(1290-1315).
Queen of Navarre
Countess of Champagne.
Daughter of: Robert II, Duc de Bourgogne & Agnes de France.
Wife of: Louis X France mar 1305
Her lover was:
Philippe d'Aulnay (1290-1314)
Unimaginable scandal at the hotel de Nesle.
"On the left bank, just opposite the Louvre, stood the medieval Hotel de Nesle. Originally a defence tower erected by the provost of Paris under Philippe-Auguste, it had grown to be a sumptuous palace after Philippe le Bel converted it into apartments for his sons and their families -- not unlike present-day Kensington Palace. The three princess, all future kings as a consequence of the curse that Philippe brought down on the family -- Louis X ('the Quarrelsome), Philippe ('the Tall') and Charles IV ('the Simple') -- lived there with their wives, respectively Marguerite (a granddaughter of Saint Louis on her mother's side), and her cousins Jeanne and Blanche. Two were in their twenties, Blanche was a mere eighteen. The course of history following the Iron King's death proved their princes to be somewhat sub-standard, while the three wives were normal lusty Parisiennes. Jeanne was later proclaimed innocent, but Marguerite and Blanche used the old medieval tower as a place of assignation for their lovers, two dashing brothers, Philippe and Gautier d'Aulnay, who were their gentlemen-in-waiting. The two courtiers would sneak into the tower by dark of night, via a boat landing them up the Seine on the Quai de Conti. Unfortunately for the adulterous princesses, they were betrayed by their sister-in-law, Isabella -- the bitter and frustrated wife of Edward II of England, a dedicated homosexual. One day she noticed the courtier-lovers carrying two purses that she had given the princesses as gifts. spies were set to check on their nocturnal movements, then -- well named the 'She-Wolf of France' -- she grassed on them. (The 'She-Wolf of France' was also to provide one of the prime causes for the Hundred Years War, in consequence of the territorial claims to France which she passed on to her son, Edward III -- the marriage being yet another misjudgement to be laid at the door of her father, Philippe.)
"It was an unimaginable scandal -- a granddaughter of Saint Louis, no less! Fearful of bastardy introducing taint into the Capetian line (which, through the Templars' curse was to be doomed anyway), the King was merciless. All five were arrested, and Princesses Marguerite and Blanche found guilty of adultery. Put to hideous torture, the d'Aulnays admitted their liaisons had been going on for three years. They were skinned alive in front of an enthusiastic crowd, castrated and then disembowelled, decapitated and their trunks hung by the armpits on a gibbet to be devoured by birds of prey. The crowd cheered itself hoarse as the bourreau held aloft by the severed genitals of the lovers. All who had abetted the lovers were drowned or secretly dispatched. Of the guilty princesses, Marguerite and Blanche were forced to witness the execution of their lovers. Their heads shaven like collabos after the Liberation of 1944, they were then condemned to solitary confinement for many months in miserable, icy conditions in Richard Coeur de Lion's old fortress of Chateau Gaillard. When Louis X decided he wanted to remarry, rather than spend time seeking an annulment, he had Marguerite suffocated between two mattresses. Blanche, divorced by her husband, was permitted to take the veil in the convent of Maubisson, where she lived until her death in 1326. Mysteriously, while in Chateau Gaillard -- incorrigible to the end -- she gave birth to a child, whether by her husband, Charles, or a gaoler was never clear." (Friend or Foe: A History of France)
"Marguerite's marriage to Louis of Navarre was immediately annulled; it had never been very happy anyway, for he had often neglected his feisty and shapely wife to play tennis, for which he felt more passion, so it was not surprising that she had looked elsewhere for love. Now, weeping constantly with remorse, she was made to wear the cowled garb of a penitent, and her hair was symbolically shorn; then she was shut up in a dark, damp dungeon in Chateau Gillard in Normandy, a grim fortress built in the late twelfth century by Richard the Lion-Hearted; here, she appears to have been subjected to a regime of systematic ill-treatment. Her two-year-old daughter, Jeanne, her only surviving child, was disinherited on suspicion that Louis was not her father, a suspicion that was probably unjustified, since Marguerite's adulterous liaison does not appear to have begun until after Jeanne's birth in 1311." (Weir, 2005, p. 100)
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| Joana of Portugal @Wikipedia |
(1439-1475)
Queen of Castile & Leon
Daughter of: Duarte de Portugal & Leonor de Aragon.
