Albert, King of Sweden

Albert
Albert's portrait sculpture on his contemporary grave monument
King of Sweden
Reign	1364–1389
Coronation	18 February 1364
Predecessor	Magnus IV and Haakon
Successor	Margaret
Born	c. 1338 Mecklenburg
Died	1 April 1412 (aged 73–74) Doberan Abbey
Burial	Doberan Abbey
Spouse	Richardis of Schwerin Agnes of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Issue	Eric, Lord of Gotland Richardis Catherine, Duchess of Görlitz Albert V, Duke of Mecklenburg
House	House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Father	Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg
Mother	Euphemia of Sweden
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Albert (Albrekt av Mecklenburg in Swedish; Albrecht III, Herzog zu Mecklenburg in German; c. 1338 – 1 April 1412) was King of Sweden from 1364 to 1389 and Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1384 to 1412 as Albert III.

He was the second son of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg and Euphemia Eriksdotter, the daughter of duke Erik Magnusson of Södermanland and the sister of King Magnus IV of Sweden. He married Richardis of Schwerin, daughter of count Otto of Schwerin; she died in 1377 and is today buried in .

In 1384 he inherited the ducal title of Mecklenburg and united it with Sweden in a personal union. Albert based his claims on the Swedish crown upon two family ties with the Swedish House of Sverker, both through Albert's mother, through whom he was granted the first place in the Swedish succession order, and through Kristina Sverkersdotter, a daughter of Sverker II of Sweden, also known as Sverker the Young. Sverker II had been the king of Sweden between 1196 and 1208.

In 1363, members of the Swedish Council of Aristocracy, led by Bo Jonsson Grip, arrived in the court of Mecklenburg. They had been banished from the country after a revolt against king Magnus Eriksson, who was unpopular among the nobility. At the nobles' request, Albert launched an invasion of Sweden supported by several German dukes and counts. Several Hanseatic cities and dukes in Northern Germany expressed support of the new king. and Kalmar, with large Hanseatic populations, also welcomed the intervention.

Albert was proclaimed King of Sweden and officially crowned on 18 February 1364. The coronation took place at the Stones of Mora. A fragment still remains of the stone commemorating the occasion, the Three Crowns stone. This is the earliest known example of the use of the three crowns as a national symbol for Sweden.