On the 2nd of November Bernadotte made his solemn entry into Stockholm,
and on the 5th he received the homage of the estates and was adopted by
Charles XIII. under the name of Charles John. The new crown-prince was
very soon the most popular and the most powerful man in Sweden. The
infirmity of the old king and the dissensions in the council of state
placed the government, and especially the control of foreign affairs,
entirely in his hands. The keynote of his whole policy was the
acquisition of Norway, a policy which led him into many tortuous ways
(see SWEDEN: _History_), and made him a very tricky ally during the
struggle with Napoleon in 1813. Great Britain and Prussia very properly
insisted that Charles John's first duty was to them, the former power
rigorously protesting against the expenditure of her subsidies on the
nefarious Norwegian adventure before the common enemy had been crushed.
After the defeats of Lutzen and Bautzen, it was the Swedish crown-prince
who put fresh heart into the allies; and at the conference of
Trachenberg he drew up the general plan for the campaign which began
after the expiration of the truce of Plaswitz. Though undoubtedly
sparing his Swedes unduly, to the just displeasure of the allies,
Charles John, as commander-in-chief of the northern army, successfully
defended the approaches to Berlin against Oudinot in August and against
Ney in September; but after Leipzig he went his own way, determined at
all hazards to cripple Denmark and secure Norway. For the events which
led to the union of Norway and Sweden, see SWEDEN: _History_ and NORWAY:
_History_. As unional king, Charles XIV. (who succeeded to that title in
1818 on the death of Charles XIII.) was popular in both countries.
Though his ultra-conservative views were detested, and as far as
possible opposed (especially after 1823), his dynasty was never in
serious danger, and Swedes and Norsemen alike were proud of a monarch
with a European reputation. It is true that the _Riksdag_ of 1840
meditated compelling him to abdicate, but the storm blew over and his
jubilee was celebrated with great enthusiasm in 1843. He died at
Stockholm on the 8th of March 1844. His reign was one of uninterrupted
peace, and the great material development of the two kingdoms during the
first half of the 19th century was largely due to his energy and
foresight.

See J.E. Sars, _Norges politiske historia_ (Christiania, 1899); Yngvar
Nielsen, _Carl Joha