was admired for her selfless nursing of him the two years he was ill before his death. Queen dowager In 1859, Oscar died, thereby making Josephine queen dowager; although she was only officially titled as such in the late 1860s, when her mother-in-law, Queen Dowager Désirée, died. It is noted, that she followed the French tradition by wearing the colour of violet as mourning colour rather than black: violet was her favourite colour in any event, and she would wear it for the rest of her life. As queen dowager, she lost all political influence and devoted herself to her charitable activities and her interest in the Catholic congregation and its issues. Charles XV considered her too old fashioned and formal and their views were seldom shared. Charles XV made himself known for a decadent life style: he was rumored to engage in Oriental debaucheries with the Armenian Ohan Demirgian, and his life at the summer residence Ulriksdal Palace was compared to that at Versailles, which brought the crown in disrepute, something which had also been Josephine's fear. Her relationship with Queen Louise has been described as very good. In 1866, she shared the royal couple's negative views about the parliamentary reform. Queen Dowager Josephine was known for acting as nurse during illness in the family, and her relationship with Charles improved in his last years, when his health deteriorated and he became a Freemason and thereafter saw less differences in Catholicism and Protestantism. Josephine kept informed about the political events, though she could no longer affect them. She supported Austria against Prussia, whose expansionism the feared. In 1870, Josephine expressed how deeply she felt against the introduction of the new Catholic doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope. She regarded this as a doctrine which would in high degree repulse the Catholic church in the eyes of the Protestant world. She reportedly suffered when her cousin Napoleon III of France was dethroned in 1870. After the Battle of Sedan, she assured the imprisoned Napoleon III that she would never forget that she was a member of the Beauharnais family. She invited the son of Napoleon III to Sweden, though he did not accept the invitation. She also expressed dislike of the annexation of the Papal States, and called 1870 a terrible year. Josephine nursed her daughter-in-law Queen Louise at her death bed in 1871. In 1872, Charles XV died,