In 1814, Augusta joined her father at his military headquarters at Mantua, where she gave birth to Théodolinde de Beauharnais, Joséphine's youngest sister.

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.

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.

[2] 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.

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.

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.

[5] For Swedes, however, the conversion from the Lutheran Church to another religion formally meant confiscation of property and banishment from the country.

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.

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.

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".

The relationship between Josephine and Oscar was initially described as a mutually happy one, and the couple shared their interests in culture, painting, writing and singing.

Their private conferences were witnessed by the curious court, who could sometimes observe them discussing the matter in the palace garden out of hearing range.

In her correspondence with her aunt, the Prussian queen Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, it is evident that she actively negotiated for peace in the First Schleswig War of 1848.

The result was that Prussia had Count Albert von Pourtalès sent to Sweden to enter in peace negotiations with Josephine personally.

Her contact with Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie of the French is regarded to have been of certain importance during the 1850s European crisis.

She was pointed out, among others by her son, Charles, to have been responsible for the November treaty between Sweden-Norway, France and Great Britain against Russian expansionism in 1855.

Josephine is thought to have been the instigator of the laws providing equal inheritance for men and women in 1845, reforms in the prisons and social care, and the abolition of the guilds in 1846.

With the exception of suspicion in the religious question, however, Josephine's involvement in politics does not appear to have been ill-regarded, but rather she was considered as a good influence.

Her religion combined with her reputed political activity caused rumours that she exerted undue influence in regards to religious issues.

By the 1840s, there was an intense political debate about freedom of religion, which in parallel caused more anti-Catholicism in a country where the attitude had previously been indifferent, and this exposed Josephine more or less direct attacks in the press.

Charles, who was anti-Catholic, worked against his mother's plans, and used the help of people such as the vicar Nils Johan Ekdahl, who belonged to the opponents of the Queen because of her religion and political influence.

However, by that time, that old law was considered to shame the reputation of Sweden and the banishment a scandal, and in 1860, Charles saw himself obliged to finally introduce freedom of religion.

The year of 1852 has been described as hard for her: in the company of her husband, daughter Princess Eugénie and son Prince Gustaf, Duke of Uppland, she visited her mother on her death bed in Bavaria.

Charles never forgave Josephine for separating him from Sparre, and further more, it also caused him to be strongly anti-Catholic, because he blamed his mother's decision on her Catholic confessor Jacob Lorenz Studach.

Mathilda d'Orozco described this view in a contemporary letter where she defended the queen against it: "She is pushing the King, it is said, the poor thing, to make him greet people, when they are out.

As queen dowager, she lost all political influence and devoted herself to her charitable activities and her interest in the Catholic congregation and its issues.

[1]: 246  Queen Dowager Josephine was known for acting as nurse during illness in the family, and her relationship with Charles improved in his last years, when his health deteriorated and he became a Freemason and thereafter saw fewer differences in Catholicism and Protestantism.

Upon the death of Jacob Lorenz Studach in 1873, Josephine negotiated with the Pope about who would be the most suitable replacement for missionary Bishop of the Catholic Church in Scandinavia.

On 22 May 1875 she reached Rome after Berlin, Munich and Innsbruck, and received King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, and was guided by him through town.

[1]: 282  3 June 1875, Josephine was given communion by the Pope followed by a public dinner, alongside her niece Princess Mathilde Viano and her maid of honor Rosalie Muffat, who was the first non-royal woman to have done both.