Producer

Leopold Hoesch

Direction

Julia Melchior

Producer

n/a

Genre

Dynasties

Transmitter

ZDF

Length

1 x 45'

Editor

Year

2016

Royal dynasties

The Bernadottes

While many dynasties have had to relinquish their crown, one family has held on to the throne for two hundred years: the Bernadottes in Sweden.
They enjoy great popularity, also thanks to the "commoners" who have married into the royal family and are widely regarded as an enrichment: Silvia Sommerlath, Daniel Westling or Sofia Hellqvist.
The founder of the dynasty was also a commoner: Jean Baptiste Bernadotte from Pau in the south of France.
"Death to kings", this slogan is said to have been emblazoned on his upper arm as a tattoo when he was still fighting the monarchy during the French Revolution.
At the time, the impetuous Frenchman had no idea that he would one day be chosen as King of Sweden.
Twenty years later, when Sweden's monarchy was facing a succession problem and Napoleon was calling the tune in Europe, the Swedes saw him as a wise choice for Stockholm's throne.
Napoleon's warhorse brought peace to Sweden and established the policy of peace and neutrality that still characterizes the country today.

Folke Bernadotte, the great-grandfather and godfather of today's King Carl Gustaf, made a name for himself as an ambassador for peace.
As Vice President of the Swedish Red Cross, he negotiated the release of thousands of concentration camp prisoners with Heinrich Himmler.
In 1948, the United Nations appointed him the first UN mediator and sent him to the Middle East to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian question.
Shortly afterwards, he fell victim to an attack by Jewish terrorists.
"He was also the first UN ambassador to die for the cause of peace," recalls former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Crown Princess Victoria has always been fascinated by the life and work of Folke Bernadotte.
Even as a student, she was involved in efforts to protect human rights and resolve international conflicts.
She named her daughter and heir to the throne Estelle after Folke Bernadotte's wife, who continued her husband's humanitarian work after his death.
Crown Princess Victoria and her daughter Estelle will one day be the first women from the Bernadotte dynasty to ascend the Swedish throne.

Based on a number of outstanding biographies - from the bourgeois progenitor to the descendants who now reside in the Stockholm palace - Julia Melchior's film takes us through the eventful history of the Bernadottes with opulent images.
Computer animations (CGIs) and re-enactments bring the most important historical key moments back to life.

First broadcast: Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 8:15 p.m. on ZDF

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