[1] Harald acquired his nickname "Gray-hide" after an encounter with the crew of an Icelandic merchant ship which carried a large load of vararfeldir, a type of faux fur made from sheep's wool.
This set an instant fashion trend and before long the Icelanders had sold their entire load of previously unsalable furs to the king's men and the locals.
Harald moved to strengthen his rule by killing the local rulers including Sigurd Haakonsson, Tryggve Olafsson and Gudrød Bjørnsson.
[3] In 970, he was tricked into coming to Denmark and killed in Hals in the Limfjord in a plot planned by Sigurd Haakonsson's son Haakon, who had become an ally of Harald Bluetooth.
Haakon Sigurdsson had become the jarl of Lade after his own father was killed by Harald Greycloak's men in the autumn of 962.