The Royal House of Sweden House of Bernadotte MEDALS SET IN WOOD EXPENSIVE BOX

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House of Bernadotte
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House of Bernadotte
Arms of Bernadotte
Country
Sweden
,
Norway
Founded
1818
; 202 years ago
Founder
Charles XIV John
Current head
Carl XVI Gustaf
Final ruler
Norway:
Oscar II
Titles
King of Sweden
"By the Grace of God King of the Swedes,
the Goths
and
the Wends
"
(used until 1973)
King of Norway
(1818–1905)
"By the Grace of God King of Norway"
Estate(s)
Sweden, Norway
Deposition
Norway: 1905
Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden
The
House of Bernadotte
[a]
is the
royal house
of
Sweden
. Founded in 1818, it was also the
royal house
of
Norway
between 1818 and 1905. Its founder
Charles XIV John of Sweden
, was born in
Pau
in southern France as Jean Bernadotte. Bernadotte, who had been made a
brigadier general
for his service in the French Royal Army during the
French Revolution
, was adopted by the elderly King
Charles XIII of Sweden
, who had no other heir and whose
Holstein-Gottorp branch
of the
House of Oldenburg
thus was soon to be extinct on the Swedish throne.
Contents
1
History of the Royal House
1.1
Bernadotte
2
French origins
3
Kings of Sweden
4
Kings of Norway
5
Entire royal house
6
See also
7
Notes
8
References
9
External links
History of the Royal House
Following the conclusion of
Finnish War
in 1809, Sweden lost possession of
Finland
, which had constituted roughly the eastern half of the Swedish realm for centuries. Resentment towards King
Gustav IV Adolf
precipitated an abrupt
coup d'état
. Gustav Adolf (and his son
Gustav
) was deposed and his uncle
Charles XIII
was elected King in his place. However, Charles XIII was 61 years old and prematurely senile. He was also childless; one child had been stillborn and another died after less than a week. It was apparent almost as soon as Charles XIII ascended the throne that the Swedish branch of the House of Holstein-Gottorp would die with him. In 1810 the
Riksdag of the Estates
, the Swedish parliament, elected a
Danish
prince, Prince Christian August of Augustenborg, as heir-presumptive to the throne. He took the name
Charles August
, but died later that same year.
At this time, Emperor
Napoleon I of France
controlled much of continental Europe, and some of his
client kingdoms
were headed by his brothers. The Riksdag decided to choose a king of whom Napoleon would approve. On 21 August 1810, the Riksdag elected Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, a
Marshal of France
, as
heir presumptive
to the Swedish throne.
Charles John
, born Jean Bernadotte, King of Sweden and Norway 1818–1844
Portrait by
Fredric Westin
.
The
coat of arms
of the House of Bernadotte
dimidiates
the coat of arms of the
House of Vasa
(
heraldic right
) and the coat of arms of Bernadotte as
Prince of Pontecorvo
(
heraldic left
). It is visible as an
inescutcheon
in the
Greater Coat of Arms of the Realm
.
When elected to be Swedish royalty the new heir had been called
Prince Bernadotte
according to the promotions he received from Emperor Napoleon I, culminating in sovereignty over the
Principality of Pontecorvo
. Some Swedish experts have asserted that all of his male heirs have had the right to use that Italian title, since the Swedish government never made payments promised Charles John to get him to give up his position in Pontecorvo.
[3]
Some members of the house who lost their royal status and Swedish titles due to unapproved marriages have also been given the titles Prince Bernadotte and
Count of Wisborg
in the
nobility
of other countries.
Bernadotte
Bernadotte's arms as sovereign of Pontecorvo
Bernadotte, born in the town of
Pau
, in the province of
Béarn
,
France
, had risen to the rank of general during the
French Revolution
. In 1798, he married
Désirée Clary
, whose sister was married to
Joseph
, Napoleon's elder brother. In 1804, Napoleon promoted Bernadotte to a Marshal of France. Napoleon also granted him the title "Prince of
Pontecorvo
".
As the
Crown Prince
of Sweden, he assumed the name Charles John (
Swedish
:
Karl Johan
) and acted as regent for the remainder of Charles XIII's reign. In 1813, he broke with Napoleon and led Sweden into the anti-Napoleon alliance. When Norway was awarded to Sweden by the
Treaty of Kiel
, Norway resisted and declared independence, triggering a
brief war between Sweden and Norway
. The war ended when Bernadotte persuaded Norway to enter into a
personal union with Sweden
. Instead of being merely a Swedish province, Norway remained an independent kingdom, though sharing a common monarch and foreign policy. Bernadotte reigned as
Charles XIV John of Sweden
and Charles III John of Norway from 5 February 1818 until his death on 8 March 1844.
