<P> In 1898, all men were granted universal suffrage, followed by all women in 1913 . </P> <P> Christian Michelsen, a shipping magnate and statesman, and 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 . No Norwegian could legitimately claim the throne because none was able to prove relationship to medieval royalty and in European tradition royal or "blue" blood is a precondition for laying claim to the throne . </P> <P> The government offered the throne of Norway to a prince of the Dano - German royal house of Schleswig - Holstein - Sonderburg - Glücksburg . Prince Carl of Denmark was unanimously elected king by the Norwegian Parliament, the first king of a fully independent Norway in 508 years (1397: Kalmar Union); he took the name Haakon VII . In 1905, the country welcomed the prince from neighbouring Denmark, his wife Maud of Wales and their young son to re-establish Norway's royal house . Following centuries of close ties between Norway and Denmark, a prince from the latter was the obvious choice for a European prince who could best relate to the Norwegian people . </P> <P> Throughout the First World War, Norway was in principle a neutral country . In reality, however, Norway had been pressured by the British to hand over increasingly large parts of its large merchant fleet to the British at low rates, as well as to join the trade blockade against Germany . Norwegian merchant marine ships, often with Norwegian sailors still on board, were then sailing under the British flag and at risk of being sunk by German submarines . Thus, many Norwegian sailors and ships were lost . Thereafter, the world ranking of the Norwegian merchant navy fell from fourth place to sixth in the world . </P>

Show me a map of norway and sweden