Oxenstierna


Oxenstierna is a Swedish noble family, originally from Småland in southern Sweden which can be traced up to the middle of the 14th century. The Oxenstierna family held vast estates in Södermanland and Uppland during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. In the 15th century, the family at times held the position of Regent of Sweden during the turbulent civil wars of the Kalmar Union. The family began to adopt its armorial designation of Oxenstierna as a personal surname towards the end of the 16th century. In the case of earlier members of the family, the surname has been retroactively applied by historians.

Notable Oxenstierna family members

Several members of the family, most notably the influential Lord High Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, rose to prominence, high political office and titles during the age of the Swedish Empire in the 17th century.
The family's most notable members include the following :
,, Swedish statesman and influential protestant leader during the Thirty Years' War
Kings Christian IX of Denmark, Haakon VII of Norway, and Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden were all descended from branches of the Oxenstierna family. All three monarchs descended from the Oxenstierna family through their common ancestor, Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. His paternal grandmother was Countess Charlotte of Dohna-Schlobitten, great-great-granddaughter of Gabriel Bengtsson Oxenstierna, 1st Count of Korsholma and Vaasa, father of Bengt Gabrielsson and first cousin of Axel and Bengt Gustafssöner, as well as great-great-great-great-grandson of regent Bengt Jönsson. Oxenstierna was also the distant descendant of Charles VIII of Sweden, Frederick VIII of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, George I of Greece, and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia.