The coronation in Stockholm had only just ended when another rebellion broke out, threatening Christian II’s Swedish crown. The business with the bloodbath had turned many in the Swedish nobility against the king, but regular people joined the uprising because he also raised taxes and forbade them from carrying weapons.

In November 1520, Christian II was crowned king of Sweden. He celebrated this momentous event with a string of feasts and festivities that went on for days. But when it turned out that archbishop Gustav Trolle wasn’t willing to turn the other cheek, things got a bit out of hand.

Christian II wasn’t going to stop until he had conquered Sweden and re-established the Kalmar Union. Two years in a row, he equipped a fleet and paid for an expensive army of foreign mercenaries, and both times the Swedes fought them off. Even though the nobles grumbled at home and he was seriously strapped for cash, Christian made a third attempt. This time over land.

It's been 500 years since the Kalmar Union collapsed and Sweden became an independent kingdom again. The Scandinavian History Podcast marks the occasion with this Special Crossover Jubilee Episode together with A Flatpack History of Sweden.

Christian may have become king after his father John, but when he refused to give up his mistress, both the Danish nobles and his wife’s family started to send him barely veiled threats. Threats Christian chose to ignore.

When the Swedish steward Sten Sture died, this could have caused chaos in Sweden, creating an opening for king John to recapture the kingdom he’d recently lost. But the dead Steward’s inner circle kept his death secret until a successor could be elected. Eventually, John lost his patience and sent his son Christian to deal with the Swedes like he had already handled the Norwegians.

King John inherited his father’s three crowns, as well as the headache brought on by the Swedish one. But thanks to a bit of scheming with the Russians, he managed to get the Swedes to yield. At least for about five minutes.

The Swedes kept teasing King Christian, saying that they kind of sort of wanted him back–if he’d only hand over his power to the Swedish Council of the Realm. Christian refused, thinking he’d be able to force the Swedes to accept him as king. After all, no country can cope without a king. Right?

Christian of Oldenburg eventually won the power struggle against Karl Knutsson Bonde, and Karl had to give up his crown and go into exile. But even though Christian was now the undisputed king of the Kalmar Union, the wheel of fortune kept spinning. And Christian was in for a bumpy ride.

When Christopher of Bavaria died young and childless, it only took a few weeks for the “eternal peace” between the Scandinavian kingdoms to crumble as two pretenders, one Danish and one Swedish, both were declared king–of Norway.