Sweyn II of Denmark
King of Denmark from 1047 to 1076 · United Kingdom · On the map · Historical Figures · Lived 1020 to 1076 · aged 56
The medieval king who fathered at least twenty children - most of them illegitimate - and somehow five became kings after him. Denmark's eleventh-century succession problem wasn't a lack of heirs.
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Sweyn Estridsson, grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother Estrid, became King of Denmark in 1047. He held the throne for nearly three decades until his death on 28 April 1076, though his record as a military commander was unimpressive despite personal courage in battle. What he lacked in martial success he made up for in prolific fathering: he married at least twice and had twenty or more children out of wedlock, five of whom - Harald Hen, Saint Canute, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels - would each rule Denmark in turn. His skeleton shows a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
