I think no one in the Bernadotte family could even imagine that the youngest son, who at that time, in principle, it was quite difficult to break into the people, in the wake of the French Revolution, would first make a dizzying career in the army, becoming one of Napoleon’s most prominent marshals , and then, completely, will be the founder of the royal dynasty, ruling in prosperous, calm Sweden to this day. It is noteworthy that Jean-Baptiste even gave his own son the Scandinavian name Oscar, as he knew.
The main reason why Jean-Baptiste entered military service at the age of seventeen was quite banal - money. But, in addition to courage, determination and faith in his star, he revealed remarkable military talent, the ability to think strategically and calculate his actions several moves ahead. The young General Bonaparte knew how to choose people who were true to himself and, most importantly, talented. Bernadotte was next to him in the moments of his brightest triumphs, his own merits in them were unconditional. But the marshal was distinguished by an unusually independent, stubborn character; at some point, his views with Napoleon completely diverged. By the way, Bernadotte also had some semblance of a family relationship with the emperor - he married Bonaparte’s former bride, Desiree Clary, while the latter’s sister, Julie, became the wife of Napoleon’s older brother, Joseph.
In Sweden, Bernadotte enjoyed considerable popularity. he deserved a humane, merciful attitude towards Swedish prisoners. For this reason, it was to him that the Swedish council turned, to whom the urgent question arose - who should rule the country? In 1810 he became crown prince, eight years later he was crowned under the name of Charles XIV Johan. He never learned Swedish and didn’t really like Swedish cuisine, but his descendants still rule in Sweden today. Now the king of Sweden is Carl XVI Gustaf. 
The Swedish royal house is unusually small. There are seven people in total: five members of the king's family plus a childless couple - Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian. In addition, according to the State Calendar, the Danish Queen Ingrid and Princess Birgitta are also officially included in it. In total, the Bernadot family includes another fifty people.
The Bernadotte dynasty has been on the throne longer than any other royal family in Sweden. Marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte became the Swedish monarch at a time when fundamental changes were beginning to occur in the sanitary state and living conditions of Western European countries. Previous dynasties, both in Sweden and in other countries, were short-lived, due to the high infant mortality rate, as well as the danger of dying from other ailments, not to mention the fact that adult members of the royal family often zealously dispatched each other to the next world with swords , daggers, spears or pea soup. As a result, the royal houses of Europe often died out, as did noble and other families who less accurately kept track of their representatives. The decline of the royal family was often fraught with wars of succession and other troubles, which could only be avoided by urgently placing some cousin or other distant relative on the throne.
In 1949, the Bernadottes broke the previous record of 131 years in power held by the Vasa family. The remaining dynasties were no more than passing ones: the Volkungs ruled for 114 years, the Palatinate family for 66 years, and the Holstein-Gottorps for 67 years. In the year 1996 from the Nativity of Christ, 178 years have passed since the Bernadottes took the throne, and no end to their reign is in sight. This became possible primarily due to the fact that doctors and midwives learned to wash their hands.
One way or another, all modern Bernadottes trace their origins to Oscar II (which is also true for many people who are not Bernadottes, but that’s another story).
Here's how things stand in this regard.
Charles XIV Johan had only one son, Oscar I, who formed the second generation of Bernadottes.
The third generation was the four sons and only daughter of Oscar I. However, only one of the sons, namely Oscar II, continued the dynasty.
The fourth generation consisted of the four sons of Oscar II, three of whom - Gustav V, Prince Oscar and Prince Carl - had a bunch of children, while Prince Eugene, the most talented representative of the dynasty after Charles XIV Johan, left only an artistic legacy.
The fifth generation included the three sons of Gustav V and the daughters of Prince Charles, while the son of Prince Charles lost his affiliation with the dynasty due to his marriage, and the children of Prince Oscar were lucky enough not to be born heirs to the throne. Prince Charles's son, Charles the Younger, was descended not only from Oscar II (he was his grandson), but also from Oscar II's brother, Charles XV (he was his great-grandson), and for those who intend to maintain genealogical accuracy, there are many examples of such coincidences.
Below we will limit ourselves to members of the royal family, while other representatives of the family (both those included and not included in the number of heirs to the throne) are preferably left for more detailed study by those who would like to study them and their tree.
So, back to the royal family itself. Of the three aforementioned offspring of Gustav V, two married and produced offspring. Firstly, Gustav VI Adolf, who had four sons and one daughter. Secondly, his brother Wilhelm, who had his only son, Lennart. But Lennart entered into a marriage that deprived him of the right to the throne, just like the two sons of Gustav VI Adolf. There was no one else in the sixth generation.
In short, there were only two male members of the royal house left - Crown Prince Gustav Adolf and his brother Bertil.
Before Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf died untimely at the age of forty, he had four daughters and one son, who is the current King Carl XVI Gustaf; Bertil, devoted to the king, abstained from marrying for a long time so that Sweden would have a legitimate candidate in case a regent was needed while Gustav VI Adolf was excavating in Italy, or in case the king died before his grandson Carl XVI Gustav reached adulthood.
And Carl XVI Gustav managed to reach adulthood, he was even twenty-seven years old before he became king and led the family as a representative of the seventh generation; we now have a continuation of the dynasty, since three children were born into the royal family.
Most of the living Swedish representatives of the Bernadotte family go back to Prince Oscar (b. 1859), the son of Oscar II, although almost more descendants owe their birth to Lennart Bernadotte, who showed enviable persistence in this matter.
In total, only five male Bernadottes born with the right to inherit the throne entered into marriages that deprived them of this right, however, this was enough for nine-tenths of the family to now find itself outside the royal house. These five were: Prince Oscar, who retained the title of prince (his exit from the heir to the throne occurred in 1888), as well as princes from whom the title of prince was “taken away”: Lennart (1932), Siegward (1934), Karl Johan (1946) and Karl Jr. (1937). Subsequently, Charles the Younger received the title of prince abroad, but if we ask ourselves what such a title is good for, we cannot answer, since it is not known what Charles the Younger used it for. Over time, Sigward Bernadotte received the title of prince back, which can be commented on in one and only way: by doing this, he could have shown more joy on his face.
For many of the king's subjects, all this information is nothing more than curious. Both among those who would like to preserve the monarchy and among the minority who favor a republic, there are very few people interested in such details. However, although since Charles XV the Swedish kings have gradually lost power, it cannot be said that these curious details about our royal house are completely uninteresting. In particular, they play a significant role in resolving the important question of whether our state should maintain the monarchy, as the majority of three-quarters of the population has believed for the last half century, or whether it is time to appoint a head of state according to the rules that exist in other democratic states, to which we have been for almost a century We also include ourselves (a sixth of the population stubbornly wants exactly this, although very few Swedish citizens are ready to defend this thesis to the last).
In addition, it is always funny to see what different people are united by a family, because under the same surname geniuses, madmen, scoundrels, noble natures, etc. coexist. Apparently, royal families are subject to the same mathematical distribution as all others. However, the very unusual conditions in which the main family of the country lives lead to the fact that some qualities that latently exist in the family appear more clearly. Considering the demands that parents try to make of their offspring, certain qualities can create huge problems, whereas in other circumstances they would not play the slightest role. Apparently, Charles XV suffered from a minor mental defect, which in most people goes away with time (this monarch did too), and the current king, like his father, was diagnosed with severe legasthenia (inability to read), from which A knowledgeable teacher can save a child today. But if in a large family of a peasant or tenant these personal qualities would not matter, then for members of the royal family they created, to put it mildly, significant difficulties.
