Harald IV of Denmark was the son of the Danish king Henrik II and his wife. Having become king very early, his father was the plaything of the mighty nobles, especially since the duke of Holstein, Gerhard the Bald, had started pushing his weight around, the Germans ruled everything in Denmark, and the Waldemar dynasty could do only as much as the Schauenburger allow them. Harald's father, when he was younger, had tried to put the mighty nobles back in their place; but he didn't succeed, and the very trial cost the king all the reserves he could tap.