(Redirected from Oscar I)
'Oscar I', born '''Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte''' (
July 4,
1799,
Paris–
July 8,
1859,
Stockholm), was
King of Sweden and
Norway from
1844 to his death. He was the only son of
Charles XIV John of Sweden and his wife,
Queen Desideria. When, in August
1810, Bernadotte was elected
Crown Prince of Sweden, Oscar and his mother moved from
Paris to
Stockholm (June 1811).
Upbringing
From
Charles XIII of Sweden Oscar received the title of Duke of
Södermanland. He quickly acquired the
Swedish language. By the time he reached the age of majority he had become a general favourite. His very considerable native talents were developed by an excellent
education, and he soon came to be regarded as an authority on all socio-political questions. In
1839 he wrote a series of articles on popular education, and (in
1841) an
anonymous work, "Om Straff och straffanstalter", advocating
prison reforms. Twice during his father's lifetime he was
viceroy of Norway. On
June 19,
1823 he married the princess
Josephine, daughter of
Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of
Leuchtenberg, and granddaughter of the
Empress Josephine.
Planned marriage
Oscar's father had selected four princesses as candidates for marriage, in order of his priority:
★ Vilhelmina of Denmark (born 18 January 1808), daughter of
Frederick VI of Denmark and
Marie Sophie of Hesse-Kassel (ultimately she married firstly
Frederik of Denmark, future king, and secondly
Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg)
★ Josefina of Leuchtenberg (born 14 March 1807), daughter of
Eugene, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and
Augusta of Bavaria
★ Marie of Hesse (born 6 September 1804), daughter of
William II of Hesse and Augusta of Prussia (ultimately she married
Bernard II of Saxe-Meiningen)
★
Marie of Saxe-Weimar (born 3 February 1808), daughter of
Charles Frederick of Saxe-Weimar and
Maria Pavlovna of Russia (ultimately she married
Charles of Prussia)
source: Hjalmar Lagerqvist, Sveriges drottningar
Politics
In
1824 and
1833, the Crown Prince was briefly
Viceroy of Norway. In
1838 the king began to suspect his heir of plotting with the Liberal party to bring about a change of ministry, or even his own
abdication. If Oscar did not actively assist the Opposition on this occasion, his disapprobation of his father's
despotic behaviour was notorious, though he avoided an actual rupture. Yet his
liberalism was of the most cautious and moderate character, as the Opposition, shortly after his accession (
March 8,
1844), discovered to their great chagrin. He would not hear of any radical reform of the cumbrous and obsolete
Constitution of 1809. But one of his earliest measures was to establish
freedom of the press. He also passed the first law towards
gender equality in Sweden when he in
1845 declared that brothers and sisters should have equal inheritance, unless there was a will.
He formally established equality between his two kingdoms by introducing new flags with the common
Union badge of Norway and Sweden and a new coat of arms for the union. Most of the
legislation during Oscar I's reign aimed at improving the
economic position of Sweden, and the
Riksdag of the Estates, in its address to him in
1857, declared that he had promoted the material prosperity of the kingdom more than any of his predecessors.
In
foreign affairs Oscar I was a friend of the principle of
nationality. In 1848 he supported
Denmark against the
Kingdom of Prussia in the
First War of Schleswig; placed Swedish and Norwegian troops in
cantonments in
Funen and North
Schleswig (1849-1850); and mediated the
Truce of Malmö (
August 26,
1848). He was also one of the guarantors of the integrity of Denmark (the
London protocol,
May 8,
1852).
As early as 1850 Oscar I had conceived the plan of a dynastic union of the three
Scandinavian kingdoms, but such difficulties presented themselves that the scheme had to be abandoned. He succeeded, however, in reversing his father's obsequious policy towards
Imperial Russia. His fear lest Russia should demand a stretch of coast along the
Varanger Fjord induced him to remain neutral during the
Crimean War, and, subsequently, to conclude an alliance with the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the
Second French Empire (
November 25,
1855) for preserving the territorial integrity of Scandinavia.
Children
Oscar I left four legitimate sons, of whom two, Carl and Oscar, succeeded him to the throne.
# King
Charles XV (Charles IV in Norway) (
1826-
1872)
# Prince
Gustaf, Duke of
Uppland (
1827-
1852)
# King
Oscar II (
1829-
1907)
# Princess
Eugenie (
1830-
1889)
# Prince
August, Duke of
Dalarna (
1831-
1873)
Oscar also had two children with his mistress, the actress
Emilie Högquist:
#
Hjalmar Högquist, born
June 18,
1839 in
Hamburg.
#
Max Högquist, born
August 12,
1840 in
Stockholm.
They were often more or less parodically referred to as ''The Princes of
Lappland''.
With another mistress,
Jaquette Löwenhielm (née Gyldenstolpe), Oscar had a daughter
#
Oscaria, born 1819.
Trivia
Oscar's mother was
Désirée Clary,
Napoleon Bonaparte's first fiancée. Her sister,
Julie Clary, was married to Napoleon's brother,
Joseph Bonaparte. Désirée chose Napoleon to be Oscar's godfather.
References
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