Josephine of Leuchtenberg (Joséphine Maximilienne Eugénie Napoléone de Beauharnais; 14 March 1807 – 7 June 1876), also Josefina, was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 8 March 1844 to 8 July 1859 as the wife of King Oscar I. She was also Princess of Bologna from birth and Duchess of Galliera from 1813. She was regarded as politically active during the reign of her spouse and acted as his political adviser, actively participating in government affairs. She is acknowledged as having introduced more liberal laws regarding religion.
Early life Joséphine was born on 14 March 1807 in Milan, Italy. She was the first of six children of Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (1781–1824), and his wife, Princess Augusta of Bavaria (1788–1851). Her paternal grandmother and namesake was Joséphine Tascher de La Pagerie, the first wife of Napoleon; she was given the name 'Joséphine' by Napoleon's request.Robert Braun (1950). Silvertronen, En bok om drottning Josefine av Sverige-Norge. (The Silver Throne. A Book about Queen Josefine of Sweden-Norway) Stockholm: Norlin Förlag AB. (in Swedish) Her maternal grandfather was King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria.
At birth, she was given the title Princess of Bologna by Napoleon, and later she was also made Duchess of Galliera. She spent her first seven years in Italy. The family spent their days in Villa Bonaparte in Milan and at their summer residence in Monza outside Milan. In 1812, they received a visit from the former Empress Joséphine. In 1813, her father Eugène turned down the offer from his father-in-law to join the forces against Napoleon. In 1814, Augusta joined her father at his military headquarters at Mantua, where she gave birth to Théodolinde de Beauharnais, Joséphine's youngest sister. A little later, Joséphine and her siblings joined their mother in the fortress at Mantua in a procession of carriages with their courtiers. After the defeat of Napoleon that same year, her parents left for her maternal grandfather in Bavaria, and a little later, Joséphine and her siblings followed them in the company of Baron Darnay, earlier her father's secretary. Reportedly, this was a memory that stayed with Joséphine. Her father was given the title Duke of Leuchtenberg and the former principality of Eichstätt in Bavaria as a fief. Her childhood is described as happy. The family spent their summers at Eichstätt and their winters in Munich with Augusta's family.
Education Joséphine could speak French, German and Italian and studied history and geography with Professor Le Sage; botany and natural science with Professor Martinus; mathematics, physics and astronomy with Professor Siebers.
Marriage to the Crown Prince of Sweden and Norway Charles XIV John of Sweden feared the legitimist policy of the Congress of Vienna, and wished to give the House of Bernadotte connections through blood with old royal dynasties of Europe. The marriage of his son and heir to the throne, Crown Prince Oscar, was the solution to this problem, and in 1822, he finally forced his son to agree to marry and to make a trip to Europe to inspect a list of potential candidates for the position of Crown Princess and Queen. In this list, a Princess of Denmark was the first alternative; a Princess of Leuchtenberg was the second; a Princess of Hesse was the third and a Princess of Weimar was the fourth.Gunnel Becker & Kjell Blückert, red (2007). Drottning Josefina av Sverige och Norge. (Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway) Stockholm: Veritas Förlag. (Swedish) page 29 Charles XIV John had chosen Josephine of Leuchtenberg as candidate number two, because she had connections both to the old dynasties of Europe through her mother, and to the House of Bonaparte through her father, and thus, she "joined the new interests with the old", as he expressed the matter.Gunnel Becker & Kjell Blückert, red (2007). Drottning Josefina av Sverige och Norge. (Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway) Stockholm: Veritas Förlag. (Swedish) page 30
Engagement and wedding
Crown Prince Oscar declined marriage to a Danish Princess, but expressed his interest in the Princess of Leuchtenberg after his first meeting with Joséphine on 23 August 1822 in Eichstätt. The couple reportedly developed a mutual attraction and fell in love when they saw each other, and therefore, the marriage was accepted by both families and duly arranged. Joséphine took lessons in the Swedish language and corresponded with Oscar until the wedding. Her father was reportedly not against her conversion to Lutheranism, but the Swedish representatives had apparently thought it necessary to offer her the option to keep her religion.Gunnel Becker & Kjell Blückert, red (2007). Drottning Josefina av Sverige och Norge. (Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway) Stockholm: Veritas Förlag. (Swedish)page 309 Although she was a devout Catholic, she agreed to raise her children in the Lutheran religion. She brought a Catholic priest, and regularly attended mass and confession in her private Catholic chapel. The Pope had given his consent to this. In Sweden, the law of 1781, Toleransediktet, declared freedom of religion for foreigners and immigrants, and Joséphine, as well as her mother-in-law Désirée, could be regarded as such.Gunnel Becker & Kjell Blückert, red (2007). Drottning Josefina av Sverige och Norge. (Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway) Stockholm: Veritas Förlag. (Swedish) For Swedes, however, the conversion from the Lutheran Church to another religion formally meant confiscation of property and banishment from the country. The situation in Norway was similar. The Lutheran clergy was against the match, but the King had his way.
