Queen Désirée of Sweden and Norway, Bernhardine Eugenie Désirée Clary (November 8, 1777 - December 17, 1860) was the wife of King Charles XIV of Sweden, where she was widely known as Queen Desideria.
She was born in Marseille, the daughter of François Clary (1725-1794), a wealthy soap manufacturer and merchant, and his wife Françoise Rose Somis (1737-1815). Her sister, Julie Clary, married Joseph Bonaparte, and so later became Queen of Naples and Spain.
On 17 August 1798, at Sceaux, Désirée married Marshal Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, who was made heir to the Swedish throne in 1810 and, after successful warfare led by himself, to the Norwegian in 1814. The couple became King and Queen in 1818.
They had only one child, Oscar, who eventually became King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway(1799-1844).
Queen Désirée never became very accustomed to the Swedish ways or to the climate. For long periods, especially before 1823, she was living in Paris apart from her family. She died at Stockholm.
References
- Désirée Clary d'après sa correspondance inédite avec Bonaparte, Bernadotte et sa famille, Gabriel Girod de l'Ain, Paris: Hachette (1959).
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