Editing Charles XIV John (section)

==Early life and family==
[[File:Pau Bernadotte.JPG|thumb|left|Bernadotte's birthplace in [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]], France]]
Jean Bernadotte was born on 26 January 1763 in [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]], the capital of the [[provinces of France|province]] of [[Béarn]] in the southwestern part of the [[Kingdom of France]].{{sfnp|Bain|1911|p=931}} He was the son of Jean Henri Bernadotte (1711–1780), [[prosecutor]] at Pau, and his wife (married at [[Boeil-Bezing|Boeil]], 20 February 1754) Jeanne de Saint-Jean (1728–1809), niece of the [[lay abbot]] of [[Sireix]]. The family name was originally du Poey (or de Pouey), but was changed to Bernadotte{{snd}}a surname of an ancestress at the beginning of the 17th century.{{sfnp|Bain|1911|p=931}} He was the youngest of five siblings, two of whom died in childhood. Soon after his birth, Baptiste was added to his name, to distinguish him from his elder brother Jean Évangeliste. Bernadotte himself added Jules to his first names as a tribute to the [[First French Empire|French Empire]] under [[Napoleon I]].{{sfnp|Bain|1911|p=931}}

At the age of 14, he was apprenticed to a local attorney. Aged 17, his father's death dissuaded him from following in his career.{{sfnp|Palmer|1990|p=6}}