In our democratic age, it is customary to say that royals are the most ordinary people. Of course, this is true in the physical sense, in terms of genes. However, their upbringing and the attitude of those around them undoubtedly made them very different from others. One of the strongest reasons for the transition to a republic, now that members of the royal family practically do not interfere with progress, unlike the great-great-great-grandparents of the modern monarch, is the need to provide the royal offspring with a normal childhood, even if today there have been significant changes in this respect compared with the past.
No matter how much courtiers, teachers, military men and the royals themselves may claim otherwise, the royal family has always been surrounded by servility, servility, servility and unbridled praise and admiration - often from crowds of people. If you think that human nature is not susceptible to such influences, then you are mistaken. Ambitious parents from the royal family set themselves the goal, in particular, of creating a counterbalance to all this, but it was impossible to completely eradicate such influence. The phrase that Bernadottes “grow up late” has become widespread, but in this case, upbringing is to blame. Among Bernadottes born outside the dynasty, in families that have lost the right of inheritance, such a phenomenon as “late adulthood” is not observed.
A certain energetic woman, who for several years was married to one of the Bernadotte heirs to the throne and for a long time had the opportunity to observe members of other royal families in Europe, called their upbringing superficial and stupid. She was undoubtedly right: the male members of the dynasty missed the matriculation exams with little blood, including without passing the mandatory written tests in a number of subjects. Subsequently, many of them proved that they, as they say, “are no stupider than others,” and if they were allowed to study at school on a general basis, making the same demands as other students, and trusting no less than others, then in most cases they would probably pass the exams without any concessions. However, the very specific, “greenhouse” upbringing and school education they received often delayed their development. The fact that some Bernadottes later acquired genuine knowledge and special skills in certain areas does not change the above in the least - just as the relaxed, sympathetic, “democratic demeanor” adopted by most royals does not prevent them from being confident in their hearts that the burden placed on them confirms their superiority and chosenness by Fate or God (cross out what is not necessary).
When Eric Gustav Geyer once said that “the history of the Swedish state is the history of its kings,” he did not mean the simple idea to which this phrase is often reduced. He meant that if you carefully study our monarchs and their family, you can discover a lot of interesting things about the era in which they lived and which shaped them.
In addition, the more you study a historical figure, the less judgmental you become (with the exception of great historical monsters like Stalin or Hitler, from whom we in Sweden were spared). Republicans of the older generation often categorically reject the kings of the Bernadotte family under the hackneyed pretext that they were all impudent, misers, grabbers, etc., and all because such representatives as Oscar II and Gustav V (in the first ten years of their government), led the resistance to democracy. Now that democracy and parliamentarism are so familiar and generally accepted that many do not think about them and do not fully understand what they are, even the most inveterate republican can say that the Bernadottes were no worse than the monarchs of other countries, rather the opposite. This is why (among other things) we maintain a monarchy.
What is a genus? This concept is interpreted differently in different societies and in different eras. Until 1978, the succession to the throne in Sweden followed strict rules of succession to the throne through the male line, taking into account primogeniture. Women belong to the clan in which they were born, however, if they marry into another clan, their children will represent this new clan. Our account of the Bernadotte family is based on this principle, not because it is given to us by nature, but because it seems most suitable in this case.
In fact, the surname Bernadotte comes from the name of the estate, whose owner was named Bernard. The story of the son of a poor lawyer from the very south of France, who, having risen to the rank of sergeant, could not count on anything more in terms of his career, but eventually became the king of a distant northern country, is very remarkable. In the jungle of the imperial, royal and princely families of Europe, Bernadottes have long been considered upstarts, in particular, this is noticeable by the fact that at first young male representatives were unwillingly content in marriage not only with non-royal or semi-royal, but often with third-rate partners. Only Oscar II decided that he had won a high enough place for his royal house, and his sons were awarded good brides. His son had to console himself with the fact that after the First World War, only a handful of royal families remained, who at one time looked down on the immigrants from Southern France who took the Swedish throne and were now entrenched on it almost better than other dynasties on their own. with the exception of Danish and British. Paradoxically, they owe this to a large extent to the socialist party, whose program includes the establishment of a republic.
However, history is full of paradoxes, when development went against people's expectations. The Bernadotte dynasty is a complete funny paradox.
Notes:
2 Geyer Eric Gustav (1783–1847) - the largest representative of Swedish science and culture; historian, philosopher, poet, musician.
Desiree Clary had her own revolution, which made her queen
She died quietly and unnoticed in Stockholm on December 17, 1860. And the day before she visited the Royal Swedish Opera, where the sounds of music probably at least somehow reconciled her with the surrounding reality. They were already alien to each other - she and reality. She was 83 years old, and she outlived everyone - her husband, son, beloved sister and son-in-law, girlfriends, rivals and envious women, brilliant generals and marshals, ever-preoccupied politicians and carefree gentlemen, with whom an amazing fate brought her together in different countries. . In the tinsel and sparkles of the dying Gallant Age...
...In the bloody poverty of the Revolution and the luxury of the revived Empire. His empire. In the cold stiffness and Nordic restraint already her kingdoms...
...Her fate and life were truly amazing. The daughter of a simple Marseilles silk merchant died as a Swedish queen. When they collected her for burial, they examined her old remains with special attention, fearing the surprises that amazed the court physicians and embalmers, who 16 years earlier had prepared her husband, King Charles XIV Johan, for his final journey. All his life he did not take off his undershirt in front of courtiers. Even in the bathhouse. And only after death everyone understood why. On the senile chest the tattoo was clearly visible - “Death to kings!” And now the courtiers were afraid to read something similar on the queen’s body, withered by her long life...
Historians of the dynasty already knew, but during their lifetime they tried not to focus on the fact that both the king himself and his queen in their youth were radical and irreconcilable republicans. And they joyfully welcomed the execution of their crowned rulers - King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette.
Desiree Clary, Queen of Desideria
They themselves got married almost 5 years after this execution, back in 1798. A year later, she gave birth to a son, who was named Oscar - then mystical Scandinavian poetry was in fashion. The son also became king. Very popular in his new country, and because of this, the Swedes tolerated and respected his mother's quirks. She herself hardly loved her husband. She was rather grateful to him. For saving an abandoned bride from shame. It is unlikely that she fell in love with her husband even when he became king. Because she loved the Other all her life. The Emperor, whom I recognized as a poor general. A general of the revolution, an impoverished Corsican nobleman in the service of France, who wanted to improve his financial situation by marrying a wonderful, young, rich bourgeois girl with beautiful, radiant brown eyes...
It was not quite an ordinary, not a classic love triangle, so similar to the usual “lamour de trois” of the eccentric Gallant Age, which now seems so lightly sublime and even airy. Rather, it is an intricate and very harsh connection between two men and a woman for the rest of their lives, which for everyone would be bright and unique anyway. She loved one of them all her life, but she married his comrade-in-arms, who at one time was even considered a comrade. The first one also said that he loved her, he was even engaged to her, but he fell out of love when he met another and married her. And the second fell in love with her, abandoned, and took her as his wife to save her from gossip and loneliness. And then he loved his wife all his life, despite all her oddities and eccentricities...
Well, it seems it's time to name them. She is Bernadine Eugenie Désirée Clary (1777-1860), better known to history as Désirée Clary and Desideria, Queen of Sweden and Norway. Her legitimate and only husband was Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (1763-1844), Marshal of France, who in 1818 became King of Sweden and Norway, reigned until 1844 and left behind a dynasty on the throne that still rules Sweden today. Their invisible shadow, friend and rival, enemy and lover, inspirer and object of envy is Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), Emperor of all French, great commander and statesman, who forever changed and, it seems, predetermined the history of France for a long time. And he fully enjoyed the glory both during his life and after it, dying, however, in a humiliating captivity far from his homeland under the supervision of evil, but mortally afraid of his victors.
Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, King of Sweden and Norway
Completely rootless or semi-rootless, all three of them were from the 18th century, which amazed everyone with its apparent carelessness and therefore seemed eternal and comfortable for life in all its manifestations. From the time about which their contemporary Charles Maurice de Talleyrand said: “Whoever did not live in the 18th century did not live at all.” They lived in it famously.
And, apparently, such are the quirks of history, which two of them mercilessly spurred and forced to gallop across an uncharted field with treacherous gullies and potholes of the outgoing 18th and emerging 19th centuries. And she just added such an amazing flair to their lives. The aura of the love of a woman who made the lives of men more meaningful, more spiritual and... clearer.
And that's why. Jean-Baptiste, who during the revolution added “Jules” to his name (in honor of Julius Caesar), would never have become king if Emperor Napoleon had not been grateful to him, who always sacredly preserved family traditions and revered family ties. At one time in post-revolutionary France they were even equal in military glory and services to the country. Politicians of all stripes sought to enlist their support, understanding the popularity of the generals among the soldiers and counting, of course, on the soldiers. The bayonet always gives birth to power, and France at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries was no exception, despite the fact that the Chinese Mao Zedong voiced this truth much later, having removed his power from bayonets, which were bloodied, including in the fight against former comrades...
Napoleon I, Emperor of all French
Jean-Baptiste, we recall, was an ardent republican and always opposed the desire of his comrade-in-arms Napoleon, whom he met on the battlefields for the ideals of the revolution, for sole rule. And he always criticized him for the fact that in 1799 he overthrew the Republican Directory and became the first consul-dictator, and in 1804 he even proclaimed himself emperor. General Jean-Baptiste was even seen among the revolutionary Jacobin “Fronde”, which defended the revolution against Napoleon. But he never openly, with arms in hand, opposed the dictator-emperor, for which he was promoted to marshal of France. Then Bernadotte held all sorts of important posts in Napoleonic France, became the governor of the conquered Hanover, Prince of Pontecorvo, and in 1810 he was invited to... the crown princes of Sweden.
This is what Swedish officers and politicians decided. Some of them knew the mercy of Bernadotte, who let them go home after the battle they lost to him. Others counted on this “special attitude” of Napoleon towards his obstinate marshal and by that time a close relative and hoped, by making him king, to protect their country from French occupation. The Swedes turned out to be subtle psychologists: Napoleon released the marshal, making him promise never to turn the Swedish bayonets against France. But Jean-Baptiste betrayed his emperor-benefactor, first by concluding an alliance with Russia in 1812, and then by joining his troops in the anti-Napoleonic coalition in 1813-1814. He became the collective winner of Napoleon in both the “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig (1813) and Waterloo (1815)...
However, the main paradox of this whole situation was that for Desiree Clary all these ups and downs had no meaning. She was the wife and heiress of one crown, and loved the bearer of another. The one that everyone tried to tear and tore from her lover’s head, including her husband, who endured everything, even when in 1818 he became the full-fledged king of Sweden...
Crown Princess
...The revolution introduced them. More precisely, its cruel confusion, in which, as is usual in any revolution, unscrupulous scoundrels tried to solve their problems by betrayal, lecturing against “enemies,” slander and swift reprisals. In 1794, the young and, let us remember, semi-impoverished general Napoleon Bonaparte found himself in Marseille with an inspection of the entire coast. His older brother Joseph already lived there, who managed to help his brother Desiree avoid arrest and even marry her older sister Julie. It was his brother who introduced Napoleon to Desiree, whom the loving general called “Mademoiselle Eugénie” in his letters.
Napoleon clearly loved his Eugenie and wanted to marry her. He did not hide this in letters to both her and his brother, impatiently and decisively, as always on the battlefield, seeking reciprocity. And they were engaged in 1795. Because Desiree also fell in love with the unsightly warrior. And forever. She saw in him something that would later throw all other women into his arms. Including her happier rivals...
Desiree's father had already died by that time, and her mother strongly opposed the marriage of her youngest daughter to the younger Bonaparte. “One Banaparte in the family is enough for me,” she stubbornly said. And everything was decided for them by time, chance and... the male bestiality of Napoleon, who always did not favor women. After his engagement to Desiree, he returned to Paris, and he was fully, as they say, dizzy with metropolitan life. A hero of the revolution and war, an assistant to the Directory established in France with his help and a comrade of one of the main “directors” Paul Barras, he entered all the then fashionable houses and salons and began to make up for the years of female inattention to his person, changing women like gloves. Biographers bring to us the names of some of them - Madame de Permont with two children, Madame de la Bouchardery and, finally, Madame Josephine Taché de la Pagerie de Beauharnais, a beautiful Creole from Martinique, the widow of a general executed during the years of terror, Viscount Alexandre de Beauharnais, also the mother of two young children.
Josephine de Beauharnais, happy and successful rival
With Josephine, Napoleon loses his head so much that he forgets his provincial “Mademoiselle Eugénie.” Desiree learns of her fiance's betrayal. And when the marriage with Josephine was concluded, she writes him a piercing letter: “You made me unhappy, and yet in my weakness I forgive you... You are married!.. Now poor Desiree no longer has the right to love you, to think about you... Mine the only consolation is the knowledge that you are convinced of my constancy and immutability... Now I wish only for death. Life has become an unbearable torment for me since I can no longer devote it to you... You are married! I still can't get over this thought, it's killing me. I will never belong to anyone else... I, who hoped to soon become the happiest woman in the world, your wife... Your marriage has destroyed all my dreams of happiness... Still, I wish you every happiness and prosperity in your marriage. May the woman you have chosen be able to give you the happiness that I dreamed of giving you and that you deserve. But in the midst of your happiness, do not forget the very poor Evgenia and take pity on her in her bitter lot!
This Napoleon was lucky! Agree, only an offended but endlessly in love woman can write like this, whose feelings made the heart beat unevenly and appealed to the conscience of even such a person as Napoleon, striving for the heights of power. He helps the appointment of brother Joseph as ambassador to Italy and asks him to take with him to Rome, along with his wife, her sister Desiree and her failed mother-in-law. Joseph takes women away to “satisfy their feelings” for a warm “boot”
There, in Italy, Desiree faces another terrible blow. Napoleon, caring about Desiree's fate, “prescribes” the 26-year-old handsome and brave French general Leonard Dufault as her husband. Napoleon writes to Joseph in Rome, where Désirée was also present: “General Dufault will give you this letter. He will tell you about his intentions to marry your sister-in-law. “I consider this marriage very beneficial for her, because Dufault is an excellent officer.” Things worked out well and were already heading towards the wedding, but the general was killed in 1797 by the rebel mob, who tried to deal with the French ambassador. According to some sources, he was killed right in front of his bride. Still the same Desiree...
Leonard Dufault
Desiree and her mother return to France, and there she finally meets Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, who falls madly in love with her. In August 1798 they got married. They were an amazing couple. According to Napoleon's biographer Frederic Mason, Bernadotte was “not a bad match for Désiré, but this Jacobin had the most intolerable character; a pedant and a bore, he behaved like a very boring school teacher; There was no liveliness or fire in this Bearn, and he did not shine with courtesy, but he calculated his actions with the accuracy of an adding machine, skillfully hiding the double game. The pedantic Madame Steel was his first among women, and during his honeymoon he forced his wife to write dictations.”
Desiree tried in every possible way to demonstrate her love for her savior husband so that they even believed in her. Duchess d'Abrantes even recalled: “She loved him, but this love became a real disaster for the poor Béarn. He was by no means the hero of a sensitive novel, and his wife’s behavior perplexed him. These were continuous tears. When he left, she cried; when he was away, she also shed tears; and even when he returned, she cried because he had to leave again in a week.”