The House of Bernadotte reigned in both countries until the
dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden
in 1905. Prince Carl of Denmark was then elected as King
Haakon VII of Norway
. Carl was a grandson of King
Charles XV of Sweden
and a great-great-grandson of Charles XIV.
French origins
The king's mother Jeanne
Baron J. E. Bernadotte
King
Charles John
's first known paternal ancestor was Joandou du Poey, who was a shepherd. He married Germaine de Bernadotte in 1615 in the southern French city of
Pau
and began using her
surname
. Through her the couple owned a building there called
de Bernadotte
.
[4]
A grandson of theirs, Jean Bernadotte (1649–1698), was a weaver.
[5]
Another Jean Bernadotte (1683–1760), his son, was a tailor.
[6]
His son Henri Bernadotte (1711–1780) married Jeanne de Saint-Jean (1728–1809) and with her was the father of the future Swedish–Norwegian king. Henri was a local
prosecutor
, from a family of
artisans
,
[7]
who had once been imprisoned for debt.
[8]
[9]
This was a modest family which occupied only one floor of the house in a cross street in a popular and peripheral district of Pau.
[10]
Two branches of the French Bernadotte family survive. The elder descends from Andrew (
André
) Bernadotte, an older granduncle of Carl John's, with descendants today in the general population of France. The younger branch divided in two, one branch descending from the king's older brother John (
Jean Évangéliste
) Bernadotte (1754–1813), the heads of which were French
barons
as of 1810 with
Louvie
Castle
[11]
in the south of Pau as their seat (branch extinct with the death of Baron Henry Bernadotte in 1966), and the other branch being the Swedish Royal House.
[12]
Kings of Sweden
Greater Coat of Arms of Sweden
1818–1844:
Charles XIV John
1844–1859:
Oscar I
1859–1872:
Charles XV
1872–1907:
Oscar II
1907–1950:
Gustaf V
1950–1973:
Gustaf VI Adolf
1973–present:
Charles XVI Gustaf
Kings of Norway
1818–1844:
Charles III John
1844–1859:
Oscar I
1859–1872:
Charles IV
1872–1905:
Oscar II
Entire royal house
The list excludes in-laws and living persons (2019) who were royal when born but no longer are today. Royalty currently alive is listed in
italics
. All are listed primarily as Swedish royalty unless otherwise noted.
King Charles XIV John
(1763–1844) of Sweden, Charles III John of Norway
King Oscar I
(1799–1859) of Sweden and Norway
King Charles XV
(1826–1872) of Sweden, Charles IV of Norway
Prince Charles Oscar
of Sweden and Norway (1852–1854), Duke of Södermanland
Queen Louise of Denmark
(1851–1926), Princess of Sweden and Norway
Prince Gustav
of Sweden and Norway (1827–1852), Duke of Uppland
King Oscar II
(1829–1907) of Sweden and Norway
King Gustaf V
(1858–1950), né Prince of Sweden and Norway
King Gustaf VI Adolf
(1882–1973), né Prince of Sweden and Norway
Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
(1906–1947)
King Carl XVI Gustaf
(born 1946)
Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland
(b. 1977)
[
citation needed
]
Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland
(b. 2012)
[
citation needed
]
Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne
(b. 2016)
Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
(b. 1979)
Prince Alexander, Duke of Södermanland (b. 2016)
Prince Gabriel, Duke of Dalarna (b. 2017)
Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland
(b. 1982)
Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern
(b. 1937)
Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland
(1907–2002)
Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland
(1912–1997)
Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna
(1916–2012)
Queen Ingrid of Denmark
(1910–2000), Princess of Sweden
Prince Wilhelm
of Sweden and Norway (1884–1965), Duke of Södermanland
Prince Lennart, Duke of Småland
(1909–2004)
Prince Erik
of Sweden and Norway (1889–1918), Duke of Västmanland
Prince Oscar
of Sweden and Norway (1859–1953), Duke of Gotland
Prince Carl
of Sweden and Norway (1861–1951), Duke of Västergötland
Prince Carl, Duke of Östergötland
(1911–2003)
Princess Margaretha
of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1899–1977)
Crown Princess Märtha of Norway
(1901–1954), née Princess of Sweden and Norway
Queen Astrid of the Belgians
(1905–1935), Princess of Sweden
Prince Eugen
of Sweden and Norway (1865–1946), Duke of Närke
Prince August
of Sweden and Norway (1831–1873), Duke of Dalarna
Princess Eugenie of Sweden
and Norway (1830–1889)