You jest but the current line of monarchs of Sweden was a guy who basically fumbled his way upward. He was a mediocre marshall under Napoleon, whom after the battle of Austerlitz got a princedom from him.
Then Sweden list their only heir presumptive for the throne. Due to the lobbying of a single Baron Jean Bernadotte became king of Sweden.
He is the only Napoleonic related person who has a lasting legacy the European upper class.
I was aware, he never actually misrepresented himself at all, but was simply in the right place at the right time, and knew the right people. He also got elected to be the heir to the Swedish Throne, so had to convince a bunch of other stuffy inbred nobles that he looked good in a robe, which needed a bit of political savvy.
He put in more work to become a Crown Prince than all the others, who simply came out of the right vagina.
Oh yeah, absolutely. More competent as king than as Marshall tbh. The fact that his story is so rare says a lot about the misguided system that is the monarchy.
It also says a lot that the first thing he did was to turn on his former emperor. Prime ‘fuck you, got mine’ mindset.
The fact that his story is so rare says a lot about the misguided system that is the monarchy.
It only happened because the prior King was unable to produce an heir through the normal methods. (Refreshing my memory from Bernadotte’s Wikipedia entry, it was kind of tragic; two of the King’s children died young, a third adopted child died early also, and apparently this King wasn’t willing to trade in his Queen for a younger model…)
But the fundamental issue with hereditary Monarchy is that it makes the assumption that if a great King unites a people under his iron fists, his direct descendants will be great too. (And the firstborn, to boot).
So it will be interesting to observe the dynamic going in Rome in the next few weeks. Aside from the religious implications, the Vatican is it’s own country, with an Absolute Monarch who is elected by the nobles every time it needs a new one. But since the Church’s nobles are celibate (at least officially, winks at camera), they cannot rely on heredity at all so they are all appointed directly by the monarch. Coupled with an age limit on voting, it means that the last pope has personally installed a majority of the Cardinals who will name his successor. They will elect a man who they will agree to be totally subservient to once elected…
I’m surprised he hasn’t claimed diplomatic immunity, as heir to the Swedish Throne
You jest but the current line of monarchs of Sweden was a guy who basically fumbled his way upward. He was a mediocre marshall under Napoleon, whom after the battle of Austerlitz got a princedom from him.
Then Sweden list their only heir presumptive for the throne. Due to the lobbying of a single Baron Jean Bernadotte became king of Sweden.
He is the only Napoleonic related person who has a lasting legacy the European upper class.
It’s almost a Soros story, but in real life
I was aware, he never actually misrepresented himself at all, but was simply in the right place at the right time, and knew the right people. He also got elected to be the heir to the Swedish Throne, so had to convince a bunch of other stuffy inbred nobles that he looked good in a robe, which needed a bit of political savvy.
He put in more work to become a Crown Prince than all the others, who simply came out of the right vagina.
Oh yeah, absolutely. More competent as king than as Marshall tbh. The fact that his story is so rare says a lot about the misguided system that is the monarchy.
It also says a lot that the first thing he did was to turn on his former emperor. Prime ‘fuck you, got mine’ mindset.
It only happened because the prior King was unable to produce an heir through the normal methods. (Refreshing my memory from Bernadotte’s Wikipedia entry, it was kind of tragic; two of the King’s children died young, a third adopted child died early also, and apparently this King wasn’t willing to trade in his Queen for a younger model…)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_XIV_John
But the fundamental issue with hereditary Monarchy is that it makes the assumption that if a great King unites a people under his iron fists, his direct descendants will be great too. (And the firstborn, to boot).
So it will be interesting to observe the dynamic going in Rome in the next few weeks. Aside from the religious implications, the Vatican is it’s own country, with an Absolute Monarch who is elected by the nobles every time it needs a new one. But since the Church’s nobles are celibate (at least officially, winks at camera), they cannot rely on heredity at all so they are all appointed directly by the monarch. Coupled with an age limit on voting, it means that the last pope has personally installed a majority of the Cardinals who will name his successor. They will elect a man who they will agree to be totally subservient to once elected…