Transcriber's note: Italic font is indicated by _underscores_. THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE COURT OF SPAIN [Illustration: ALFONSO XIII. AND VICTORIA EUGÉNIE, KING AND QUEEN OF SPAIN _Frontispiece_ ] THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE COURT OF SPAIN DURING THE LAST CENTURY BY RACHEL CHALLICE WITH THIRTY ILLUSTRATIONS NEW YORK D. APPLETON & COMPANY MCMIX AUTHOR’S NOTE In presenting this history to the British public, I must draw attention to the fact that the material is gathered solely from Spanish sources, so that where the statements do not tally with the reports of English historians it must be remembered that the book, as the mouthpiece of Spanish writers, may lay claim to a special interest of its own, particularly as some of these books are not known in our country. Thus, the account of the character of Ferdinand VII., the story of the Second of May, 1808, the relations between England and Spain during the reign of Isabella II., and the account of the recent Regency of Maria Cristina, may open points of view not generally entertained in England, but the fact of their sources may entitle them to some attention. The history of the Regency ending in 1902, by Ortega Rubio, was only published last year, and it was as a privileged reader of the library of the Royal Palace at Madrid that I studied it. The book referred to by Galdos has also only recently seen the light. I owe much of the information to the celebrated bibliophile, Don Fernando Bremon, who garnered it for me from many histories now out of print and from manuscripts which came into his hand from his connection with celebrities of the Spanish Court. Other sources of information were open to me at the valuable library of the Athenæum at Madrid, of which I was made an honorary member during my stay in the capital; and I have also to render tribute to those whose personal recollections have added to the interest of my survey of Court life during the last century. RACHEL CHALLICE. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRIGUES OF FERDINAND, PRINCE OF ASTURIAS, AGAINST HIS PARENTS AND GODOY 1 II. THE OVERTHROW OF GODOY 24 III. HOW NAPOLEON I. CHECKMATED THE SPANISH ROYAL FAMILY 53 IV. KING FERDINAND VII. AND HIS HOME LIFE 79 V. MARIA CRISTINA, FERDINAND’S FOURTH WIFE--INTRIGUES AT COURT 105 VI. MARIA CRISTINA AS REGENT AND AS WIFE OF MUÑOZ 122 VII. QUEEN ISABELLA’S GIRLHOOD AND THE DANGERS WHICH BESET IT 142 VIII. MINISTERIAL DIFFICULTIES IN THE PALACE 149