False Margaret
One of the most infamous impostors in Scandinavian history was the so-called False Margaret. Over the years, her real name and any other information about her has been lost to history. Now, all that’s really remembered is that, in the year 1300, a woman landed in the port city of Bergen claiming to be Margaret, Maid of Norway. Far from having a happy ending, the episode soon became a morality tale, serving as a warning of what happens when you lie – especially about something so politically sensitive as being the heir to the Norwegian throne.
It was in 1290 that Margaret, Maid of Norway, was lost at sea. After the death of her grandfather, King Alexander III in 1286, she had been named as Queen of the Scots. She was also, as the daughter of King Eric II, a princess of Norway. This dual role meant that she was required to cross the North Sea, and it was on such a crossing to Orkney that she died. Her body was recovered and King Erik formally identified it as being that of his daughter. The king then died in 1299, leaving his brother, Haakon V, to take over the throne.
Just one year later, however, a ship arrived from Germany. A lady stepped onto Norwegian soil and declared that she was Margaret. Far from drowning, she claimed she had been exiled to Germany. Here, she took a husband and now, with him at her side, she had returned to claim her rightful inheritance. Understandably, the people of Bergen were skeptical. Not only did they remember King Erik confirming his daughter’s tragic demise but, according to the records, this pretender looked to be a woman of 40 when the real Margaret would have still been a teen.
While a few people did believe her claims, King Haakon V would hear none of it. In 1301, both False Margaret and her husband were burned at the stake. However, to some of her supporters, this only served as evidence to back up her claims. Even today, some claim that she may well have been the real Margaret – after all, since she was a female, she would never have inherited her father’s throne anyway. In the years following her execution, a small cult grew up around the royal pretender and a church was even built in her honor. Today, all that remains is a fascinating story and a lingering doubt as to whether an impostor really was burned at the stake, or if a real princess suffered a grave injustice.