British Monarchs: Svein Forkbeard (Danish) 1014-1014

King of Denmark and England, a leading Viking warrior and the father of Canute the Great (Cnut I). He succeeded his father Harald I "Blåtand" (Bluetooth) as king of Denmark in late 986 or early 987 and controlled most of Norway in 1000. In 1013, shortly before his death, he conquered England, forming a Danish North Sea empire.

Sweyn Forkbeard's nickname, which was probably used during his

lifetime, refers to a long, pitchfork-like moustache, a "tjúga" in Old Norse, not to a full beard.