The House of Bernadotte is the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pa ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

since its foundation there in 1818. It was also the

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

between 1818 and 1905. Its founder,

Charles XIV John of Sweden sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...

, was born in Pau in southern France as Jean Bernadotte. Bernadotte, who had been made a General of Division and Minister of War for his service in the French Army during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, and Marshal of the French Empire and Prince of Ponte Corvo under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, was adopted by the elderly King

Charles XIII of Sweden Charles XIII, or Carl XIII ( sv, Karl XIII, 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818), was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of S ...

, 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.

History of the house

Following the conclusion of the

Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a re ...

in 1809, Sweden lost possession of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, 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 A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

''. 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 Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

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 Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

, as

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

to the Swedish throne. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the House of Bernadotte impales the coat of arms of the

House of Vasa The House of Vasa or Wasa Georg Starbäck in ''Berättelser ur Sweriges Medeltid, Tredje Bandet'' pp 264, 275, 278, 291–296 & 321 ( sv, Vasaätten, pl, Wazowie, lt, Vazos) was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its memb ...

(''heraldic right'') and the coat of arms of Bernadotte as

Prince of Pontecorvo The Principality of Pontecorvo was a principality in Italy created by Napoleon after he became King of Italy in 1805. It consisted of the Italian commune of Pontecorvo, an exclave of the Papal States from 1463 within the territory of the Ki ...

(''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. 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 Count of Wisborg (french: Comte de Wisborg; ; german: Graf von Wisborg) is a title granted by the monarchs of Luxembourg to some men formerly titled as princes of Sweden and their descendants. Since 1892, the title has been borne by the male-lin ...

in the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

of other countries.

Bernadotte

Bernadotte, born in the town of Pau, in the province of

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three B ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, had risen to the rank of general during the

. In 1798, he married Désirée Clary, whose sister was married to

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

, 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 A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the w ...

of Sweden, he assumed the name Charles John ( sv, 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 The Treaty of Kiel ( da, Kieltraktaten) or Peace of Kiel ( Swedish and no, Kielfreden or ') was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on t ...

, 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

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 Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick V ...

. Carl was a grandson of King

Charles XV of Sweden Charles XV also Carl (''Carl Ludvig Eugen''); Swedish: ''Karl XV'' and Norwegian: ''Karl IV'' (3 May 1826 – 18 September 1872) was King of Sweden (''Charles XV'') and Norway, there often referred to accurately as Charles IV, from 1859 until h ...

and a great-great-grandson of Charles XIV.

French origins

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 In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. Through her the couple owned a building there called ''de Bernadotte''. A grandson of theirs, Jean Bernadotte (1649–1698), was a weaver. Another Jean Bernadotte (1683–1760), his son, was a tailor. 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 A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

, from a family of

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

s, who had once been imprisoned for debt. 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. 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

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...

s as of 1810 with Louvie Castle 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.''Bulletin du Musée Bernadotte'' charts on ancestry

Kings of Sweden

*1818–1844: Charles XIV John *1844–1859: Oscar I *1859–1872:

Charles XV Charles XV also Carl (''Carl Ludvig Eugen''); Swedish: ''Karl XV'' and Norwegian: ''Karl IV'' (3 May 1826 – 18 September 1872) was King of Sweden (''Charles XV'') and Norway, there often referred to as Charles IV, from 8 July 1859 until his ...

*1872–1907: Oscar II *1907–1950: Gustaf V *1950–1973: Gustaf VI Adolf *1973–present:

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, D ...

Kings of Norway

*1818–1844: Charles III John *1844–1859: Oscar I *1859–1872: Charles IV *1872–1905: Oscar II

Entire royal house

This is a list only of the royal house, not of the royal whole family. It excludes in-laws and living persons (2022) who were royal, that is members of the royal house, when they were born but no longer are that 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 Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norwe ...

(1829–1907) of Sweden and Norway **** King Gustaf V (1858–1950), né Prince of Sweden and Norway *****

King Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf Ado ...

(1882–1973), né Prince of Sweden and Norway ******

Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (Gustaf Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund; 22 April 1906 – 26 January 1947) was a Swedish prince, who for most of his life was second in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. He was the eldest ...

(1906–1947) *******'' King Carl XVI Gustaf (born 1946)'' ********'' Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland (b. 1977)'' *********'' Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland (b. 2012)'' *********'' Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne (b. 2016)'' ********'' Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland (b. 1979)'' ********'' 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 Ingrid of Sweden (born: Princess Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta of Sweden; 28 March 1910 – 7 November 2000) was Queen of Denmark from 1947 until 1972 as the wife of King Frederick IX. Born into the House of Bernadotte, she was the daug ...

(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)

Notes

References

* Jean-Marc Olivier, "Bernadotte Revisited, or The Complexity of a Long Reign (1810–1844)", in ''Nordic Historical Review'', number 2, October 2006, pp. 127–137.

External links

*
The Bernadotte dynasty family tree on Kindo

The Bernadottes in Black and White
, photos from an exhibition at the

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum (or National Museum of Fine Arts) is the national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretches far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, the nationalmuseum manage ...

, Stockholm. , - , - {{Authority control France–Sweden relations 1818 establishments in Sweden