Wife of Enrique IV de Castilla (1425-1474), mar 1455
"King Henry IV was married to Joanna for six years before she got tired of his company, and became the mistress of Don Beltran de La Cueva, whom the cuckolded King raised to the rank of Marquis of Ledesma, Duke of Albuquerque and Grand-Master of the Order of St. James of Castile. Tiring of her lover, Joana, who gave birth to a daughter in 1462, fled to Portugal, riding on Luis Furtado de Mendoca's horse. It was rumoured that the Queen also lay with this gallant knight before finally settling down with Dom Pedro of Castile, who gave her two more children." (The Portuguese Columbus: 419)
Joana's lovers were:
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| Beltrán de la Cueva @Wikipedia |
1) Beltrán de la Cueva (1443-1492)
1st Duque de Alburquerque
Spanish aristocrat & royal favourite.
Grand Master of the Order of Santiago 1464; Chief Steward to Enrique IV of Castile 1458; 1st Conde de Ledesma 1462; Duque de Alburquerque 1464; Grande de Espana 1464; 1st Senor de Cuellar, Roa, Atienza, Torre Galindo, Codecera, etc.
Husband of:
1. Teresa de Molina de Quesada
2. Mencia Hurtado de Mendoza y Luna, daughter of the 2nd Marques de Santillana, mar 1462
Claim of illegitimacy to achieve illegal usurpation: "Beltrán de la Cueva is, however, best known for allegedly having an affair with Henry's second wife, Joan of Portugal. It was rumoured that Henry's only child, Joan was fathered by Beltrán and not by the King himself, who may have been impotent. This rumour led to a four-year War of the Castilian Succession, which was won by Isabella I, Henry's half-sister. It is unlikely that an agreement as to Joan's probable paternity will ever be reached by historians, as there is not enough evidence to support either possible father with certainty. Most of the extant contemporary sources about Henry's potency are suspect, as the royal chronicles of his reign were either written or revised under the influence of Isabella, whose personal interest in the succession caused her to take great pains to insist on Joan's illegitimacy. Much of Isabella's attention to Henry, in fact, was spent on harming his reputation in order to cement the legitimacy of her own reign. The question of Joan's paternity has, as a result, fascinated historians for centuries: if Joan was not in fact Beltran's daughter, and was actually legitimate, Isabella's tremendously influential reign would have been an illegal usurpation." (Wikipedia)
" . . . When Beltran began to escort Queen Juana to various functions in addition to his political and ministerial duties, rumors flew that he was the queen's illicit lover. To make matters worse for royal reputations, many people believed that the king was impotent, despite having several mistresses, and was thus unable to sire an heir. When the queen gave birth to the princess Juana in 1462, Beltran, instead of the king, was rumored to be the true father. Consequently, Juana (1462-1530), was branded illegitimate and was burdened with the scurrilous nickname 'la Beltraneja,' meaning 'of Beltran.' Twelve years later the aspersions cast on Juana's legitimacy forced her to renounce her rightful claim to the Castilian throne in favor of her aunt, Isabel I of Castile." (The Late Medieval Age of Crisis and Renewal, 1300-1500: 40)
"...Most shocking of all was Enrique's elevation of a handsome caballero named Beltran de la Cueva, son of a town councilman, to grandee status in 1456. Two years later Cueva became Enrique's mayordomo mayor or chief steward." (Stuart, 2004, p. 24)
"Palencia's account of the matter of Juana's adultery is curiously equivocal. On the one hand, he claims that the liaison between the queen and the king's favorite, Beltrán de la Cueva, putative father of Juana of Castile, was forced on Juana by the king: 'the false simulacrum of his wedding over, he began to disclose his goal to the Queen, subjecting her to a constant seduction. In that manner he thought he would manage to rush her into seeking pleasure in illicit relations' (1:82). The fact that Beltran is alleged to either already or soon thereafter be Enrique's lover---the precise sequence of transgressions is intentionally vague---adds the suggestion of a royal menage a trois to the long lost of Henrician inequities: 'the King asked him to be the principal master of his house and even, because he si willed, of his marriage bed' (1:113). . . ." (Weissberger, 2004, pp. 88-89)
2) Juan Rodriguez de la Cámara (1390-1450)
Spanish writer & poet
" . . . Joan has been credited with many lovers, including the poet Juan Rodriguez de la Camara.
3) Luis Hurtado de Mendoza.
" . . . Having concerted with Don Luis Hurtado de Mendoza, reputed one of her lovers, her escape from the fortress of Alahijos, where she was kept a close prisoner by the archbishop of Seville, the queen was lowered one night from the window of her apartment in a basket. The rope unfortunately proved short, and those above, who thought the queen had reached the ground, letting it go suddenly, she was precipitated several feet, and in the fall injured her face and one of her limbs. Without loss of time, and regardless of pain, Juana mounted behind Don Luis and repaired to Buytrago, where her daughter resided. The archbishop of Seville was so much incensed by the queen's flight, that he became from that day her most implacable enemy." (Annals of the Queens of Spain: 413-414)
4) Pedro de Castilla y Fonseca.
