Harald II of Norway

Infobox Norwegian Royalty|monarch
name =Harald II Greycloak
title =King of Norway


caption =
reign =961 – 976
coronation =
predecessor =Haakon I the Good
successor =Haakon Sigurdsson (ruler of Norway without the King title)
royal house =Fairhair dynasty
house-type =Dynasty
royal anthem =
father =Eirik Bloodaxe
mother =Gunnhild Ossursdotter
date of birth =
place of birth =
date of death =976
place of death =Hals, Denmark
date of burial =
place of burial =|

Harald II Greycloak (Old Norse: "Haraldr gráfeldr", Norwegian: "Harald Gråfell", Danish: "Harald Gråfeld") (died 976), was the son of Eirik Bloodaxe and a grandson of Harald Fairhair. After his father's death, he and his brothers allied with King Harald Gormson of Denmark against King Haakon. After Haakon's death at Fitjar in 961, Harald and his brothers became kings of Norway, but they had little authority outside Western Norway. Harald, by being the oldest, was the most powerful of the brothers. He attempted to strengthen his rule by killing the local rulers Sigurd Haakonsson, Tryggve Olafsson and Gudrød Bjørnsson. He also undertook a Viking expedition to Bjarmaland in northern Russia. In 976, he was tricked into coming to Denmark and killed in a plot planned by Sigurd Haakonsson's son Haakon Sigurdsson, who had become an ally of Harold Bluetooth.

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