Princess Joséphine married the Crown Prince by proxy at the Palais Leuchtenberg in Munich on 22 May 1823. They also conducted a wedding ceremony in person on 19 June 1823 in Stockholm, Sweden. The first wedding ceremony was Catholic, and the second wedding ceremony was Lutheran. Through her mother (her maternal line of Hesse and upward through Hanau and Ansbach, Baden-Durlach and Kleeburg), Joséphine was a descendant of Charles IX of Sweden through a sister of Charles X Gustav of Sweden, making her children descendants of Gustav Vasa. Through her maternal grandfather, Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, she was also one of the descendants of Renata of Lorraine, granddaughter of Christian II of Denmark.
Josephine arrived in Sweden in the company of her mother-in-law, Queen Desideria, who had been absent for eleven years. They arrived in Manilla outside Stockholm 13 June 1823, where they were welcomed by King Charles XIV John, Crown Prince Oscar, military salutes and great crowds, and escorted to Haga Palace, where Josephine was embraced by Princess Sophia Albertina, Abbess of Quedlinburg. The second wedding ceremony took place six days later. Six days after her arrival in Sweden, her middle name 'Napoléonne' was removed. This was because Sweden had fought against Bonaparte in the recent war. She had brought with her several pieces of exclusive jewelry made in Paris for her paternal grandmother, which are still among the possessions of the Royal Houses of Sweden, Denmark and Norway (via Louise and Märtha of Sweden). In Sweden, she was known by the Swedish version of her name: Josefina. In her retinue, she brought with her Bertha Zück, who she made her treasurer, and her Catholic confessor Jacob Lorenz Studach: until their death, they enjoyed such a close relationship that they were referred to as "The Trio". Josephine was escorted to Sweden by a temporary lady-in-waiting, Countess Aurora Wilhelmina Brahe, but once arrived, Countess Elisabet Charlotta Piper and, from 1836, Countess Charlotta Skjöldebrand served as her Överhovmästarinna or senior lady-in-waiting.
Crown Princess
Josephine was a social success in Sweden from the moment of her arrival, both as a private person in the circles of high society as well as a public person, and was to become more popular as Queen than her predecessor and successor. Already as Crown Princess, she was able to play the representational part that her mother-in-law was not able to fulfill, and she played a great role in making the new dynasty popular in Sweden. In the summer of 1824, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess visited Christiania in Norway, where they engaged in many public appearances to make the monarchy popular. Oscar had been given the task of temporary Viceroy during his visit, and Josephine was present in a box when he appeared before the Storting. After this, they made a trip through Sweden to present her to the public. She was described as charming, beautiful and dignified, and she was also regarded as gifted: she impressed by being able to speak the Swedish language almost fluently at her arrival. At a ball in 1838 Fritz von Dardel described her: "As for the Crown Princess, she was beautiful and dignified, perhaps too thin but very intelligent and quite delightful toward all. No one has anything to reproach her for other than for her Catholic religion."
Her relationship to her father-in-law was very warm. The King treated her with great affection and, for example, used to hide sweets in his pockets, which she searched through and, at one occasion, found a jewel hidden in a sweet.Gunnel Becker & Kjell Blückert, red (2007). Drottning Josefina av Sverige och Norge. (Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway) Stockholm: Veritas Förlag. (Swedish) page 42 On 21 August 1823, Charles XIV John declared that this day, the same date he had been elected Crown Prince, should be the name day for Josephine, and henceforth be celebrated as Josephine-Day. The first such celebration took place that day at Drottningholm Palace, and Josephine Day was celebrated in Sweden for decades after that: it became a tradition for the public in Stockholm to travel to Drottningholm Palace at that day, where festivities had been arranged for them, and cheer for Josephine, who greeted them from a balcony. Her relationship with her mother-in-law, however, was somewhat tense during the first years, as Queen Désirée reportedly felt neglected by her spouse, and that her place as a Queen was overshadowed by Josephine's popularity.Gunnel Becker & Kjell Blückert, red (2007). Drottning Josefina av Sverige och Norge. (Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway) Stockholm: Veritas Förlag. (Swedish) page 42 After the initial years, however, the relationship between Josephine and Désirée became more friendly and harmonious.