Steward of Queen Joana de Portugal
Son of: Pedro de Castilla y Salazar & Beatriz de Fonseca y Ulloa.
Natural offspring:
a. Pedro de Castilla y Portugal (?-1468/71)
b. Andres Apostol de Castilla y Portugal (?-1468/71)
"Henry banished Joan from the royal court and she went to live in Coca at the castle of Henry's supporter, Bishop Fonseca. She soon fell in love with Bishop Fonseca's nephew; they embarked on a sexual affair, which resulted in Joan bearing her lover two illegitimate sons (see below). Henry subsequently declared their marriage had never been legal and thus divorced her in 1468." (Wikipedia)
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| Marianna of Austria Reina de España |
(1634-1696)
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| Fernando de Valenzuela 1st Marques de Villasiera the Palace Goblin @Wikipedia |
Grande de España
Viceroy of Granada
Viceroy of Sicily
Ambassador to Venice
Prime Minister of Spain
First Horseman to the Queen 1671.
Son of: Francisco de Valenzuela & Leonora de Enciso y Davila.
Husband of: Maria Ambrosia de Uceda, chambermaid to Queen Mariana de Austria, mar 1661.
The rise of a confidant and lover.
"The canker of favouritism had eaten too deeply into the political system of Spain to be eliminated, except by a monarch of far greater genius and force than Mariana. Soon after the disappearance of Father Nithard from the scene a young hidalgo, who had served in the household of the Duke of Infantado and had joined the party of the Queen, was seen to be advancing with unusual rapidity. Fernando de Valenzuela was one of those facile, plausible Andaluces, who figured so prominently in the court of Philip IV, where the accomplishment of deftly turning an amorous verse, writing a dramatic interlude, or capping a bitter gibe, often opened the way to fortune. After Nithard had introduced him into the palace he married a favourite attendant of the Queen, Dona Maria Eugenia de Uceda, and was appointed the Queen's equerry. Quick, bold and ready, he served his mistress well, both inside the palace and in the streets of the capital. Every whisper in 'Liars Parade' was carried to the Queen, and the gossips began to wonder who was the 'fairy of the palace.' Jealous, watchful eyes surrounded the Queen, and it soon became evident that Valenzuela was not only Mariana's political right hand, but her lover as well. The new favourite rapidly advanced from office to office. He was made a marquis, and soon afterwards 'valido,' or universal confidant. The nobles who had stood by the Queen against Don Juan were scandalised and indignant; but there was hardly even an affectation of concealment. Valenzuela, like most favourites, began to form a party of his own, by lavishing offices, pensions, honours, and grants, upon his friends; whilst the idlers of the capital were kept amused by continual festivals and by lavish expenditure in beautifying the town." (Spain: Its Greatness and Decay (1479-1788).: 295)
Viceroy of Granada
Viceroy of Sicily
Ambassador to Venice
Prime Minister of Spain
First Horseman to the Queen 1671.
Son of: Francisco de Valenzuela & Leonora de Enciso y Davila.
Husband of: Maria Ambrosia de Uceda, chambermaid to Queen Mariana de Austria, mar 1661.
The rise of a confidant and lover.
"The canker of favouritism had eaten too deeply into the political system of Spain to be eliminated, except by a monarch of far greater genius and force than Mariana. Soon after the disappearance of Father Nithard from the scene a young hidalgo, who had served in the household of the Duke of Infantado and had joined the party of the Queen, was seen to be advancing with unusual rapidity. Fernando de Valenzuela was one of those facile, plausible Andaluces, who figured so prominently in the court of Philip IV, where the accomplishment of deftly turning an amorous verse, writing a dramatic interlude, or capping a bitter gibe, often opened the way to fortune. After Nithard had introduced him into the palace he married a favourite attendant of the Queen, Dona Maria Eugenia de Uceda, and was appointed the Queen's equerry. Quick, bold and ready, he served his mistress well, both inside the palace and in the streets of the capital. Every whisper in 'Liars Parade' was carried to the Queen, and the gossips began to wonder who was the 'fairy of the palace.' Jealous, watchful eyes surrounded the Queen, and it soon became evident that Valenzuela was not only Mariana's political right hand, but her lover as well. The new favourite rapidly advanced from office to office. He was made a marquis, and soon afterwards 'valido,' or universal confidant. The nobles who had stood by the Queen against Don Juan were scandalised and indignant; but there was hardly even an affectation of concealment. Valenzuela, like most favourites, began to form a party of his own, by lavishing offices, pensions, honours, and grants, upon his friends; whilst the idlers of the capital were kept amused by continual festivals and by lavish expenditure in beautifying the town." (Spain: Its Greatness and Decay (1479-1788).: 295)
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Fernando de Valenzuela 1st Marques de Villasiera |
Offensive display of suspicious intimacy with the queen.