At a time strictly designated by nature, the Bernadottes had their only son, the aforementioned Oscar. By that time, Desiree had moved with her husband to Paris and, through Joseph’s family and sister, resumed relations with the younger couple of Bonapartes - Napoleon and Josephine. She asks her ex-lover to become a godfather, but he coldly refuses, limiting himself only to advice on what to name the baby. And be that as it may, the future Swedish king also owes his name to the future French emperor. But the families do not meet in person.
Queen Desideria
Desiree hates Josephine, calls her “old woman,” but in her heart. And he tries to maintain a good relationship with her. She always takes her side in disputes with her mother and Napoleon’s many sisters, who did not like their daughter-in-law. The need of the Napoleon couple for the Bernadotte couple arose when Napoleon decided to put an end to the Directory, which was gradually entangling post-revolutionary France in networks of corruption and total poverty.
It was truly an amazing time in France. The Gallant Age, the luxury of which surprised even his contemporaries, ended with terrible poverty even for the former masters of life. The brilliance and luxury of toilets, translucent bodies, pink lips, sweet, insinuating words of ladies, diamonds on powdered necks, thick purses of men - all this was the lot of the few. And there, in salons closed to the rabble, where the old aristocracy merged with the new - bourgeois, speculative. The future chic and wealth of an empire that would not know defeat on European fields was only just dawning in Napoleon’s fevered brain. And the majority of the French, according to the recollections of contemporaries, even consumed sugar almost at a glance: a piece, tied with a thread, was hung over the dining table, and each family member in turn dipped it in their cup of coffee or herbal decoction for a certain period of time. Anyone who exceeded the allotted time by a few seconds was showered with abuse, as if he had been caught stealing...
The people louder and louder demanded to restore order and use power against those who were only fattening and not thinking about anything else. And Napoleon planned a coup. But he knew that in Paris there was one person equal to him in popularity and military talent - Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. And he was the only one who treated Bonaparte coldly, who by that time had already returned from Egypt after the inglorious conquest of this country, which was nevertheless called “victory.” Bernadotte even refused to visit Bonaparte in person. “I don’t want to catch the plague,” he grumbled. And he was even called “obstacle man”...
Coronation of Desideria
And then Napoleon’s brother Joseph and his wife Julie decided to influence their obstinate and rebellious son-in-law through his wife, Desiree. The first meeting of the two couples took place, and when Bernadotte suspected that Bonaparte wanted to seize power in the republic, he coldly and directly stated: “I firmly believe in the salvation of the Republic - it will cope with all its enemies, external and internal”...
The men understood each other, gritting their teeth in anger. And if not for the women, reconciliation might not have happened. But Josephine and Desiree turned the conversation to other topics. And Bonaparte went on a return visit, now to Bernadotte. And then, after dessert, the two couples went to Brother Joseph's country house in Mortefontaine. In the carriage, Desiree sat opposite Bonaparte, their knees touched, and she, as biographers would later write, “felt the old love being revived in her heart, unexpectedly for herself.”
Women were the first to tame Bernadotte. And Desiree joined the game with a new-old flaring passion. However, biographer Leon Pinho strongly doubts Désirée’s purely romantic desire to help her lover seize power and rise to the top: “We must ask ourselves the question: was Madame Bernadotte’s behavior guided by a feeling of jealousy and revenge against Josephine? Bonaparte returned to Paris, having received information about his wife's infidelity, with a firm decision to seek a divorce. Perhaps Madame Bernadotte, overwhelmed by tender memories, also thought about divorce in order to revive the past and unite her life with the conqueror of Egypt, the master of tomorrow? At that time morale was shaken, and such a project did not seem impracticable.”
Napoleon Bonaparte - First Consul
However, be that as it may, even contemporaries noted that Desiree’s role in curbing her husband, who could prevent Napoleon from seizing power, was enormous. She literally spied on her husband and, through her sister Julie, communicated all his plans and talked about his mood. Paul Barras, the de facto head of the Directory preparing for the “slaughter,” wrote about that time: “Madame Bernadotte’s affection for the Corsicans and constant communication with them prompted her to make dangerous revelations about the political concerns of her husband... Thus, Bonaparte - through Joseph, and Joseph, through Bernadotte’s wife, conducted their politics almost in Bernadotte’s bed.”
Bernadotte knew about his wife’s tricks, but either he resigned himself to his rival’s plans, or he decided to submit to the inevitable and agree with his wife. Barras recalled: “Having noticed several times the unpleasant consequences of his frankness with his wife, he carefully protected himself, as far as possible, from her expansiveness. One day, when he was discussing political affairs with his personal secretary and Madame Bernadotte entered his office, he fell silent and signaled to his secretary to interrupt the conversation in the presence of the “talker”, whom he sometimes called, laughing, “spy”...
When Napoleon overthrew the Directory in November 1799, Bernadotte did not stand up for it. And Napoleon said enough about him to Jean-Jacques-Regis de Cambaceres, whom he planned for the role of his assistant and second consul on the way to imperial power: “You shouldn’t be afraid of him. He will make a gloomy face, make a speech about his fiery Jacobin faith and indignation at violators of the law, but will not do anything serious against us. ...I found a way to tie him hand and foot, although he doesn’t even know it. He pretends that he still wants us to fail, but deep down - I’ll tell you the reasons for this someday - he is now more inclined towards us.”
On deathbed
Smug Napoleon! But the winners are not judged. However, Bernadotte did not lose either. In 1810, he left for Sweden, and appeared in France as a conqueror of Napoleon. And all the time before and after that, he only obediently observed his wife’s behavior, without interfering in her actions, without publicly condemning or commenting on them.
And Desiree patiently loved and waited. Napoleon tried to remove the Bernadottes from Paris. However, Desiree stubbornly did not leave the capital. In 1804, during the coronation of Napoleon, she, along with his sisters, dutifully carried the headdress of Empress Josephine. Then she took on a lover - Italian Ange Chappe. But she hoped even after Napoleon’s divorce and his marriage to the Austrian Princess Marie-Louise in 1809. And only in 1810 she went to Sweden for several months. Already like a hereditary princess.
But she never wanted to be queen. She was burdened by customs and rituals, ostentatious etiquette and pretentiousness, snobbery and falsehood of the royal court. The cold climate and changeable weather of Sweden made her even worse. “Don't talk to me about Stockholm, I catch a cold as soon as I hear that word,” she said of her new home. She did not like her new compatriots and said that their nobility lay only in the fact that they looked at her with icy glances. She never learned Swedish and knew only a few words of it.
Armand Emmanuel Sophia-Septimani de Vignereau du Plessis, Comte de Chinon, 5th Duke of Richelieu
In 1811 she returned to France under the name of Countess Gottlieb, but as hereditary princess she still maintained her home with a small royal court. In 1813, Napoleon was defeated for the first time near Leipzig, and his wife Marie-Louise and his heir were removed from him. In 1814, Josephine died, and a year later the “Emperor of all French” himself was finally defeated. And all this time, Desiree, who lived incognito in Paris, under the supervision of the secret police of Napoleon and then the Bourbons, provided assistance and shelter to Napoleon's relatives - brothers and sisters. And before Napoleon was sent into exile, she was the only woman who did not abandon him and consoled him in the bitterness of defeat and collapse...
