In 1810, Bernadotte was unexpectedly elected the heir-presumptive (Crown Prince) to the childless King Charles XIII of Sweden, thanks to the advocacy of Baron Carl Otto Mörner, a Swedish courtier and obscure member of the Riksdag of the Estates.

[7] He was the son of Jean Henri Bernadotte (1711–1780), prosecutor at Pau, and his wife (married at Boeil, 20 February 1754) Jeanne de Saint-Jean (1728–1809), niece of the lay abbot of Sireix.

[17] Bernadotte played key roles throughout the next 18 months during the three French invasions into Germany; often employed in the place of honor during offensives leading the vanguard, and in retreat as a defensive specialist commanding the rearguard.

[30] In 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte proposed that Bernadotte head to New France to serve as governor of Louisiana, which was to be transferred back to French control following the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso.

Bernadotte extended his protection, and made private contributions to, Gottingen University, befriending many of the professors and other men of learning whom he often had over for dinner and employed to tutor himself and his wife.

[34][citation not found][35] Bernadotte, with Davout's III Corps attached to his command, and the Bavarians, gained a victory over the Austrians driving them out of Munich on 12 October, taking some 3000 prisoners and 19 guns and installing Maximillian Joseph back onto his throne.

[37][citation not found] In the Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805) he was posted with his corps in the center between Soult and Lannes, and contributed to defeating the attempt of the right wing of the allies to outflank the French army.

[43] He later was accused of deliberately refusing to support Davout, who had unexpectedly encountered the Prussian main army at Auerstädt, out of jealousy, and Napoleon, if reminiscences from St. Helena may be believed, once intended to put Bernadotte before a court-martial.

[48][39] After the Battle of Jena, Bernadotte crushed the Prussian Reserve Army, all fresh troops fortified behind a marsh and the River Saale, under Duke Eugen of Württemberg at Halle (17 October 1806), though Imperial Headquarters did not much appreciate this victory.

[20] During the battle Bernadotte's personal wagon was captured by the Russians and he was accused, by the Cossacks who looted his baggage, of having extorted a large quantity of silver plate from minor German states.

[56][57] He held his troops to the same high standard; he punished looting and rape severely, and was known to intervene with his sword drawn against those engaged in pillaging, as was the case following the capture of Lübeck.

[58] The Russians resumed the offensive that summer and Bernadotte was attacked by, and defeated, a strong Prussian Corps at Spanden, preserving the French bridgehead over the Pasłęka, where he was nearly killed when a spent ball struck him in the neck.

[60] He was to direct the expedition against Sweden, via the Danish islands, but the plan came to naught because of the want of transports and the defection of the Spanish contingent, which went back to Spain to fight against Napoleon at the start of the Peninsular War.

[61] During Bernadotte's time as governor of the Hanseatic cities, the Abdications of Bayonne occurred, an event that triggered the Peninsular War that would play so large a role in Napoleon's defeat.

[67] After the battle, Bernadotte complained to Napoleon for having, in violation of all military rules, ordered Dupas to act independently of his command, and for having thereby caused great loss of life to the Saxons, and tendered his resignation.

He re-organized and trained his forces, named by the Emperor as the Army of Antwerp, by instilling discipline in old soldiers too long at the depots and teaching raw conscripts their trade.

Baron Lagerbielke, the Swedish envoy in Paris, reported to Stockholm that Eugène was "gentle and good," "but he does not seem to be a man of strong character; and, although he had had great opportunities, he does not appear to have developed any distinguishing talents."

One benefit was his (presumed) close ties to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte,[81] with whom a relationship would provide military backing as the intention at the time was to reacquire Finland.

Yes, Gentlemen, peace is the only glorious aim of a sage and enlightened government: it is not the extent of a state which constitutes its strength and independence; it is its laws, its commerce, its industry, and above all, its national spirit.” The new Crown Prince was very soon the most popular and most powerful man in Sweden and quickly impressed his adoptive father.

Under Gustav IV Adolf genuine attempts at economic reform, including paying down the national debt by some 700,000 Riksdalers in the first years of his active reign, and revitalizing the currency, met with limited success.

Charles John immediately began making reforms, and used his sizable fortune, accrued honestly during his time as French Marshal, to pay off much of the debt, and to stabilize the economy by both grants and via a loan to the state of £300,000 sterling at five percent interest.

[91] The keynote of his foreign and domestic policy was maintenance of Swedish independence of action, often in the face of French demands, and the acquisition of Norway as a compensation for the loss of Finland.

He tried to divert public opinion from Finland to Norway, by arguing that to create a compact peninsula, with sea for its natural boundary, was to inaugurate an era of peace, and that waging war with Russia would lead to ruinous consequences.

[97] Officially, the French claimed that Sweden had repeatedly violated the Continental System and that the occupation of Stralsund and Swedish Pomerania was closing an entrepôt for illegal British goods.

Throughout summer and fall 1812, Bernadotte sought to add more allies to the Coalition, and negotiated a treaty with the Spanish Supreme Central Junta against his own brother-in-law who was currently the French-backed King of Spain.

[114] "Separated as we are from the rest of Europe, our policy, as well as our interest, will make us carefully abstain from mixing in any discussion foreign to the two people of Scandinavia; but my duty and your dignity will always be the rule of our conduct, and both one and the other prescribe to us never to permit interference in our internal affairs."

The foreign policy applied by Charles John in the post-Napoleonic era was characterized by the maintenance of balance between the Great Powers and non-involvement into conflicts that took place outside of the Scandinavian peninsula.

[116] It made a sharp contrast with Sweden's previous hegemonic expansionism resulting in uninterrupted wars with neighboring countries for centuries, and he successfully kept his kingdoms in a state of peace from 1814 until his death.

[111] Charles John's difficult relationship with Norway was also demonstrated by the Storting's unwillingness to grant funds for the construction of a Royal Palace in the Norwegian capital Oslo.

The tattoo is finally revealed to read Vive la république ("Long live the Republic") and a Phrygian cap: a highly ironic image and text for the skin of a king.