"The favourite was Don Ferdinand de Valenzuela, a gentleman of Granada, who had been a creature of Nitard's and upon his departure acquired such unbounded influence over the queen, that she was generally suspected of living with him in a dishonourable connexion. As a minister, Valenzuela was a mere nullity; but he courted the favour of the populace, by amusing them with bull-fights, and studying to keep the markets well supplied; and he might have avoided the general odium that he incurred, had he not made gratuitously-offensive display of his suspicious intimacy with this royal mistress." (The History of Spain and Portugal from B.C. 1000 to A.D. 1814: 162)
"The favourite was Don Ferdinand de Valenzuela, a gentleman of Granada, who had been a creature of Nitard's and upon his departure acquired such unbounded influence over the queen, that she was generally suspected of living with him in a dishonourable connexion. As a minister, Valenzuela was a mere nullity; but he courted the favour of the populace, by amusing them with bull-fights, and studying to keep the markets well supplied; and he might have avoided the general odium that he incurred, had he not made gratuitously-offensive display of his suspicious intimacy with this royal mistress." (The History of Spain and Portugal from B.C. 1000 to A.D. 1814: 162)
The fairy of the palace.
" . . . [A] handsome Andalucian, named Fernando Valenzuela, was introduced to her notice by Father Nithard, a German Jesuit, who performed the functions of the former. Neither of these important personages were endowed with the taste of Olivarez. Valenzuela, however, the Queen's duendo or fairy, as he was nicknamed, possessed a certain portion of brains beneath his beautiful hair. He wrote little dramatic pieces of some humour and the audience of her private theatre . . . His vanity and presumption, the arrogant mottoes and devices by which he loved to proclaim himself on public occasions the paramour of the Queen, soon, however, became intolerable to the grandees, and removed him from his post which enabled him to improve and display his taste at the public expense. Degraded from his dignities, and banished from Europe, the rest of his life was passed in acting his own plays at Manila, and breaking horses in Mexico. His fall took place in 1677, when the young King, attaining the age of fifteen and his majority by his father's will, wisely called Don John of Austria to the chief place in his councils. . . ."(Annals of the Artists of Spain, Vol 3: 952)
An ambitious young man.
"Opposition to the queen grew during the first years of the regency, however, and in 1669 Don Juan was able to successfully demand the removal of Nithard. . . Mariana again chose a favorite from outside the noble elite whom she believed she could trust; the subsequent rise of Fernando de Valenzuela provoked even more outrage than had the ministry of Nithard. Valenzuela was an ambitious young man, the son of a lesser army officer, and the chaotic circumstances of the court opened up a great deal of possibility for people with ambition." (Spanish Women in the Golden Age; 116)
" . . . [A] handsome Andalucian, named Fernando Valenzuela, was introduced to her notice by Father Nithard, a German Jesuit, who performed the functions of the former. Neither of these important personages were endowed with the taste of Olivarez. Valenzuela, however, the Queen's duendo or fairy, as he was nicknamed, possessed a certain portion of brains beneath his beautiful hair. He wrote little dramatic pieces of some humour and the audience of her private theatre . . . His vanity and presumption, the arrogant mottoes and devices by which he loved to proclaim himself on public occasions the paramour of the Queen, soon, however, became intolerable to the grandees, and removed him from his post which enabled him to improve and display his taste at the public expense. Degraded from his dignities, and banished from Europe, the rest of his life was passed in acting his own plays at Manila, and breaking horses in Mexico. His fall took place in 1677, when the young King, attaining the age of fifteen and his majority by his father's will, wisely called Don John of Austria to the chief place in his councils. . . ."(Annals of the Artists of Spain, Vol 3: 952)
An ambitious young man.
"Opposition to the queen grew during the first years of the regency, however, and in 1669 Don Juan was able to successfully demand the removal of Nithard. . . Mariana again chose a favorite from outside the noble elite whom she believed she could trust; the subsequent rise of Fernando de Valenzuela provoked even more outrage than had the ministry of Nithard. Valenzuela was an ambitious young man, the son of a lesser army officer, and the chaotic circumstances of the court opened up a great deal of possibility for people with ambition." (Spanish Women in the Golden Age; 116)
Personal & family background.
