November 2 In Swedish History

In 1810 the new Crown Prince, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, later crowned Carl XIV Johan of Sweden arrives in Stockholm. 

  • On November 2 in 1810 Frenchman Jean Baptiste Bernadotte makes his entry to Stockholm as the new Swedish Crown Prince (he was crowned September 7, 1818).

  • November 2 In Swedish History
    1810: Jean Baptiste Bernadotte (1763-1844) makes his entry to Stockholm as the new Swedish Crown Prince (later on when crowned he became Carl XIV Johan of Sweden).

  • The much later coronation of general Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as king Karl III Johan of Norway (1818) Painting by Johan Munch (1776 - 1839);

  • Born Jean Bernadotte in Pau, France, he was the son of a procurator. The family name was originally de Pouey, but was changed to Bernadotte, a surname of an ancestress - at the beginning of the 17th century. In August 1798, Bernadotte married Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary in Sceaux. She had previously been engaged to Napoleon. The couple had only one son, later to be known as Oscar I of Sweden and Norway. Bernadotte joined the army as a private, and following the outbreak of the French Revolution, his eminent military qualities brought him speedy promotion. While pursuing the remains of the Prussian army after the battle, Bernadotte made contacts with Swedes taken prisoner at Lübeck. This proved to be an important step, since on August 21, 1810, undoubtedly because of the relations he had formed with the prisoners, he was elected crown prince of Sweden by the Örebro Riksdag of the Estates.

  • The Swedes hoped to have a ruler who would have Napoleon's approval. The Emperor did not support Bernadotte but did not oppose him either. The new prince himself "became" completely Swedish: he renounced Catholicism and took the affairs of the kingdom to heart. On his 81st birthday, King Karl Johan was found unconscious in his chambers after having suffered a stroke. Though he regained consciousness, he never really recovered and died on March 8th 1844. His remains were interred after a state funeral in Stockholm’s Riddarholm Church. The dynasty he founded still reigns in Sweden.
    News brief regarding the present dynasty and the Royal Court: The rich king with a 'poor' royal court