List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein

See Also: List of consorts of Schleswig-Holstein

The following is a list of rulers, usually dukes, who ruled both Schleswig and Holstein, starting from the first Holstein count who received Schleswig, until both provinces were annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia; and afterwards, titular dukes.

Dynasty of Schauenburg

Further information: Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein

In the course of history the County of Holstein was several times partitioned among the inheriting sons into up to six lines. In 1386 King Oluf II of Denmark and his mother-regent, Queen Margaret I, enfeoffed in Nyborg Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein-Rendsborg and his cognatic successors with the Duchy of Schleswig.^[1] He was as Gerhard II duke of Schleswig. Until 1390 the Rendsborg branch united by inheritance all branches except of that of Holstein-Pinneberg. It remaining a separately ruled territory in Holstein until its line was extinct in 1640, when Holstein-Pinneberg was merged into the then Duchy of Holstein. Furthermore, the here mentioned rulers of course only reigned Holstein and Schleswig in their respective territorial composition of the time, thus without states and territories only merged later in what became today's State of Schleswig-Holstein, such as Saxe-Lauenburg in 1876, Heligoland (British rule 1807–1891), Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck, Region of Lübeck, together with some Hamburgian exclaves in 1937, some Mecklenburgian municipalities in 1945.

Portrait	Reign	Name
	1332-1340	Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsborg, as Gerhard I also Duke of Jutland
	1375-1386	Henrik Jern and Klaus (joint rule)
	1386-1404	Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein-Rendsborg, as Gerhard II also Duke of Sønderjylland, a Danish fief later called Schleswig after its capital.
	1404-1427	Henry IV
	1427/40-1459	Adolf VIII, Count of Holstein as Adolf I Duke of Schleswig

House of Oldenburg (1460-1544)

Further information: House of Oldenburg

Christian I inherited the Duchy of Schleswig, a Danish fief, and the County of Holstein, a Saxe-Lauenburgian subfief within the Holy Roman Empire, following the death of his maternal uncle Adolf I (and VIII as Count of Holstein). In 1474 Lauenburg's liege lord Emperor Frederick III elevated Christian as Count of Holstein to Duke of Holstein, thus becoming an immediate imperial vassal (see imperial immediacy).

Portrait	Reign	Name
	1460-1481	Christian I (Christian 1.), elevated to Duke of Holstein by Emperor Frederick III in 1474
	1481-1513	John I (Hans), with Frederick I since 1482
	1513-1523	Christian II (Christian 2.), deposed, died 1559; with Frederick I
	1490-1533	Frederick I (Frederik 1.), as administrator 1482–1490, thereafter co-ruling
	1523-1544	Christian III (Christian 3.), with his father until 1533

The Houses of Oldenburg and of Holstein-Gottorp co-ruling in Holstein and Schleswig

Between 1533 and 1544 Christian III ruled the entire Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig also in the name of his then still minor half-brothers John II the Elder and Adolf. In 1544 they partitioned the Duchies of Holstein (a fief of the Holy Roman Empire) and of Schleswig (a Danish fief) in an unusual way, following negotiations between the brothers and the Estates of the Realm of the duchies, which opposed a factual partition. They determined their youngest brother Frederick, Prince of Denmark for a career as Lutheran administrator of an ecclesiastical state within the Holy Roman Empire.^[2]

So the revenues of the duchies were divided in three equal shares by assigning the revenues of particular areas and landed estates to each of the elder brothers, while other general revenues, such as taxes from towns and customs dues, were levied together but then shared among the brothers. The estates, whose revenues were assigned to the parties, made Holstein and Schleswig look like patchwork rags, technically inhibiting the emergence of separate new duchies, as intended by the estates of the duchies. The secular rule in the fiscally divided duchies thus became a condominium of the parties. As dukes of Holstein and Schleswig the rulers of both houses bore the formal title of "Duke of Schleswig, Holstein, Dithmarschen and Stormarn".

The dynastic name Holstein-Gottorp comes as convenient usage from the technically more correct Duke of Schleswig and Holstein at Gottorp. Adolf, the third son of Duke and King Frederick I and the second youngest half-brother of King Christian III, founded the dynastic branch called House of Holstein-Gottorp, which is a cadet branch of the then royal Danish House of Oldenburg. The Danish monarchs and the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp listed below ruled both duchies together as to general government, however, collected their revenues in their separate estates. John II the Elder conveniently called Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev produced no issue, so no branch emerged from his side.

Similar to the above-mentioned agreement Christian III's youngest son John the Younger gained for him and his heirs a share in Holstein's and Schleswig's revenues in 1564, comprising a third of the royal share, thus a ninth of Holstein and Schleswig as to the fiscal point of view. John the Younger and his heirs, however, had no share in the condominial rule, they were only titular partitioned-off dukes.

The share of John II the Elder, who died in 1580, was halved between Adolf and Frederick II, thus increasing again the royal share by a fiscal sixth of Holstein and Schleswig.^[3] As an effect the complicated fiscal division of both separate duchies, Holstein and Schleswig, with shares of each party scattered in both duchies, provided them with a condominial government binding both together, partially superseding their legally different affiliation as Holy Roman and Danish fiefs.

