Josephine of Leuchtenberg - Crown Princess

Crown Princess

Six days after her arrival in Sweden, her middle name Napoléonne was removed. This was because Sweden had fought against Bonaparte in the recent war. She had brought with her several pieces of exclusive jewellery made in Paris for her paternal grandmother, which are still among the possessions of the Royal Houses of Sweden and Norway (via Queen Louise of Denmark, née Princess of Sweden and Norway and also via Crown Princess Märtha of Norway, née Princess of Sweden and Norway). In Sweden, she was known by the Swedish version of her name: Josefina.

Joséphine was interested in gardening, enjoyed painting, and was involved in charity and reforms in Sweden. Her interest in art was active and genuine; she greatly supported the career of the painter Sofia Adlersparre, tried to do the same for the sculptor Helena Sophia Isberg, and also encouraged the artistic interest and talent of her own daughter, Princess Eugénie, who became a talented amateur artist. She was also involved in a several social projects; at her arrival in Sweden, she became friends with Princess Sophia Albertine of Sweden, who introduced her to this work.

In 1824, the Crown Prince couple visited Norway and stayed in Oslo, where they engaged in much representation to make the monarchy popular. Already as a crown princess she was involved in politics as a mediator between her husband and her father-in-law.

Although she was a devout Catholic, she agreed to raise her children in the Lutheran religion. She brought a Catholic priest, and regularly attended mass and confession in her private Catholic chapel. The Pope had given his consent to this. The Lutheran clergy was against the match: although Queen Désirée Clary was Catholic, she lived abroad, and the king had his way. Oscar and Josephine had five children, of whom two were to become kings of Sweden and Norway.

Her marriage was a happy one; she and her husband shared an interest in culture and had similar personalities. In 1832, she wrote in her diary that a woman was expected to endure a husband's extramartial affairs: A woman should suffer in silence. Her husband's affair with the famed actress Emilie Högquist was well known. Josefina and her husband continued to appear together in public. Her husband discontinued his extramartial affairs when he ascended to the throne in 1844.

In her charity, Josefina, though deeply religious, believed that it was the task not of religion, but of the state, to provide welfare, and she did not mix the two. She was, however, also active as a Catholic; in 1837, she had a church built for the Catholic congregation of Stockholm, the first one since the Reformation, and she also founded Catholic churches in Gothenburg and Oslo.