In 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte died on the distant island of St. Helena, and then, perhaps out of hopelessness, 44-year-old Desiree fell in love again. And this last love of hers is also relevant for Ukraine. Her “object” was Armand Emmanuel Sophia-Septimani de Vignero du Plessis, Comte de Chinon, 5th Duke de Richelieu, better known to Ukrainians as Emmanuel Osipovich de Richelieu. Yes, yes, the one who is rightfully considered one of the founding fathers of Odessa and whose monument adorns its embankment. At that time, the Duke de Richelieu had already returned from Russian service in France and was prime minister under King Louis XVIII of Bourbon. The Duke, they say, reciprocated Desire's feelings, but died already in 1822. It was only then that Desiree decided to return to Sweden. To my husband and son...
But even there Napoleon did not leave her. In 1823, she came to Stockholm with a bride for her son - Josephine of Leuchtenberg, daughter of Eugene de Beauharnais, stepson of Napoleon and son of Empress Josephine. It was only in 1829 that she expressed a desire to be fully crowned Queen of Sweden. Thus, the Frenchwoman Desiree Clary, under the name Desideria, became the second commoner who, after the Finnish Carin Monsdotter (16th century, we will talk about this some other time) took the Swedish throne.
Sarcophagus in a church in Stockholm. Husband next...
But then for the rest of her life she wanted to return to Paris and amazed the Swedes with her eccentricities. She was still burdened by her royal duties and did not want to get involved in politics. She went to bed late and got up late. She could go out to her husband, the king, who was receiving visitors, in a long nightgown. She was often late even for dinners that the king arranged for his subordinates and guests. She kept her French staff to herself. Then her court was ruled by two Norwegian ladies of state - Katinka and Jana Falbe, who were called “Mademoiselle of Disaster” for their eccentric, queen-like tempers.
Widowed in 1844, Desiree-Desideria again wants to return to France. And she had such an opportunity when, in 1853, another Bonaparte, Napoleon III, the nephew of her lover, became the new emperor there. But she was afraid of the sea voyage and remained in her new homeland...
And her subjects could often meet the Queen Mother walking at night in the park of her beloved royal castle Rosenberg: her lady of state usually walked in front of the old lady, dressed all in white to scare away bats. Or on the streets of the city you might stumble upon a night carriage with the queen, making circles around the royal castle in Stockholm in any weather. The Swedes called this eccentricity “Kring-kring” - after that Swedish expression “around and around”, which their queen remembered. She often called ordinary children from the street to her, took them to the palace and distributed sweets to them there.
Princess Victoria, heir to the Swedish throne. How similar to Desiree...
Often, without turning on the light, she wandered through the corridors of the castle, as if in surprise, studying its size and luxury. One French diplomat who observed her wrote: “The Kingdom has not changed her. Unfortunately for the authority of the crown. She has always been and will remain an ordinary merchant’s wife, surprised by her position and presence on the throne.” What this woman was looking for in the twilight of the greatness that unexpectedly fell upon her and surrounded her, or among the flickering reflections of light and shadows on the streets of rainy Stockholm, no one will know. Queen Desideria died alone. Her grandson, King Charles XV, was already a real Swede, the first Bernadotte born on Swedish soil. He treated his grandmother with respect, but hardly understood her. And even more so, he could not understand her great love, which did not prevent her from receiving the crown, but never gave her complete happiness...
However, in the history of the Swedish Bernadottes, who received the crown from the revolution in France, and in the history of Queen Desideria, there is another amazing coincidence. Exactly 200 years after the birth of Desiree Clary, in 1977, a daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, was born into the family of the now reigning Swedish king Carl XVI Gustaf. After changes to the Swedish constitution prohibiting any discrimination, it is she, the woman, and not the man-son, as before, who will take the Swedish throne. After his father. She is Desiree's six-generation great-granddaughter and is very similar in appearance. And she, unlike her great-grandmother, became happy and in love. In 2010, Crown Princess Victoria married her personal trainer, Daniel Westling, a simple Swedish guy who became a prince. And she even gave birth to his daughter Estelle, who ranks second after her mother in the order of succession to the throne in Sweden. It turns out that this also happens...
Ambitious Hero Alexandra Dumas d'Artagnan dreamed of a marshal's baton, which, by the will of the author, he received before his death. A real fellow countryman of the book hero, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, went further - the youngest son of a French lawyer became the king of an entire country.
Napoleon Bonaparte, who conquered almost all of Europe, made his relatives and best military leaders the rulers of entire powers. Someone lost their crown after the fall of the emperor. Jean-Baptiste managed to hold out because he had a special relationship with Napoleon - Bernadotte, serving him, saw Bonaparte as a competitor and rival for many years.
Lawyer's son
Jean-Baptiste was born on January 26, 1763. To the baby's father, Henri Bernadotou, was already 52 years old by that time, and this may have been the reason for the frailty of the newborn.
The baby was so bad that the mother asked the priest to baptize Jean-Baptiste the very next morning - so that the boy would not go to the next world unbaptized.
Commons.wikimedia.orgContrary to fears, Jean-Baptiste survived, and his father, who did not have a noble title, but had amassed capital as a lawyer at the Royal Bar, began to prepare his son for a career in the same field.
Sent to be trained by Benedictine monks, Jean-Baptiste did not demonstrate the patience and intelligence required of a lawyer. The stronger boy preferred to resolve all conflicts with his peers in a fight.
However, after school, Bernadotte Jr. really began to learn the basics of his father’s trade, and by the age of 23 he achieved some success as a lawyer.
Now you're in the army
But Henri Bernadotte died, leaving the family with large debts. The widow sold the house, moving to a more modest home. Jean-Baptiste's older brother, Jean, took care of his mother and sister. And the youngest now had to make his own way in life.
Jean-Baptiste did what many did then who found themselves in a similar position - he enlisted in the army.
The Great French Revolution opened the way for Bernadotte to the coveted officer rank, although the cautious Jean-Baptiste initially preferred to remain neutral in the civil conflict.
But military action was his element. Fighting in the ranks of the Army of the Rhine, Bernadotte built a career ladder for himself through personal courage and skillful leadership of his subordinates. His rise was rapid. By the beginning of the summer of 1793, he had risen to the rank of captain, and a year later he already commanded a division, holding the rank of brigadier general.
How to profitably marry an abandoned bride
In 1797, General Bernadotte first encountered General Bonaparte. They didn’t like each other very much - Jean-Baptiste, having heard about Napoleon’s successes, considered him a self-confident upstart. Bonaparte thought that Bernadotte was too arrogant and arrogant. At the same time, the future emperor recognized Bernadotte's military talent, which predetermined subsequent events.
And in the life of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, a successful marriage played a very important role.
Desiree Clary, the daughter of a Marseilles silk merchant and shipowner, was considered Napoleon's bride. The general's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, married her sister. But after Napoleon's meeting with Josephine Desiree received her resignation.
The jilted bride knew Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, and turned her hopeful gaze to him. General Bernadotte was not averse to taking Desiree as his wife, but he definitely did not want to quarrel with the Bonapartes over her.
But Napoleon gave the go-ahead for the marriage, believing that this was the best way to arrange Desiree’s fate.
So Jean-Baptiste started family ties with Bonaparte.
Talented but unreliable
When Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor, Bernadotte, who once had a “Long Live the Republic!” tattoo, took it for granted. In gratitude for his loyalty, Bonaparte made Bernadotte marshal and governor of Hanover.
In the military campaign of 1805, Bernadotte commanded an army corps. The marshal distinguished himself in the Battle of Ulm, captured Ingolstadt, crossed the Danube, went to Munich and blocked the army of General Mack, ensuring its defeat. For outstanding military services in 1806, Bernadotte was awarded the title of Prince of Pontecorvo.
Success, however, did not always accompany Bernadotte. For example, in 1809, in the battle of Wagram, the marshal lost a third of his corps.
