deemed the people's king and the spontaneous show of mourning from the population upon his death in 1991 demonstrated the high standing he had among the Norwegian people. Even republicans were among the masses lighting candles in front of the Palace. In later years the marriages of the then Crown Prince Harald in 1968 and of Crown Prince Haakon in 2001 sparked considerable controversy, but the lasting effect on the popularity of the monarchy has been minimal. Although decreased from its level of above 90 percent after the war, support for the monarchy seems to remain stable around and mostly above the 70 percent mark. Heir of Norway Use of the title "Heir of Norway" (Arving til Norge) established in the 17th century. Firstly, several junior agnatic members of the House of Oldenburg (the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp among the first ones), themselves usually titular Dukes in Schleswig-Holstein, assumed the title to constant use, as one of their main titles. There are plenty of examples from official dispatches and notices of the 17th, 18th and 19th century of several princely persons titled "Duke of Holstein, Heir of Norway". This is why it has been used as part of their titles by the emperors of Russia until 1917 since their agnatic line traces back to Peter III of Russia, first Russian ruler of the House of Oldenburg. From the 15th century, at least up to 1660, the heir apparent of the King of Denmark and Norway was generally titled "Prince of Norway", in recognition to his hereditary right to succeed to the Norwegian throne upon the death of the king, as opposed to the need to pass an election in order to succeed to the Danish throne. Other members of House of Oldenburg, including any younger siblings of the Prince of Norway, were not called princes or princesses of Norway, but the title "Heir of Norway" was sooner or later accorded to them. Next, the heads of the line descending from Haakon V of Norway's illegitimate, but succession-entitlement-recognized daughter Agnes Haakonardottir, started also to use the same title "Heir of Norway". They got support from monarchs of the Swedish Empire to their pretension, being interested in challenging the Danish grip to Norway. Their forefathers (or predecessors in claim line) had in the 14th and 15th centuries launched their ambitions towards Norwegian throne even as revolts - see Sudreim claim. See also Ahnentafel