Founder

Walking around Stockholm, I saw this statue, which I believe is that of Jean-Charles Bernadotte, the Gascon sergeant who rose to the rank of general during the French Revolution, and who then married Napoleon’s old girlfriend Desiree and went on to become King Karl XIV Johan of Sweden, founder of the present line of Swedish kings.

He is the only monarch known to have borne a “Death to Kings” tattoo.

I also noticed the statue is being crated up, as if it’s being shuttled out of sight somewhere.

If the Swedes have grown tired of the Bernadottes, want to shift them offstage, and need a new head of state, I am pleased to offer myself.  I have no embarrassing tattoos, though I will adopt a slightly older style.