From the start of the war in 1655, Prince Christian and his family stayed mainly in Bergen, amidst King Frederik's ever-worsening paranoia. The fact that Christian's elder brother served in the Swedish army dismayed Frederik greatly, the latter noticing the obvious Swedish plan of installing Valdemar on the Danish throne should conflicts begin. Thus, Frederik ordered heavy guards against Christian, spying on him and reporting all his actions back to Copenhagen. Christian was

By October, the Russians had besieged Narva entirely, trapping tens of thousands of Swedish soldiers within the city. However, the Swedes, with their Navy now free from the Dutch threat, regained dominance on the sea. The Russians' Northern flank was constantly bombarded by the Swedish Navy, weakening it greatly and enabled supplies to enter the city occasionally. As November came, the temperature began dropping, freezing many ill-equipped Russian soldiers to death. The Swede

On the last day of 1655, Grand Hetman Janusz Radziwiłł passed away at just 43 in a small Lithuanian town his supporters gathered in. His constant pleas for an alliance with Sweden ultimately came to nothing, with Sweden still occupying a quarter of Lithuania, and Russia the remaining parts. He was succeeded by his cousin, Bogusław Radziwiłł, 35, as Grand Hetman. Bogusław, wary of the possibility of a Russo-Swedish war, quietly moved towards the south with his supporters, towa

In the morning of 5th July, 1655, Gustav finally issued the long-anticipated attacking order for all Swedish forces in Pomerania, Livonia, and also the regiments stationed in the Duchy of Prussia following the meeting at Neuruppin. The largest Swedish armies entered the Commonwealth from Pomerania, one led by Prince Karl, and the other by Gustav himself. The Polish forces in Greater Poland were unprepared, ill-supplied, and lacked any sorts of proper military training. Many P

The Russian invasion of the Commonwealth in July 1654 was a great surprise for the Swedish government and Riksdag. A large army, compromising over forty thousand men, crossed the Russo-Polish border and laid siege to Smolensk. By August, the number of Russian soldiers in the Commonwealth had spiked to over seventy thousand. The Lithuanian part of the Commonwealth, headed by the Calvinist Hetman, Janusz Radziwiłł, tried to stage a resistance to the invading Russian forces. Non

Following the introduction of the new Norwegian orthography by Christian, the Copenhagen became very wary of a potential Norwegian uprising. In April 1653, King Frederik sent hundreds of Danish soldiers to Christiania in order to root out any opposition. Dozens of Norwegian intellectuals were detained for treason suspicions, and were sent back to Copenhagen for imprisonment. While Frederik did not execute any of them and most of them were released after a few months of impris

By the start of the year 1654, the situation in Poland had worsened to a point where a Russian invasion was deemed a concrete possibility by the Sejm. However, the King, limited by the Sejm, was unable to exercise much power, and no adequate preparations were made to counter the Russian threat. In Sweden, the Riksdag was also increasingly supportive of an invasion, aiming to force the Polish King to renounce his Swedish claims. Nonetheless, Gustav did not believe the Russians

Following the cossack uprising led by Khmelnytsky in 1648 against the Commonwealth, the turmoil in the eastern provinces of the Polish state dragged on. The government in Warsaw, now led by the new King, Jan II Kazimierz Waza, was unable to resume control over the entirety of the Commonwealth. Many nobles in Poland and Lithuania also did not fully commit to the King's cause, allying themselves with foreign powers for benefits. With the fragility of the Commonwealth, tension b

Following the execution of Corfitz Ulfeldt, King Frederik continued centralising power in his realm, leading to many dissents fleeing Copenhagen and Denmark in general. Norway, while still subjected to these policies, was less affected, and became the refuge of many less prominent dissents. The Norwegian Army, however, was placed under tight supervision on Frederik's command, and Christian was practically stripped of all power in the military, as Frederik was paranoid about a

Following King Charles's execution in Whitehall in 1649, the royalist cause suffered a heavy blow, and the Parliamentarians consolidated their grip on power in England. Cromwell's conquest of Ireland that same year meant that the royalist had one last stronghold left - Scotland. The Prince of Wales, calling himself King Charles II following his father's decapitation, was proclaimed titular King of Scotland by the Scottish Covenanters in 1649. After signing an accord that prom