Probably, Emperor Bonaparte never received as many denunciations against anyone as Bernadotte. Many knew that the marshal allowed himself to doubt the orders and actions of Napoleon. The informers wrote that Bernadotte was preparing a conspiracy, welcoming the enemies of the emperor. Napoleon, however, continued to trust the marshal.
Historians attribute this to the special attitude of the emperor towards his former bride. If the offended Desiree supported the confrontation between her new betrothed and Napoleon, the emperor himself in response emphasized that no matter what, he would treat Desiree with respect and tenderness. Of course, this concern for Désirée's well-being extended to her husband Bernadotte.
Who is the ultimate king here?
In the same year, 1809, an unexpected turn took place in Bernadotte’s life. Ascended to the throne in Sweden King Charles XIII who had no legal heirs. And the Swedes offered to become crown prince to Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte.
Firstly, in Sweden they considered such a proposal as a way to please Napoleon, on whom the country was somewhat dependent. Secondly, Bernadotte had previously become famous for his humane treatment of prisoners and his abilities in government, which he demonstrated as Napoleonic governor.
The youngest son of a Gascon lawyer had the opportunity to become king, but did not lose his head.
He waited for an answer from Napoleon, emphasizing that he could not make such a decision without the approval of the emperor. Approval was received, Bernadotte was dismissed from service, and in August 1810 he was officially proclaimed Crown Prince. To finally remove all contradictions, Charles XIII adopted Jean-Baptiste.
To betray in time means to foresee
Bernadotte, who became Karl Johan in Sweden, initially supported Napoleon's course, but then showed character. Sweden, at the suggestion of the crown prince, did not support the war with Russia, even though it promised benefits, for example, the return of lost France.
Bernadotte was sure that this time Napoleon had gone too far, and the matter would result in a heavy defeat for France, and he entered into an alliance with the Russian emperor.
When the campaign in Russia ended in failure, Sweden officially sided with the anti-Napoleonic coalition, and the former French marshal fought against his compatriots in the “Battle of the Nations.” “Under the guise,” the crown prince forced Denmark to abandon Norway in favor of Sweden.
Not everyone in Europe was delighted with the prospect of seeing a former Napoleonic military leader as the king of Sweden, but Russian support helped.
In 1818, after the death of Charles XIII, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte became King Charles XIV Johan of Sweden and Norway.
Father and son
The monarch never learned to speak Swedish tolerably until the end of his life. French was enough to govern the country, and Charles XIV delivered official speeches in much the same way as Vitaly Mutko before an English-speaking audience - reading out a text written on paper in the French alphabet.
The Swedes were ready to endure this, since Bernadotte showed himself to be the best in the field of public administration. He carried out reforms to develop education, agriculture, strengthen finances, and restore the country's prestige. Under Charles XIV, the foundations of Swedish neutrality were laid, which allowed the country to avoid participation in major military conflicts.
The Royal Family of Sweden and Norway in 1837. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
When the king did not have enough language knowledge to communicate with the ministers, his son helped him, Oscar.
Oscar Bernadotte got his name when his father could not even think that the Swedish throne awaited him in the future - it was just that in France at that time there was a fashion for names of Scandinavian origin. Jean-Baptiste's son came to Sweden at the age of 12, and, unlike his parents, quickly mastered both the language and customs of the local people, earning incredible popularity.
Descendants of Napoleonic marshal rule Sweden for 200 years
But Jean-Baptiste's wife and Oscar's mother, Desiree Bernadotte, lived away from her loved ones for many years. Having visited Sweden in 1811, she considered this country a remote province and left for Paris, flatly refusing to reunite with her husband.
She surrendered only in 1823. Her official coronation as Queen of Sweden took place in 1829.
Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte died in March 1844. His son, Oscar I, became the new king of Sweden.
February 2018 marks 200 years since the Swedish crown belonged to representatives of the Bernadotte dynasty. This is the longest reigning dynasty in Swedish history.
BERNADOTE
The Bernadotte dynasty was founded in 1818. Its representatives had previously been the monarchs of Sweden and Norway, but in 1905, when the union between these two states was broken, the Bernadottes began to inherit only the title of the Swedish king.
The founder of the Bernadotte dynasty is the Marshal of France since 1804, a participant in the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte (born January 26, 1763 in Pau, Béarn - died March 8, 1844 in Stockholm), who was elected heir to the Swedish throne in 1810 . In 1818, he simultaneously ascended the thrones of Sweden and Norway under the name of King Charles XIV Johan.
Actually, Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte could have lived a different, less eventful life. The fifth and last child in the family of the famous Béarn lawyer Henri Bernadotte (1711–1780), he was to continue the family dynasty of lawyers. However, the young man was not attracted by the prospect of fiddling with papers all his life and sorting out other people’s slander, fraud and squabbles. Instead, after the death of his father, in August 1780, he decided to become a military man. To begin with, Jean Baptiste joined the Royal Marine Regiment of Infantry as a private (its composition was intended for service on the islands, in seaports and in overseas territories). For a year and a half, the future founder of the dynasty served in Corsica, in the hometown of Napoleon Bonaparte - Ajaccio. In 1784, Bernadotte was transferred to the capital of the Dauphine province - Grenoble.
Intelligent, brave, somewhat harsh in his judgments, and excellent with weapons, the Bearnian immediately attracted the attention of the commanders and soon began to enjoy their favor. Nevertheless, he managed to achieve the rank of sergeant only in May 1788. And this could be considered a huge success: traditionally, all officer ranks in the French royal army were reserved exclusively for nobles. And Jean Baptiste’s blood, even with a stretch, could not be called blue.
However, Fate, with all its capriciousness and unpredictability, did not plan to keep this young man on the sidelines all his life. A revolution was brewing in France; A few days after Bernadotte received the sergeant's insignia, it was in Dauphine that a social explosion occurred, the echoes of which swept throughout the country, causing general indignation among the French. The problems began when the commander of the local troops, the Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre, dissolved the provincial parliament. Following this, indignant citizens and members of craft corporations took to the streets of Grenoble. They were joined by peasants from surrounding villages. The situation became threatening, and on June 7, 1788, the Duke ordered two infantry regiments (including the Royal Marines) to restore order in the city. But the officers who led the soldiers into the streets did not dare to use weapons: although the crowd was hostile and even aggressive, it was unarmed. The parties froze in anticipation. The situation corresponded to the classic “calm before the storm.” When one of the women, unable to bear it any longer, jumped out of the crowd and slapped the sergeant in the face (unfortunately, it turned out to be Bernadotte), the so-called blood rushed to the head. The Bearnian did not know how to tolerate insults; boiling, he gave the order to his subordinates to immediately open fire. When corpses began to fall on the pavement, the townspeople began to throw anything that had a decent weight and could be found at hand at the soldiers. Tiles fell from roofs and balconies onto the Royal Regiment; Jean Baptiste was wounded and had to flee from a crowd of brutalized townspeople. Since then, June 7, 1788 has been listed in the history of France as the Day of Tiles, and the name Bernadotte was first mentioned on its pages - as a faithful servant of the crown.
In May 1789, the Naval Regiment was relocated to Marseille. By that time, Jean Baptiste was already an orderly to the regiment commander, the Marquis d'Ambert. At the new location, the sergeant rented a room for himself in the house of a wealthy merchant, Francois Clary. The owner's daughters - 18-year-old Julie and 12-year-old Desiree - played a huge role in the lives of many of the then prominent figures in French and world history. Including Bernadotte.
