestry among earlier kings of Norway and other Scandinavian royals, him not being a blood son of Haakon VII actually changes very little. Olav was in any case a biological son of Maud (Haakon's own first cousin), who was daughter of Queen Alexandra, herself daughter of Louise of Hesse and Christian IX of Denmark. Louise and Christian both were descendants of Haakon V of Norway and of most Danish kings of Norway, such as Christian I of Norway, Frederick I of Norway, and Frederick III of Norway, up to Frederick V of Denmark. As biological son of Maud, Olav V is the great-great-grandnephew of the 1814 King Christian Frederick of Norway.

Related Topics:
Queen Alexandra - Louise of Hesse - Christian IX of Denmark - Haakon V of Norway - Christian I of Norway - Frederick I of Norway - Frederick III of Norway - Frederick V of Denmark - Christian Frederick

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The only significant Norwegian dynasty in that case not ancestors of Olav would be that of Haakon's mother Lovisa of Sweden, daughter of Charles IV of Norway and descendant of Bernadotte kings of Norway, i.e Charles III John of Norway and Oscar I of Norway.

Related Topics:
Lovisa of Sweden - Charles IV of Norway - Bernadotte - Charles III John of Norway - Oscar I of Norway

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However, regarding children of Olav and Märtha, they, as children of Haakon's niece Märtha, are all descendants of Haakon's parents, totally irrespective of whether Olav was Haakon's son or not. (Märtha of Sweden, Crown Princess of Norway, was daughter of prince Carl of Sweden, duke of Westrogothia, and his wife princess Ingeborg of Denmark, who herself, a sister of Haakon, was daughter of Frederick VIII of Denmark and Lovisa of Sweden. Through that ancestry, those Bernadotte kings of Norway are in any case ancestors of Olav's son Harald, and of his two daughters, Ragnhild and Astrid, as well as of Harald's children, Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, Mrs Behn.)

Related Topics:
Märtha of Sweden - Ingeborg of Denmark - Frederick VIII of Denmark - Lovisa of Sweden - Harald - Ragnhild - Astrid - Haakon Magnus of Norway - Märtha Louise of Norway

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