Christian II of Denmark

Christian II became King of Denmark and Norway in 1513, jointly ruling the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein with his uncle Frederick. He spent five years at war trying to hold the Kalmar Union together, finally capturing Sweden in 1520. The Stockholm Bloodbath - his slaughter of Swedish nobility and churchmen - triggered a rebellion led by Gustav Vasa that drove him out within a year. In 1521-22 he pushed a radical reform strengthening commoners against nobles and clergy; the Danish nobility rose in 1523 and exiled him to the Netherlands, handing the throne to his uncle. When he tried to reclaim power in 1531, he was arrested and imprisoned for the rest of his life, first at Sønderborg Castle, then Kalundborg. Supporters failed to restore him during the Count's Feud in 1536. He died at Kalundborg in 1559, twenty-seven years after his last glimpse of freedom.