The Washington herald., 1916-05-22
YOUR WEDDING DAY
And the Famous Men and Women
Who Have Shared 1t.
May 22-Oscar | of Sweden and Jo-
sephine of Leuchenberg. Carlos of
Portugal and Emile of Orleans.
By MARY MARSHALL.

By MARY MARSHALL.
In Norway and Sweden May % stands
out as a wedding day well worth re-
membering. for 1t was just ninety-four
years ago that King Oscar l took for
his bride the beautiful Josephine. of
Leuchenberg. To admirers of the great
military genius, Napoleon Bonaparte,
this wedding has particular interest. for
1t was because of his genius that the
house Of Oscar I had come to the thorne
of the northern kingdoms and it was
also through his arrangement that the
family to which Josephine belonged had
taken their place among the royalty of
Europe
Oscar I, was the son Of Bernadotte.
who had first gained fame as one of
Napoleons marshals and in the general
upheaval consequent on the Napoleonic
campaigns had become king of Sweden.
Oscars mother was Desiree Clary, who
was quite as innocent of royal blood as
was Bernadotte.
Josephine was a daughter of Prince
Beauharnais, son OF Empress
Josephine by her first marriage, and
therefore a stepson of the great Napole-
on. The Beauharnais family as well as
the family from which Josephine came
were of comparatively humble origin.
1t was only because the destiny of
Josephine was crossed with that Of Ma
poleon that the Beauharnais family was
ever elevated to royal honors.
1t was IN 1921 that Oscar fixed his
choice on the Princess Josephine. On the
eighth OF August he visited her, and al
though the marriage had already been
arranged. he fell in love with his future
queen. He was delighted with her, and
It is recorded that Josephine was well
aware of his infatuation-whlch made
their engagement a happy one, naturally.
oscar was two years the senior of his
bride. He was born in 1873 and she was
born in 1901, so they were twenty-three
and twenty-One. respectively, at the time
Of their marriage. The princess was i
young woman of great charm and good
intellect, and she and Oscar found many
tastes in common. On the fifteenth of
November they were officially affanced,
and on the twenty-second OF the follow
Ing May the marriage occurred. II was,
like most royal marriages OF the time,
marriage by proxy. and IT was not until
July Of the following summer that Jo-
sephine made her entrance into Stock
holm. She was received with as much
enthusiasm by her husbands country
men as she had first been received ny
him. and their married life was happy
They had four sons and one daughter.
Charles. Gustav. oscar, August, and Eu-
genia.
Sixty-four years after the wedding day
of oscar Of Sweden and Josephine. Car
los !. king OF Portugal. and Emile Of
Orleans were married-on May 90, 1856
The beautiful Emile was the daughter
OF the Count of Paris. therefore a mem
Der OF the House Of Orleans, and as
truly Of royal blood as II her family still
sat on the throne of France Oscar was
striking in appearance, and fortune SEEM
ed to smile on the union OF these two.
But as everybody knows, fortune play
ed false to the royal house OF Portugal.
Carlos was assassinated, their only son,
Manuel. was deposcd. and Emile vas
left a widow and without station almost
in a day.
(Copyright 1851