"Fernando Valenzuela was born in Naples in 1636. Valenzuela formed part of an illustrious family established in the city of Ronda. His father Francisco left his native city to pursue a military career in Philip IV's armies in Milan, Flanders and Naples. After his father's death Fernando Valenzuela travelled from Naples to Madrid in 1640 with his mother, Leonor Enciso. Through connections on his mother's side, Fernando became a page at the household of the Duke del Infantado, whom in 1648 he followed to Italy, where the duke held the posts of ambassador to Rome and viceroy in Sicily. . . ." (The Royal Chapel in the Time of the Habsburgs: 293)
Spouse.
" . . . At the court of Madrid, in 1661 Fernando settled down to marry Maria Ambrosia de Uceda (sic), one of Queen Mariana of Austria's chambermaids. Valenzuela was named Master of the Queen's Horses, a post that enabled him to lead a modest life but without any significant privations. . . ." (The Royal Chapel in the Time of the Habsburgs: 293)
Spouse.
" . . . At the court of Madrid, in 1661 Fernando settled down to marry Maria Ambrosia de Uceda (sic), one of Queen Mariana of Austria's chambermaids. Valenzuela was named Master of the Queen's Horses, a post that enabled him to lead a modest life but without any significant privations. . . ." (The Royal Chapel in the Time of the Habsburgs: 293)
Affair's benefits to the lover.
"Once fallen Nithard, he was promptly replaced bu a stranger named Fernando Valenzuela y Enciso---from a noble family of Ronda---married to Maria de Uceda, one of the maids of the Queen-Regent, who soon began to lavish Valenzuela her favors---she became his lover---he was appointed introducer of ambassadors, first Knight, a member of the Council of Italy, forest and works superintendent, warden of the royal site of El Prado, he became her new favorite, by informing her everything going on in palace he warned the nickname 'the fairy of the Palace', he was granted the title of Marquis of Villasierra." (From Al-Andalus to Monte Sacro)
" . . . He was made governor of the Andalucian coast, Master of the Horse to the King, a grandee of Spain of the first class. . . .(Spain: Its Greatness and Decay (1479-1788): 296)
" . . . He was made governor of the Andalucian coast, Master of the Horse to the King, a grandee of Spain of the first class. . . .(Spain: Its Greatness and Decay (1479-1788): 296)
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Maria Luisa of Parma Queen of Spain the Messalina of Her Age @Hola |
(1751-1819)
Queen of Spain.
Wife of: Carlos IV de España (1748-1819), mar 1785.
"María Luisa was believed to have had many love affairs, but there is no direct evidence that she had any lovers, not even Manuel de Godoy, her husband's prime minister, whom contemporary gossip singled out in particular as a long-time lover. She was unpopular during her husband's reign, her poor historical reputation being attributed to her support of pro-French political policies that were not deemed beneficial for Spain in the long term." (Wikipedia)
"Maria Luisa of Parma, the new queen of Spain, had been beautiful as a girl and was always decisive if not headstrong. Married to her first cousin on her fourteenth birthday in December 1765, the young Princess of Asturias at first impressed the French ambassador as a girl of 'courtesy, wit, and graces. . . [who] spends her whole time in her suite of rooms, her only pleasures being conversation and music.' Soon enough, however, her father-in-law and the Spanish court learned that a third pleasure frequented Maria Luisa's suite of rooms. The princess was 'a woman of excessive temperament,' wrote one courtier, 'whose appetites were not satisfied by her lovers, and whose ardor was not slaked by the passage of years.' She was born 'with special aptitudes and robust appetites, which marriage aroused but could not satisfy because . . . her veins demanded more than the conjugal duty of a gentle husband.'" (A Wilderness So Immense: 107)
"While he father-in-law was still alive, a pattern developed in Maria Luisa's dalliances with aristocrats and courtiers. Her first lover was a marquis who, when discovered, found himself appointed by Carlos III to a post in the Canary Islands, and ordered to leave Madrid within twenty-four hours. Her second, the count of Lancaster, was also sent to the Canaries. Next came the count Pignatelli, promptly dispatched to the Spanish legation in Paris, and then a courtier named Ortiz who was banished to a far corner of Spain. Maria Luisa's husband remained oblivious to it all. On one occasion he astonished his father by observing that princes were more fortunate than other men because their wives would never be unfaithful with a man of lower rank. 'Carlos, Carlos,' replied the king wearily, 'que tonto tu eres!'---How foolish you are.'" (A Wilderness So Immense: 107)
Love Life." . . . Other cuckoos had visited the nest, quite a few. Her Majesty's appetite could not be satisfied, one courtier observed, nor could passing years slake her lust. First, Don Eugenio Eulalio Palafox, Conde de Teba. Maria Luisa was eighteen. After him, Don Augustin Lancaster who was older and didn't last long. Next, Don Juan Pignatelli, son of El Conde de Fuentes who owned the village of Fuendetodos. Following Don Juan Pignatelli to Maria Luisa's boudoir was Luis Godoy, Manuel's elder brother. As noted, both were members of the imperial guard. Now, after Luis Godoy here came little brother Manuel who must have stroked Her Majesty in all the right places because her jealousy approached madness. Next to visit the insatiable Queen's bedroom, Don Luis de Urquija. After him, General Antonio Cornel y Ferraz. Then another guardsman, Don Manuel Mallo. (Goya: 85)
Maria Luisa's lovers were:
1) Agustin de Lancastre.
