Josephine of Leuchtenberg

Born Princess of Bologna on 14 March 1807, Joséphine Maximilienne Eugénie Napoléone de Beauharnais became Duchess of Galliera at six. She married the future Oscar I and rose to queen consort on 8 March 1844. While he wore the crown, she worked the levers: advising on government affairs, shaping policy, pushing Sweden and Norway toward religious tolerance at a time when the state still held faith in an iron grip. Her reign ended 8 July 1859. She died seventeen years later, on 7 June 1876.