For the first time since his father Johan III died, Sigismund is back in Sweden and looking forward to his coronation as ruler of Sweden. But before that happens, he needs to agree on some rules with the Swedish regency council and deal with the fallout of a big religious meeting in Uppsala. Will Sigismund become a slave to the Swedish nobility and why is his child being held hostage by the Polish council? We also take the time to finish off "The Long Wrath" or even the "Nordiska tjugofemårskriget" in Swedish!

We're nearing the end of King Johan's reign, but there's still time for him to try and sort out the issues surrounding his son Sigismund, and the Polish succession. After years of strife and arguing over religious reform, added to the trials of war abroad, Johan isn't sitting on a large pile of political capital, and so has to struggle with the Swedish nobility. Plus, someone has the bright idea to actually count how much money is left in the treasury!

We're shifting our focus across the Baltic Sea to Estonia, Finland and Russia, to see what happens when war once against inevitably breaks out between Sweden and Russia. This time, it's personal! Tsar Ivan the Terrible and king Johan of Sweden really don't get along and their differences spill over into a drawn-out conflict. One particularly dramatic event involves a dispute between Johan's German and Scottish mercenaries!

Following in the footsteps of your father, who also happens to be the first king of Sweden, can’t be easy. Anund certainly has his job cut out for him, but he has learnt a few lessons from his dad Olof Skötkonung that he puts to good use. Will it be enough for him to walk away with The Three Crowns?

Be sure to search for Kingdom: Swedish Rulers and follow the feed there to get all the episodes going forward. This is the final Kingdom episode to be posted here on the Flatpack feed.

You can also find out more information on our website: https://aflatpackhistoryofsweden.com/kingdom-swedish-rulers/

P.S. The podcast is called Kingdom: Swedish Rulers, but we will use the fancy Swedish Ö letter in some of the logos, because we like it!

For some reason the first upload of this episode didn't work on the Flatpack feed, so here's the re-release!

It is time to judge our first ever ruler, the first king of Sweden, Olof Skötkonung!

We cover the life of this interesting character who straddled eras, as we enter a country in the dying days of the Viking period. Will Olof do enough to win the coveted Kingdöm prize of The Three Crowns, or is his life story a bit of a bore?

Here are some maps which might handy too: https://aflatpackhistoryofsweden.com/about-the-podcast/maps/

Be sure to search for Kingdom: Swedish Rulers and follow the feed there to get all the episodes going forward. Only episodes 1 and 2 will be posted here on the Flatpack feed. You can also find out more information on our website: https://aflatpackhistoryofsweden.com/kingdom-swedish-rulers/

P.S. The podcast is called Kingdom: Swedish Rulers, but we will use the fancy Swedish Ö letter in some of the logos, because we like it!

Welcome to our brand new podcast, Kingdom: Swedish Rulers!

In this new adventure, we are going to be ranking and judging all the Swedish kings, queens and regents, from Olof Skötkonung to Carl XVI Gustaf. In this episode we cover the background to the podcast, go through how we are going to judge each ruler and explain a little bit more about how the format works.

Be sure to search for Kingdom: Swedish Rulers and follow the feed there to get all the episodes going forward. Only episodes 1 and 2 will be posted here on the Flatpack feed. This may take a day or so to appear, depending on your podcast player of choice. You can also find out more information on our website: https://aflatpackhistoryofsweden.com/kingdom-swedish-rulers/

P.S. The podcast is called Kingdom: Swedish Rulers, but we will use the fancy Swedish Ö letter in some of the logos, because we like it!

No, this title isn't the name of an old Swedish folk band, but rather part of the theme of this episode: King Johan's dealings with religion! The King had been both academically and spiritually interested in religion for a long time, but now it is time for him to make some changes. The problem is, even though he has support from people like Abbey Joe, a lot of the country think the changes are too catholic for their liking.

Oh, and a monster terrorises a lake near Västervik. Maybe...

King Johan officially takes over Sweden after his brother Erik is deposed and there's a long to-do list for the new monarch. We cover Erik's "retirement", his brother's coronation and the end of war the with Denmark. There's even some disagreement between the Riksdag and the Council regarding what to do with Sweden's supplies of gunpowder, bullets and arrows...