King Carlos IV and Queen Maria Luisa

[Marengo]

Carlos IV Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafin Diego, King of Spain (Portici, 11 November 1748 - Naples, 19 January 1819); married in San Ildefonso on 4 September 1765, Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma (Parma, 9 December 1751 - Rome, 2 January 1819)

Reign: 1788 - 1808

Dynasty: Bourbon

Predecessor: King Carlos III of Spain

Succeeded by: King Jose I of Spain

Children: Prince Carlos of Spain, Queen Carlota Joaquina of Portugal, Princess Maria Luisa, Princess Maria Amalia and Prince Carlos of Spain, Duchess Luisa of Parma, Queen of Etruria; Prince Carlos and Prince Felipe of Spain, King Fernando VII of Spain, Prince Carlos of Spain, Count of Molina; Queen Maria Isabel of the Two Sicilies, Princess Maria Teresa, Prince Felipe and Prince Francisco de Paula of Spain, Duke of Cadiz

Parents Carlos: King Carlos III of Spain and Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony

Parents Maria Luisa: Duke Filippo of Parma, Piacenza and Guestalla, Prince of Spain and Princess Elisabeth of France

Siblings Carlos: Princess Maria Isabel, Princess Maria Josefa, Princess Maria Isabel and Princess Maria Josefa of Spain, Empress Maria Luisa of Austria, Prince Felipe of Spain, Duke of Calabria; Princess Maria Teresa and Princess Maria Ana of Spain, King Fernando IV of the Two Sicilies; Prince Gabriel, Prince Antonio and Prince Francisco of Spain

Siblings Maria Luisa: Empress Isabel of Austria and Duke Ferdinando of Parma, Piacenza and Guestalla

 

[Marengo]

Charles IV (November 11, 1748 - January 20, 1819) was King of Spain from December 14, 1788 until his abdication on March 19, 1808.

Charles was the second son of Charles III and his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. He was born at Portici, while his father was king of the Two Sicilies. His elder brother don Felipe was passed over for the two thrones as mentally retarded and epileptic.
Charles had inherited a great frame and immense physical strength from the Saxon line of his mother, granddaughter of August II of Poland. When young he was fond of wrestling with the strongest countrymen he could find. He was considered by many to be intellectually sluggish and quite credulous.
His wife Maria Luisa of Parma, on the other hand, was seen by many (including by the painter Francisco Goya) as a vicious and coarse woman who thoroughly dominated the king. During his father's lifetime he was led by her into court intrigues which aimed at driving the king's favourite minister, Count of Floridablanca, from office, and replacing him by Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda, the chief of the "Aragonese" party.

After he succeeded to the throne in 1788 his one serious occupation was hunting. Affairs were left to be directed by his wife and her lover Manuel de Godoy. Although Godoy essentially took over his wife and his office, the king was favourable towards him for all his life. When terrified by the French Revolution he turned to the Inquisition to help him against the party which would have carried the reforming policy of Charles III much further. But he never took more than a passive part in the direction of his own government. He simply obeyed the impulse given him by the queen and Godoy. In 1803, after smallpox had affected his daughter María Luísa, the king commissioned his doctor Francisco Javier de Balmis to bring the vaccine to the Spanish colonies on state expenses.
He had a profound belief in his divine right and the sanctity of his person. He thought it very important to seem a very powerful monarch, although his kingdom was treated as a mere dependency by France and his throne was dominated by the queen and her lover. Spain allied with France and supported the Continental Blockade, but withdrew after the Battle of Trafalgar. When Napoleon won from Prussia in 1807, Godoy returned to the French side, but France no longer considered Spain a worthy ally. But even the alliance with France, as it was, made Godoy's rule unpopular and fueled the partido fernandista, the supporters of Ferdinand, who favored a close relationship with Great Britain.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

 

[Marengo]

Maria Louisa of Parma (December 9, 1751-January 2, 1819) was queen of Spain and consort of King Charles IV of Spain. She was the daughter of Philip of Bourbon, Duke of Parma (March 15, 1719 or 1720) and his wife Princess Louise-Élisabeth of France. She was christened Luisa Maria Teresa, but was known as Maria Luisa.

The artist Goya often painted her portraits. She was described by contemporaries often as a vicious and coarse woman who thoroughly dominated the king. Reportedly Manuel de Godoy, her husband's prime minister, was her long-time lover.
She was taken to France as prisoner, and her husband abdicated the throne of Spain in 1808, due to pressure from Napoleon. Maria Luisa, Godoy and the abdicated king spent remainder of their lives outside Spain. She and her husband both died in 1819.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

 

[Marengo]

The portrait of Carlos IV and his family by Goya:

The poet/dramatist/journalist Théophile Gautier described the figures as looking like "the corner baker and his wife after they won the lottery".

 

[An Ard Ri]

Royal Anniversary : 20th of January,1819- Death of Carlos IV of Spain.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Royal Anniversary : 29th of March 1788,birth of The Infante Carlos of Spain, Count of Molina,the second surviving son of Carlos IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Infante Enrique, Duke of Seville grandson of Carlos IV

El infante Enrique, el duque progresista


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[Blog Real]

Biography of King Carlos IV:
Carlos IV | Real Academia de la Historia

Biography of Queen María Luisa of Parma:
María Luisa de Parma | Real Academia de la Historia

 

[CyrilVladisla]

King Charles IV of Spain entered Barcelona in 1802
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-kin-charles-iv-of-spain-enters-barcelona-1802-90850356.html

 

[CyrilVladisla]

King Charles IV of Spain was overthrown in a coup in 1808.

 

[Blog Real]

Portrait of queen Maria Luisa.