"The Princess of Asturias is of the Parma family; an engaging affable character, artful and ambitious, joined to the boundless vanity allowable to one who has the prospect of being Queen of Spain. She has, in common with every race of women, a desire to please, carried even to coquetry, in which she excels. With a thorough French heart, she affects the Spaniards, talks the language in perfection, and seldom, except to the Foreign Ministers, speaks any other. She has gained so thorough a possession of the mind of the Prince, that she guides him at present in everything, and does, at the same time, whatever she chooses. She established the card party, and Lancastre (of whom I shall speak hereafter) is at least as much her favourite as he is that of the Prince. He sits next to her, and she is in a continual conversation, without paying any attention to the game. If she breeds, she may come to act a great part of this country. She has already miscarried twice or three times." (Diaries and Correspondence of James Harris, Vol 1: 54)
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| Eugenio Eulalio Palafox |
2) Eugenio Eulalio Palafox (1773-1834)
Conde de Teba, Duque de Peñaranda de Duero, Conde de Montijo & Baños.
Spanish politician & military officer
Son of Felipe Palafox y Croy de Havre & Maria Francisca de Sales Portocarrero y Lopez de Zuñiga, 7th Condesa de Montijo
Husband of Maria Ignacia Idiaquez, daughter of the Duque de Granada de Ega, mar 1792, sep 1800
3) Juan Pignatelli.
"Meanwhile, his mother had remarried the Italian Count Joaquin Pignatelli, who had children from a previous marriage. One of them, Juan Pignatelli, became the great love of the young Duchess of Alba. With his relationship with Juan Pignatelli (which was another scandal for the Spanish aristocracy), the Duchess of Alba won the enmity of the Princess of Asturias, Maria Luisa, who also claimed the favors of Pignatelli. From this moment, the rivalry between both ladies became a constant of their lives, destined to last even after losing interest in Pignatelli." (Biografias y Vidas)
4) Luis de Godoy.
Lover in ?1788.
Elder brother of Manuel Godoy.
"Luis de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria (Badajoz – Rome, 1761), Knight of Santiago (since 1787), married to Juana de Armendáriz, daughter of the Marqueses de Castelfuerte; Lieutenant-General (Teniente-General) of the Royal Armies." (Revolvy)
"Luis Godoy, a sturdy captain from the rugged province of Extremadura on the Portuguese border---birthplace of the conquistadors Cortes, Pizarro and Balboa---was the first member of the royal guard who attracted Maria Luisa's attention. Inevitably, Carlos III learned of the affair and had the guardsman transferred to a distance province so quickly that Godoy had no chance to say good-bye to the princess. Entrusting the note of farewell to his younger brother and handsome comrade, Manuel Godoy, the departing guardsman thereby introduced Maria Luisa to her next lover, who ruled Spain as privado, or royal favorite, until 1808." (A Wilderness So Immense: 108)
"It is said in Doblado's Letters from Spain . . . that the queen, who, since her arrival from Parma, had seldom been without a lover, had bestowed her favors on an elder brother of the Prince of the Peace, Don Luis de Godoy, a garde du corps, whom Carlos III removed from the court about the time when Manuel (the Prince of the Peace) was admitted into that privileged body of troops; that the latter was made the means of communication, by letters, between his brother and the then Princess of Asturias; and, that, when on guard in the interior of the palace, his playing a certain tune on the flute was the signal of his having a billet-doux to deliver. That Luis Godoy was one of the earliest lovers of Maria Luisa, in Spain, seems unquestionable. . . We believe that his brother Luis was an excellent singer to the guitar. . . ." (London & Westminster Review, Vol. 25: 18).
"Louisa deprived, however, of her entertaining Ortez, soon found a substitute in a young officer named Luis de Godoy. He was the eldest of three brothers of an ancient but decayed family in the province of Estremadura, who served together in the Horse Guard, a corps exclusively composed of gentlemen, the lowest ranks being filled by commissioned officers. Scarcely had this new attachment been formed, when the old king unmercifully nipped in in the bud by a decree if banishment against Don Luis. The order was, as usual, so pressing, that the distressed lover could only charge his second brother Manuel with a parting message, and obtain a promise of his being the bearer of as many tokens of constancy and despair as could be safely transmitted by the post. 'There is every reason to believe that Luis's amorous despatches had their due effect for some weeks, and that his royal mistress lived almost exclusively on their contents. Yet time was working a sad revolution in the fortunes of the banished lover. Manuel grew every day more interesting, and the letters less so, till the faithless confidant became the most amusing of mortals to the princess, and, consequently, a favourite with her good-natured husband." (Fraser's Magazine, Vol 43: 229)
Supplanting an absent brother's place in the royal mistress' heart.
