Editing Norway (section)

=== Dissolution of the union and the First World War ===
{{Main|Norwegian union dissolution referendum, 1905|label 1=Union dissolution referendum|Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden}}
[[Christian Michelsen]], Prime Minister of Norway from 1905 to 1907, played a central role in the peaceful separation of Norway from Sweden on 7 June 1905. A national referendum confirmed the people's preference for a monarchy over a republic. However, no Norwegian could legitimately claim the throne, since none of Norway's noble families could claim [[royal descent]].

The government then offered the throne of Norway to Prince Carl of Denmark, a prince of the Dano-German royal [[house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg]] and a distant relative of Norway's medieval kings. Following the plebiscite, he was unanimously elected king by the Norwegian [[Parliament of Norway|Parliament]]; he took the name [[Haakon VII of Norway|Haakon VII]].

Throughout the [[World War I|First World War]], Norway remained neutral; however, diplomatic pressure from the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] meant that it heavily favoured the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]]. During the war, Norway exported fish to both Germany and Britain, until an [[ultimatum]] from the British government and [[anti-German sentiment]]s as a result of [[U-boat|German submarines]] [[Unrestricted submarine warfare|targeting]] Norwegian merchantmen led to a termination of trade with Germany. 436 Norwegian merchantmen were sunk by the ''[[Imperial German Navy|Kaiserliche Marine]]'', with 1,150 Norwegian sailors killed.<ref>Riste, Olav. ''The Neutral Ally: Norway's relations with belligerent powers in the First World War'' (1995)</ref>{{disputed inline|date=October 2022}}