Prince Valdemar, after moving to Sweden in early 1649, had stayed there ever since. Having befriended the King, the Queen, and the Princess Kristina, Valdemar was a frequent guest of the Vasa royal family, occupying a chamber in the Tre Kronor Castle that had become known as the "Danish Quarters" among the castle servants. King Frederik, of course, was very alarmed by the news. After all, should there be another Dano-Swedish war, the Swedes could very well ally with the overw

Chapter 2 - The Lone Wolf in the Snow 2.1 Gloria Christi Regno Septentrionli Following the Peace of Westphalia, the Swedish Chancellor, now 66, began to allow Gustav to take increasing control of actual governance of the Kingdom. During various Privy Council meetings, he indicated his intent to retire in the foreseeable future, ready to transfer leadership to the new generation of Swedish leaders. Gustav, meanwhile, dedicated some of his time and the state budget to rebuild t

In his exile, the Prince Valdemar drifted closer to the Swedes, even attending King Gustav's wedding in 1649. This greatly worried King Frederik, who was concerned about the possibility of Valdemar revolting with Swedish support should there be a war between Denmark and Sweden again. Frederik sent Valdemar numerous letters in early 1649, urging the latter to return to Copenhagen and pledge his loyalty to his brother and King. Valdemar, however, believed that it was a delibera

Upon returning to the Hague by late November, Gustav stayed in the Dutch Republic for some time. A preliminary alliance pact was signed by Gustav and Prince Willem II on 2nd December, 1648. Seen as a way for the Prince to secure an ally to support the Orangist cause and transform the Republic into a monarchy, the alliance was not well-liked by the Dutch States Party, and many doubted whether Sweden could be trusted as a reliable ally of the Dutch. Privately, however, Gustav's

Following the peace at Brömsebro, the Swedish Army, led by the young King, Torstenson, and Horn, marched into Stockholm victoriously on 18th May, 1645. Thousands of Swedes flocked to the streets to see their army returning from victory, many welcoming their King with flowers, well-informed of his courageous near-sacrifice in the previous year. Kristina, however, was absent. Gustav asked about her, but the guards told him that she refused to leave the Tre Kronor Castle and joi

Following the campaigns in Jutland and Scania, King Christian IV felt that Copenhagen was increasingly threatened, and ordered for Norwegian units to invade Sweden, opening new fronts. The Norwegians, in general, were vehemently against the idea. For them, it was a war about Scania, Sound Dues, and the Baltic dominance, and they were very reluctant to leave themselves open to further invasions by the militarily superior Sweden by initiating attacks. However, Torstenson's armi

Chapter 1 - The Undying Viking 1.3 The Undying King News about Field Marshal Torstenson's campaign in Jutland spread like wildfire across Stockholm. From castles to taverns, Swedes were celebrating the unprecedented triumph, seeing an opportunity to finally subdue their historic rivals. Facing little resistance, Torstenson's men moved north swiftly, occupying all Jutland by the end of January 1644. Another snowy morning in Stockholm unfolded amidst the jubilant atmosphere of

Chapter 1 - The Undying Viking 1.2 A Soldier in the Making Young Christian was visiting his father, the King, from his duty in Norway. These years, he had finally found his true home in the ranks of the Norwegian battalions, learning various Norwegian dialects while drinking with his fellow cadets - the life he had often dreamed of - with true friends, and true happiness. The atmosphere in Copenhagen, however, was far more serious than he had remembered. The Palace seemed to

Chapter 1 - The Undying Viking 1.1 The Siblings Another late summer morning in Stockholm - another anxious day for Kristina. Since before midsummer, all Sweden had been whispering about upcoming hostilities against Copenhagen - but Chancellor Oxenstierna had mostly kept his mouth shut about recent affairs when questioned by the stubborn, headstrong princess. For Kristina, this war was absolutely unnecessary - she believed that the first and foremost priority of the Regency sh

"Christian!" the eleven-year-old boy was yanked from the bed from slumber by his half-brother, Prince Frederik, 30 - it was his eleventh birthday - but did Frederik remember? Did anyone remember, actually? While a legitimate son acknowledged by the King, Christian grew up in a way far more alike that of an illegitimate noble boy. After all, his mother lost favours with the King not long after his birth, and had been placed under house arrest from 1637 Frederik looked at him w