On July 14, 1789, the Bastille fell in Paris and the townspeople stormed it. Following this, revolutionary sentiments spread throughout France. National Guard units were formed throughout the country; In the royal army, discipline fell every hour, and mass desertion of soldiers began. Nevertheless, Bernadotte remained faithful to the oath; he even managed to save his regiment commander, whom the National Guardsmen were going to hang from the first lantern. It is interesting that at the same time the sergeant... supported the ideals of the revolution! Perhaps he was largely driven by sober calculation: after all, it was precisely this situation that opened up broad prospects for him. He took the slogan “Liberty, equality and fraternity” literally. And in order to convince others (and perhaps himself) of his devotion to revolutionary ideals, Jean Baptiste got himself a tattoo “Death to Tsars and Tyrants.” He seemed to fully appreciate the comedy of this inscription two decades later...
Bernadotte received his first officer rank of sub-lieutenant in the spring of 1792. Then he was transferred to serve in the 36th Infantry Regiment, which was stationed in Brittany. After the war between France and Austria began on April 20 of the same year (later joined by Prussia), the regiment was transferred to Strasbourg, at the disposal of the commander of the Army of the Rhine. The next two years became a continuous series of battles for Bernadotte. At the same time, the Béarnian, who was distinguished by impeccable courage, showed devotion to the revolution and, moreover, had professional experience and brilliant military abilities, began to quickly move up the career ladder: in the middle of the summer of 1793 he received the rank of captain, in August - colonel, and in April of the following year he became a brigadier general. At the Battle of Fleurus, Jean Baptiste commanded a division. Ahead of him was participation in campaigns on the Main and in Italy, which brought the failed lawyer the fame of a general, absolutely intolerant of looting and indiscipline.
In 1797, Bernadotte met Napoleon Bonaparte and even struck up quite friendly relations with the future emperor. However, very soon the relationship between the military leaders deteriorated: both were quite ambitious and openly competed.
In January - August of the following year, Jean Baptiste received an appointment to Vienna as the official ambassador of France. After returning to Paris on August 17, he married the same Desiree Clary, the daughter of his Marseilles landlord, who managed to be Napoleon’s bride. Désirée's older sister, Julie, was the wife of Bonaparte's brother, Joseph.
However, Jean Baptiste could not enjoy the relatively calm life of the capital for long. Military duty called him into the active army, and the gallant general spent the winter of 1798/99 in Germany. At the same time, people started talking about Bernadotte as one of the most outstanding generals of the French Republic. Therefore, no one was surprised to learn that in July 1799, the Béarnian became the country's new minister of war. But the leaders of the Directory (especially one of them, Emmanuel Sieyes) began to worry about Bernadotte’s Jacobin connections and his enormous popularity among both the military and the civilian population. Therefore, in September 1799, Jean Baptiste was hastily sent into retirement, out of harm’s way.
The former minister very quickly repaid the spiteful critics. In the coup of the Eighteenth Brumaire, although he did not support Napoleon, he refused to even lift a finger in order to save the Directory. As a result, in 1800–1802, the general served as state councilor and commander of the troops of Western France. In this capacity, Bernadotte had to deal with the suppression of the uprising in the Vendee (1800) and fight off accusations of involvement in the Rhine Conspiracy (distribution of anti-Napoleonic pamphlets).
In January 1803, Jean Baptiste was again appointed ambassador - this time he was to go to the United States of America. But since France had just entered the war with England, they decided to postpone the mission. The general spent almost a year in Paris inactive. It cannot be said that this pleased such an active personality. When Bonaparte proclaimed himself emperor on May 18, 1804, the Béarnian, having weighed all the pros and cons, expressed loyalty to the new monarch. In gratitude, Napoleon granted Jean Baptiste the title of Marshal of France and already in June sent him as his governor to Hanover. There Bernadotte first demonstrated his capabilities as an economist, politician and lawyer, carrying out a number of reforms in the taxation system.
When a new military campaign began in 1805, the governor again had to remember that he was primarily a military man, and at the head of the 1st Army Corps went to Southern Germany, where he took part in the Battle of Ulm, captured Ingolstadt, crossed the Danube and left to Munich. After the capture of Salzburg, the corps joined Napoleon's main forces and took on the most powerful enemy blow in the Battle of Austerlitz. When peace with Austria was signed, Bernadotte moved to Bavaria, to Ansbach. In 1806, in gratitude for his good service, he was awarded the title of Prince of Pontecorvo. In the same year, the corps of the newly-minted aristocrat defeated the retreating Prussians at Halle and forced them to capitulate, which was signed on November 7. And on January 25, 1807, the Bearnian defeated the Russian troops at Morungen. In July, Bernadotte became commander of troops in Northern Germany and Denmark; At the same time, he began to hatch a plan for a campaign against Sweden, but did not receive support in this matter. Later, in 1809, the future monarch was the commander of troops in Holland, where he managed to defeat the English landing force that landed on the island of Walhern.
That same year, a coup d'état took place in Sweden, during which King Gustav IV was overthrown and a constitutional monarchy was established. The old and sick Charles XIII, who, moreover, had no children, ascended the throne. The heir to the throne was the Danish prince Christian August, but just a year later this contender for the crown suddenly died. Since Sweden at that time was heavily dependent on France, the Riksdag sent ambassadors to Napoleon with the eternal question: “What to do?!” The emperor hesitated for a long time when choosing a candidate for the crown prince. Finally, Baron Karl Otto Merner, a member of the Swedish delegation, could not stand it any longer. To end the “suspended” situation and finally complete his mission, he turned to Bernadotte with a request to accept the throne of the state in the future. Merner knew what he was doing: the Béarnian, who had established himself as a talented military leader, a skilled diplomat and a wise administrator, was very popular in Sweden because he showed rare humanity towards the baron’s captive fellow citizens. In addition, the general had a substantial fortune and maintained close ties with the trading circles of the Hanseatic cities. In general, there may not have been a better candidate for the role of monarch at that time.
The Swedish State Council approved and supported Merner's initiative. The only thing that was required of Bernadotte in order to become the heir to the crown was to convert to the Lutheran faith. Béarnets, unlike Napoleon, did not hesitate for long, and on August 21, 1810, he was elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Riksdag. On October 20, as required “by contract,” he accepted Lutheranism, and on October 5 he officially became the adopted son of Charles XIII (so that dynastic problems would not arise in the future). Now he bore the name Karl Johan, and since his new “parent” was unable to perform government duties due to health reasons, Bernadotte began to act as regent of the country.
It is unlikely that Napoleon was happy that the throne of Sweden was “added” without his participation. However, the emperor believed that the state, headed by one of his marshals, was a vassal of France. And if so, he demanded that Bernadotte declare war on England and join the continental blockade. Jean Baptiste was forced to obey, but Sweden, through his efforts, never took part in the actual military operations. True, Napoleon recalled the obligation to listen to his opinion: in January 1812, his troops occupied Swedish Pomerania. However, Bernadotte also refrained from war with Russia, and in the spring of 1813, as soon as the anti-Napoleonic coalition began to form, he completely broke off relations with France. The regent was going to attack one of the emperor's allies, Denmark, and take Norway from it. However, Jean Baptiste's new allies, Russia and Great Britain, who allocated a subsidy to Sweden for this “project,” insisted that the campaign against Denmark be postponed until Napoleon was defeated. By the way, it was the arrival of the Northern Allied Army under the command of Bernadotte near Leipzig on October 17, 1813 that decided the outcome of the battle. After this, the crown prince went to Denmark and already in January 1814 forced Frederick VI to sign the Treaty of Kiel, according to which Norway ceded to Sweden. Bernadotte then again led troops against Napoleon's army. Entering Paris in the spring of 1814, Jean Baptiste offered himself the role of King of France. However, European monarchs were not satisfied with such a “fellow profession”, and they preferred to return the throne of the Bourbon dynasty, usurped by Napoleon.