"Among the lovers of the Princess of the Asturias, whom Charles III had from time to time removed from the court, was a young garde du corps of the name of Godoy, a native of Badajoz. His younger brother, Don Manuel, was in the same service, and undertook to convey the love-letters of his exiled brother to his royal mistress. But her passion was not of a character to be long satisfied with expressions of tenderness from an absent lover. Don Manuel, perhaps, thought that he should promote the interests of his brother, as he unquestionably did his own, more effectually by imitating his example than obeying his injunctions. In short, he supplanted him in the affections of his mistress, and at the accession of her husband to the throne, was known at court to be her established lover." (Fraser's Magazine, Vol 43: 229)
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Manuel de Godoy |
5) Manuel de Godoy (1767-1851).
Lover in 1788-1808.
Principe de la Paz.
1st Marques de la Alcudia 1792, 1st Duque de Alcudia 1792, Principe de Bassano 1792, Duque de Sueca, Marques de Alvarez, Senor de Soto de Roma, Principe de la Paz 1795, 1st Conde de Evoramonte 1797, Baron de Mascalbo 1803, Duque de Sueca, 1st Class Grandee of Spain 1804, Serene Highness 1807
Prime Minister of Spain 1792, Secretary of State, Commander of the Order of Santiago 1790, Grand Cross of the Order of Carlos III 1791, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece 1792, Colonel 1789, Lieutenant-General 1791, Captain General, Field Marshal, President of the Admiralty 1807, Admiral-General of Spain & the Indies 1807.
Son of: Jose de Godoy y Sanchez de los Rios, regidor perpetuo de Badajoz & Maria Antonia Justa Alvarez de Faria y Sanchez-Zarzosa, lady-in-waiting to the Queen
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| Manuel de Godoy, 1788 @Wikimedia |
Husband of:
1. Maria Teresa de Borbon y Villabriga (1768-1828)
2. Josefa Tudo.
2. Josefa Tudo.
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| Manuel de Godoy Principe de la Paz, 1790 |
Godoy's physical appearance & personal qualities.
"Lady Holland described Godoy as a 'large, coarse, ruddy-complexioned' man 'with a heavy sleepy voluptuous look.' His countrymen were less charitable. The nickname Choricero (sausage-maker, a sneer at the staple in the diet of his native Extremadura) was one of their gentler insults. As an upstart and a favorite, wrote one Spanish observer, 'the noblemen hated him for his improvisations [and] the people because they preferred to suffer under a deified lord rather than under one of their own number raised to the nobility.' To Spaniards and foreigners alike, however, Godoy's influence at the court of Carlos IV and Maria Luisa was astonishing and offensive. 'It is hardly conceivable that a young man without experience . . . could be appointed to the most important ministry,' the French ambassador Jean-Francois Bourgoing, reported, 'a man, moreover, whose attentiveness toward the queen leaves him so little time.' Despite Godoy's accumulation of 'lofty titles, unbounded wealth, solid power, and dazzling magnificence,' one English visitor wrote, he was 'treated by the first class with silent contempt.' Another English traveler described Godoy as 'a foul beast of prey,' and a third Englishman translated the common gossip of Spain into English literature. 'How carols now the lusty muleteer?' asked Lord Byron in the first canto of Childe Harold (written after Napoleon had sent Godoy and his royal patrons into exile). . . ." (A Wilderness So Immense: 107)
". . . What can be safely said is that the young man's tall stature, his clear eye, his fresh skin and his ruddy hair tended to stamp him as of 'old Christian ' stock, with no admixture of Moor or Jew." (Godoy Master of Spain, 1792-1808:15)
A sensual, sleepy look to him that absolutely inflamed women.
". . . What can be safely said is that the young man's tall stature, his clear eye, his fresh skin and his ruddy hair tended to stamp him as of 'old Christian ' stock, with no admixture of Moor or Jew." (Godoy Master of Spain, 1792-1808:15)
A sensual, sleepy look to him that absolutely inflamed women.
