Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 5 February 1818 to 8 March 1844 as the wife of King Charles XIV John. Charles John was a French general and founder of the House of Bernadotte. Désirée Clary, the mother of Oscar I, was the one-time fiancée of Napoleon Bonaparte. Her name was officially changed in Sweden to Desideria although she did not use that name.
Portrait, 1830
An early portrait by Robert Lefèvre
Désirée Clary by François Gérard (1810)
Queen Julie of Spain and her sister Désirée, Princess Bernadotte of Pontecorvo, as painted by Robert Lefèvre in 1810
Charles XIV John was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 until his death in 1844 and the first monarch of the Bernadotte dynasty. In Norway, he is known as Charles III John and before he became royalty in Sweden, his name was Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte. During the Napoleonic Wars, he participated in several battles as a Marshal of France.
Charles XIV John, c. 1840
Bernadotte's birthplace in Pau, France
Bernadotte during the French Revolution
Bust of a young Bernadotte at the Bernadotte Museum in Pau, France