The secret history of the court of Spain during the last centuryChallice, Rachel
History
The secret history of the court of Spain during the last century
Challice, Rachel
Spain -- Court and courtiers; Spain -- History -- Bourbons, 1700-
In 1801 Napoleon Bonaparte arranged for Tuscany, under the name of
the kingdom of Etruria, to be given to the Spanish Princess and her
husband, who was called Louis I. But the people never took to their new
rulers, and the French did not evacuate the place.
In 1802 the King and Queen of Etruria went to Spain to be present at
the marriage of Ferdinand with Maria Antonia of Naples, and that of her
brother, the heir of the Two Sicilies, with the Infanta Maria Isabel;
and this sister of Prince Ferdinand became subsequently the mother of
his fourth wife, Queen Maria Cristina, mother of Isabella II.
[Illustration: MARIA ANTONIA, PRINCESS OF ASTURIAS, FIRST WIFE OF
FERDINAND VII.]
On this journey to Spain the young King of Etruria died of brain
disease, and the Queen became, by the will of her late husband, Regent
for her little son, who was crowned Louis II. of Etruria. But Napoleon
deprived the royal lady of her kingdom in virtue of the Treaty of
Fontainebleau in 1807; and when the Queen came to Spain and joined her
petitions to those of her mother in the correspondence to Murat and
Napoleon, she never returned to her kingdom, which was taken from her
with the promise of having Portugal in return.
When Napoleon heard of the revolution of Aranjuez, he said to the Duke
of Rovigo: “I never thought of such a thing; matters have taken an
unexpected turn. I know that the father is right in accusing the son of
conspiring against the throne; this fact will unmask the son, and it
will never be approved. When Charles V. abdicated, he was not contented
with a written declaration; he confirmed it with the ceremonies
customary for such occasions, he renewed it various times, and he did
not abandon the reins of the government until he had given solemn
assurance of his wish to do so.”[4]
[4] “Mémoires du Duc de Rovigo,” vol. iii., p. 250.
Once on the throne, Ferdinand VII. sent for the persons who had taken
part in the Escorial conspiracy. Don Miguel José de Azanza, the
ex-Viceroy of Mexico, was made Minister of the Interior instead of
Miguel Cartegano Soler, and Pedro Ceballos, who had married Godoy’s
cousin, and who had worked for the ruin of the dethroned King, was
retained in his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs by a special
royal decree.
The celebrated littérateur Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos also returned
to Court.
But the man who was most triumphant was Ferdinand’s old tutor, Don Juan
Escoiquiz. His wish was fulfilled--he was a power at Court, and he was
decorated with the Cross of Carlos III.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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