Bernadotte

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Template:House of Bernadotte

The House of Bernadotte, the current Royal House of the Kingdom of Sweden, has reigned since 1818. Between 1818 and 1905 it was also the Royal House of Norway.

Following the Finnish War in 1809, Sweden suffered the traumatic loss of Finland, which had constituted the eastern half of the Swedish realm. The agony and resentment towards King Gustav IV Adolf precipitated a coup d'état and Gustav Adolf's uncle, the childless Charles XIII replaced him. This was merely a temporary solution and in 1810 the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates chose the Marshal of France, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte as heir apparent to the Swedish throne.

Bernadotte, who was born in the town of Pau, in the province of Béarn, France, had through the tumultuous French Revolution risen to become not only one of Napoleon's generals, but also a Marshal of France and Prince of Ponte Corvo, a town in southern Italy. He was also the brother-in-law of Napoleon's brother, Joseph.

Perhaps Napoleon's most treacherous Marshall, he survived execution for gross incompetence and willfull neglect of duty on a nember of occasions, most probably because his wife Desiree was a former lover of the Emperor, who maintained a sentimental attachment to her. As a former Jacobin, Bernadotte once had 'Death to all Kings' tatooed on his arm, but such changes of stripes were not unusual for him. His hatred for Napoleon and love of money and power were probably the only constants in his life.

As the Crown Prince of Sweden he assumed the name Charles John (Karl Johan), acted officially as regent for the remainder of Charles XIII's reign and secured a forced union between Sweden and Norway in the1814 Campaign against Norway. Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte reigned as King Charles XIV of Sweden and Carl III Johan of Norway from February 5, 1818 until his death on March 8, 1844.

The coat of arms of the House of Bernadotte combines the coat of arms of the House of Vasa, (left, with the hint of a French-like tricolour in the background) and the coat of arms of Bernadotte as the Prince of Ponte Corvo (right). It is visible as an inescutcheon in the Greater Coats of Arms of the Realm.

Image:Carl XIV Johan.jpg

Contents

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Kings of Sweden

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Kings of Norway

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Family tree (only royal parts)

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See also

Preceded by:
The House of
Holstein-Gottorp 		List of Swedish monarchs Succeeded by:
Still reigning
List of Norwegian monarchs Succeeded by:
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
cs:Bernadotte

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