"Born in Pau in southern France, Bernadotte joined the French Royal Army in 1780. Following the outbreak of the French Revolution, he exhibited great military talent, rapidly rising through the ranks and was made a brigadier general by 1794. In 1810, Bernadotte was unexpectedly elected the heir-presumptive 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."
"Upon the death of Charles XIII in 1818, Charles John ascended to the throne as the first monarch from the House of Bernadotte. He presided over a period of peace and prosperity, and reigned until his death in 1844."