Norway, meanwhile, was not pleased with its forced annexation into Sweden and adopted a liberal constitution in May 1814. Then the Swedish regent again took up the realization of his dream, invading the borders of the obstinate country. He still managed - through compromise and numerous concessions - to achieve recognition by the Norwegians of the union of the two powers. But due to the fault of Austria and the Bourbons who had returned to the throne of France, he had more headaches: his opponents did not recognize the Crown Prince of Sweden and tried to transfer this title to the son of the deposed Henry VI. In addition, taking advantage of the tense situation, opponents of Bernadotte became more active in Sweden itself. True, thanks to the support of Russia and Great Britain, the regent retained power, but he still had to say goodbye to Western Pomerania, which was the last possession of the country on the southern coast of the Baltic: in 1815, this territory was annexed to Prussia.
Bernadotte, who took the name Charles XIV Johan, ascended the thrones of Sweden and Norway at the age of 54, after Charles XIII died on February 5, 1818. The wife of the former regent became the Swedish Queen Desideria; however, she moved to her own country only in the 20s of the 19th century.
Actually, under Karl XIV Johan, a constitutional monarchy was established in Sweden. Bernadotte truly deserved the throne: this man gave all his considerable strength, talents and energy for the benefit of his new homeland. At the same time, he was especially concerned about pursuing an exclusively peaceful foreign policy, although within the country he established himself as a rare conservative, gravitating toward authoritarianism and restricting the civil liberties of his subjects. Perhaps he was indeed pushed to abandon radical reforms by the fear of destroying the shaky social harmony that had finally been established in the state.
But the harsh measures of the government revived the opposition, which received support in the Riksdag in the 30s of the 19th century. Those dissatisfied with the policies of Charles XIV Johan began to accuse the monarch of many sins, including even poor knowledge of the Swedish language and a hot temper. Nevertheless, the opposition’s speech did not have significant consequences: the king, using his vast political experience and personal charm, settled the conflict. To a large extent, its rapid resolution was also facilitated by the respect of Bernadotte’s subjects for his military merits.
Despite all the shortcomings of Karl Johan’s policy, the state under him became significantly stronger: the economy and industry, agriculture developed rapidly, the merchant fleet achieved great success, and the population of both countries grew significantly. By decree of the king, the Götsky Canal, impressive in its size, was built between the Baltic Sea, lakes Wennern and Vättern. In general, when the first of the Bernadotte dynasty died in 1844 at the age of 81, mourning for him in Sweden and Norway was declared not only for the sake of maintaining decency. Karl Johan was truly respected and appreciated by the citizens of both countries.
Following the death of the king, his son and heir were placed on the throne. He went down in history as Oscar I (1799–1859). This representative of the dynasty, an ardent supporter of Scandinavianism, largely continued the policies of his predecessor and, in addition, carried out a number of necessary radical reforms in the country.
The last of the Bernadottes to rule simultaneously in two states was Oscar II (1829–1907), who occupied the throne of Sweden in 1872–1907 and Norway in 1872–1905. After a coup d'état took place in Norway, the union between the powers was broken and the Bernadotte monarchy in this country was ended.
All subsequent Swedish kings of this dynasty traditionally enjoyed the completely sincere, and not ostentatious, love of their subjects. This was the case with Gustav VI Adolf (reigned 1950–1973), and with Carl XVI Gustav (born in 1946, reigned since 1973), whose slogan, by the way, was the words: “Duty comes first.” Sweden's last monarch came to the throne prematurely due to tragic circumstances. Carl Gustav's father died in a plane crash in 1943. Gustav VI Adolf, who outlived his heir by 30 years, had no more sons and therefore left the throne to his grandson.
Carl Gustav grew up as a rather shy and quiet child. The fact that the Crown Prince was ill was hidden from the public for a long time. He suffered from dyslexia (impaired reading ability). Dyslexia itself does not indicate mental retardation or low intelligence. This disease occurs as a result of changes in the anterior parts of the occipital part of the brain, which can be caused by a certain underdevelopment of this area, a tumor or a stroke. In severe cases, the patient completely loses the ability to read, and in milder cases, the patient is simply unable to read fluently. As a rule, if a child’s dyslexia is not a consequence of a serious illness, then by the age of 11–15 years it goes away without a trace.
And yet, the Bernadotte family was in no hurry to make the prince’s official diagnosis public, fearing that the Swedes would not bother to delve into the essence of the problem, but would immediately express fears that in the future the throne might go to a person with weakened intellect. However, these fears were not justified. When the subjects of Gustav Adolf learned about the condition of Karl Gustav, the boy... began to be loved even more. Over the years, as expected, dyslexia went away on its own.
The heir to the throne received the military education required for Swedish monarchs, and then became a student at the country's oldest university, located in Uppsala. And although from time to time there were reports in the press about the prince’s love interests, scandals never arose on this basis.
Carl Gustav met his future wife on August 26, 1972, at three o'clock in the afternoon. Where does this accuracy come from? It’s just that the couple’s acquaintance coincided with the opening of the Olympic Games in Munich. Then 30-year-old translator Sylvia Sommerlath was looking for her place on the podium and suddenly felt that someone was looking closely at her. Sylvia turned around and saw that the heir to the throne of Sweden, who was 26 years old at that time, was looking at her through... binoculars! And this despite the fact that the distance between the young people did not exceed two meters... They laughed almost simultaneously. In general, the future spouses missed the beginning of the ceremony.
Sylvia was born into an ordinary German family that did not have aristocratic roots. After graduating from a private school in Düsseldorf, the girl first intended to become a teacher, but then entered the Munich school of translators. According to the current royal legislation, Sylvia could in no case be considered as a contender for the place of the heir's wife. However, hardly anyone could compare with Carl Gustav in stubbornness. For almost four years, a stubborn young man, gathering his will into a fist, literally punched his way to personal happiness through the wall of public opinion, family resistance and paragraphs of laws. As a result, he overcame all obstacles and on June 19, 1976, led his beloved down the aisle. And I never seem to regret it.
For 30 years now, the royal couple has been an example of faithful and loving spouses. And, mind you, without falsehood! Over all the years of their marriage, no one managed to “unearth” anything scandalous from the personal life of the monarch and his “half.” They are still almost always together to this day.
Sylvia and Karl prefer to relax in Paris, London and New York: they do not like noise and unnecessary fuss around themselves and therefore happily wander the streets where no one knows them by sight. But at home, the royal couple tries to hide the details of their private life from outsiders, and does so very successfully.
Swedish monarchs must go to bed early and wake up early. For the queen, this is as simple as shelling pears: she is by nature a morning person. But Carl Gustav has a hard time: he is a classic “night owl” and therefore can work all night until dawn, and in the morning he is barely able to open his eyes.
The Bernadotte couple have three children: Victoria, who is the heir to the crown, Carl Philip and Madeleine (she is often called the “wild” princess for her passion for horse riding and rather harsh character). Having become an adult, Victoria received the official right to serve as head of state. However, when journalists began to show increased interest in the girl, she lost a lot of weight and began to avoid contact with the press. Because of this, a lot of rumors arose in the country: they say that the heiress received, “in addition” to the title, dyslexia, which once tormented her father, and it is unknown whether her illness will go away just as quickly and unnoticed. The Queen took her eldest daughter under her protection, declaring that she was completely healthy and just not quite ready for new responsibilities. It was decided to protect Victoria from the increased attention of the “sharks of the pen”. Therefore, the heiress went to study not at Uppsala University, as planned, but at one of the American ones. And although the girl was spotted from time to time in New York (she sometimes dined incognito with friends in some Vietnamese restaurant), the future queen prefers to avoid contact with curious people. She apparently understood her mother’s words well: “We divide our lives into official, private and very private, and I respect those who value a person’s right to privacy.”
This text is an introductory fragment.
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