House of Oldenburg Further information: House of Oldenburg Portrait Reign Name 1544-1559 Christian III - with his brothers Adolf and John II 1559-1588 Frederick II (Frederik 2.) 1588-1648 Christian IV – He acquired Holstein-Pinneberg and merged it with his share of Ducal Holstein in 1640 1648-1670 Frederick III (Frederik 3.) 1670-1699 Christian V (Christian 5.) 1699-1730 Frederick IV (Frederik 4.) In 1713 Frederick IV united all of Schleswig/Sønderjylland in one hand.

House of Holstein-Gottorp Further information: House of Holstein-Gottorp Portrait Reign Name 1544-1586 1544-1580 Adolf – with his brothers Christian and John II John II the Elder[4] – with Adolf and Christian 1586-1587 Frederick II 1587-1590 Philip 1590-1616 John Adolf 1616-1659 Frederick III 1659-1694 Christian Albert 1694-1702 Frederick IV 1702-1713 Charles Frederick In 1713 Frederick IV, being as King of Denmark also the liege lord of Schleswig, deposed Charles Frederick as co-ruling Duke of Schleswig, who, however, remained co-ruling Duke of Holstein as a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway continued as the sole Duke of Schleswig.

The House of Oldenburg ruling Schleswig and co-ruling Holstein with the House of Gottorp

House of Oldenburg Further information: House of Oldenburg Portrait Reign Name 1699-1730 Frederick IV (Frederik) (united Schleswig under the Danish crown in 1721. Holstein's partition continued.) 1730-1746 Christian VI 1746-1766 Frederick V (Frederik V) 1766-1808 Christian VII In 1773 Christian VII united entire Holstein and Schleswig in one hand.	House of Holstein-Gottorp Further information: House of Holstein-Gottorp Portrait Reign Name 1702-1739 Charles Frederick (unti 1713 also co-ruling in Schleswig) 1739-1762 Charles Peter Ulrich (later Peter III of Russia) 1762-1773 Paul (later Paul I of Russia) In 1773 Paul waived his co-rule in Holstein in return for the prior Danish County of Oldenburg.

House of Oldenburg (1773-1863)

Further information: House of Oldenburg

Portrait	Reign	Name
	1766-1808	Christian VII (Christian 7.) sole ruler in both duchies since 1773
	1808-1839	Frederick VI (Frederik 6.)
	1839-1848	Christian VIII (Christian 8.)
	1848-1863	Frederick VII (Frederik 7.) rivalled by: Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg 1848-51

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1863–1865)

Further information: House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Portrait	Reign	Name
	1863-1864/65	Christian IX of Denmark rivalled by duke Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
In 1864, following the Second Schleswig War, the Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig became an occupied territory of the German Confederation and two years later, following the Austro-Prussian War, part of the new Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein.

Titular dukes

Prussia, the annexing state, recognized the head of the House of Oldenburg as mediatized duke of this duchy/these two duchies, with the rank and all the titles pertaining:

• 1848-69 : Christian, Duke of Augustenborg, rival in 1848, renounced first in 1851, second in 1863
• 1863-80 : Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
• 1880-1921 : Ernest Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
• 1921-31 : Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
• 1931-34 : Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
• 1934-65 : Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
• 1965-80 : Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
• 1980- : Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (born 1949)
• Heir: Friedrich Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (born 1985)

• 

  Christian IX (1848-1869)
• 

  Frederick VIII (1863-1880)
• 

  Ernst Gunther (1880-1921)
• 

  Albert (1921-1931)
• 

  Friedrich Ferdinand (1931-1934)
• 

  Wilhelm Friedrich (1934-1965)
• 

  Peter (1965-1980)
• 

  Christoph (1980 to date)
• 

  Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ferdinand Heir Apparent

See also

• List of Danish monarchs
• List of dukes of Schleswig
• Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein

Notes

1. ^ Esben Albrectsen, "Das Abel-Geschlecht und die Schauenburger als Herzöge von Schleswig", Marion Hartwig and Frauke Witte (trls.), in: Die Fürsten des Landes: Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg [De slevigske hertuger; German], Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (ed.) on behalf of the Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte, Neumünster: Wachholtz, 2008, pp. 52-71, here pp. 63seq. ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5
2. ^ In 1551 Frederick became administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim, comprising ecclesiastical and secular power, and, however, lacking secular power Bishop of Schleswig with the pertaining revenues from episcopal estates.
3. ^ Cf. Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen, "Die dänischen Könige als Herzöge von Schleswig und Holstein", Frauke Witte and Marion Hartwig (trls.), in: Die Fürsten des Landes: Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg [De slevigske hertuger; German], Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (ed.) on behalf of the Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte, Neumünster: Wachholtz, 2008, pp. 73-109, here pp. 87seq. ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5
4. ^ John's share was halved between Adolf and Danish Frederick II.