Queen of Sweden and Norway In 1844, Josephine became Queen of Sweden and Norway at the accession of her spouse. She was crowned in Sweden 28 September 1844. There had been some opposition: the religious debate was more heated in the 1840s than it had been in 1829, when Queen Desideria had been crowned, but Oscar solved the matter by declaring that he would not be crowned himself if she was not. In Norway, there was more serious opposition to the coronation of a Catholic. The official reason was that the ceremony was unnecessary, as the queen had no position in the Norwegian constitution, but it is acknowledged that the real reason was her religion: Queen Desideria had in fact not been crowned in Norway either. Because of this, Oscar refused to be crowned in Norway as well. At the time Josephine became queen, Fredrika Bremer wrote of her, that she: "... prefers to act out of her own pulse and will. Granted, I have not heard this from court, but I believe it to be the truth. Out of the two royal spouses, she is, without question, believed to be the stronger character." After Oscar ascended to the throne, he discontinued extramarital affairs. The relationship between Josephine and Oscar was repaired, and continued to be good during his reign and until his death. The degree of her political influence during the reign of Oscar is debated. She was said to have acted as his adviser and to have exerted influence in several matters. Reportedly, Oscar felt pressured by his responsibility, and relied upon her support. It is confirmed that, when a crisis occurred, the king and the queen withdrew in private to discuss the matter before the king made a decision. Their private conferences were witnessed by the curious court, who could sometimes observe them discussing the matter in the palace garden out of hearing range. Foreign policy can be seen to have been affected by her sympathies and views. In her correspondence with her aunt, the Prussian queen Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, it is evident that she actively negotiated for peace in the First Schleswig War of 1848. During the war, she informed her aunt that Sweden had decided to assist Denmark against Prussia to defend its independence, and that she hoped that Prussia would be willing to engage in peace negotiations. The result was that Prussia had