List of Danish Monarchs

This is a list of Danish monarchs, that is, the Kings and Queens regnant of Denmark. This includes:

• The Kingdom of Denmark (up to 1397)
  • Personal union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1397)
• The Kalmar Union (1397–1536)
  • Union of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1397–1523)
  • Union of Denmark and Norway (1523–1536)
• The Kingdom of Denmark-Norway (1536–1814)
• The Kingdom of Denmark (1814 to present)
  • Iceland (since the union between Denmark and Norway in 1380. Independent in a personal union with Denmark 1918–1944. A sovereign republic since 1944.)
  • Greenland (since the union between Denmark and Norway in 1380. Effective Danish control began in 1721. Integrated into the Danish realm in 1953. Internal home rule introduced 1979. Self-determination assumed in 2009.)
  • Faroe Islands (since the union between Denmark and Norway in 1380. County of Denmark 1816–1948. Internal home rule introduced 1948.)

The house of Oldenburg held the Danish Crown between 1448 and 1863, when it passed to the house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a cadet branch of the same house, descended from King Christian III of Denmark. The kingdom had been elective (although the eldest son or brother of the previous king was usually elected) until 1660, when it became hereditary and absolutist. Until 1864 Denmark was also united in a personal union with the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.