"Maria Luisa heaved a sigh of relief when old King Carlos died in 1788; he had been prepared to exile to a remote province her most recent lover, a spirited eighteen-year-old guardsman named Manuel Godoy. The latest object of the queen's affections was tall and strongly built, with a shock of thick black hair, dreamy dark eyes, and cheeks so naturally rosy that many incorrectly believed he wore rouge. There was a sensual, sleepy look to him that absolutely inflamed women. Now, with such a compliant husband as king, Maria Luisa could keep Godoy by her side and have sex with him whenever she wanted." (Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics: 188)
" . . . Besides being an upstart, he was vain, tactless, and opinionated. He made an ostentatious display of his wealth, which came from exploiting his new position. Yet he had a certain canny intelligence. Both the king and queen remained devoted to him for the rest of their lives, and trusted his wisdom. Except for a couple of years, he was the directing force in government during the rest of the reign." (An Historical Essay on Modern Spain: 66)
"The future King Carlos IV of Spain was also apparently tolerant of the sexual peccadilloes of his wife, Maria Luisa of Parma, who was aged just fourteen when he married her in 1765. She went on to have a series of affairs with courtiers, most notably with Manuel de Godoy, the tall, strongly built son of an aristocratic but impoverished army colonel, who had an enormous appetite for women. Godoy did not confine his attentions to the Queen, however: he married Maria Teresa de Borbon, the King's cousin, had a mistress, whom he obliged the Queen to take on as a lady-in-waiting, and embarked on a string of other casual affairs. Maria Luisa made little attempt to hide her relationship with Godoy --- baffling contemporary observers. 'The thing that must strike those most who watch Carlos IV in the bosom of his court is his blindness where the conduct of the Queen is concerned,' observed the French ambassador. The King, it seemed, was almost the only one at court who didn't recognize the striking resemblance of two of Maria Luisa's fourteen children to Godoy." (Great Survivors: 161)
First encounter.
" . . . When young, he was only a poor nobleman, who sang well, played on the guitar, and was distinguished by a tall, handsome figure. He accompanied his elder brother, don Luis Godoy, to Madrid, and soon entered the body guard of the king... The same accomplishments gained his brother the acquaintance of an attendant of the queen, who recommended him to her mistress. The queen learned from him that his brother sang and played still better, and don Manuel was summoned to her presence. The king also heard him, and was delighted with the style of his performance. Godoy now became a favorite at court. Here his handsome person, easy and agreeable conversation, together with his rage talent for intrigue, procured him, in quick succession, the following posts. . . ." (Encyclopaedia Americana: A Popular Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Vol 5: 539)
The meteoric rise of a teen-aged lover.
"At seventeen, Manuel Godoy had followed his brother into the first brigade of royal guards in 1784, and at twenty-one into the bedroom of Maria Luisa. After Carlos III died and Maria Luisa was queen, his rise was meteoric: colonel and knight of the Order of Santiago in 1789 at twenty-two, field marshal at twenty-four, duke of Alcudia, grandee of Spain, and first secretary of state at twenty-five. Despite Godoy's provincial education, the English ambassador Lord Holland found his conversation 'elegant, and equally exempt from vulgarity and affectation,' and his disposition 'somewhat indolent, or as the French term it nonchalant.' More than any other 'untravelled Spaniard,' Holland thought, Manuel Godoy displayed a mixture of dignity and politeness, of propriety and ease. He seemed born for a high station. Without effort he would have passed in any mixed society for the first man in it." (A Wilderness So Immense: 107)
From private in the Guards to Prime Minister of Spain.
From private in the Guards to Prime Minister of Spain.
"Manuel de Godoy, Duke of Alcudia, was a handsome youth, who at the age of twenty entered the King's bodyguard at Madrid and became a favorite of the weak King as well as the vicious Queen. She had been the Princess Maria Louisa of Parma. Godoy had honors heaped upon him, and was afterward known as the Duke of Alcudia and the Prince of Peace. In the brief space of four years, he moved up from the rank of a private in the Life Guard to that of prime minister of Spain and Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. This wretch became the power behind the throne and the real ruler of Spain. Everybody except the King knew that he was the lover of the Queen, who was shamelessly infatuated with him. In all the trouble that followed, the "poor Prince" was first in her thought, and all her efforts were for his welfare. He was the most unpopular man in the kingdom, and never could have sustained himself for a day but for the shocking passion of his royal mistress, who taught him the art of intrigue, which was the highest of all arts in that wretched country, and showed him how to control the King." (The Baldwin Project)
"And the dull, stupid king consented. This Godoy was a young man who had served in the life-guards, and was said to be the handsomest man in Spain. The queen had seen him at a review, and had taken a fancy to his face and figure. She had forced her weak husband to create him a duke, and now, before he was twenty-five, she made him prime-minister. Soon afterwards he got another title—Prince of the Peace—because he had made a peace with France, and by that title he was generally known. He was a young man of good family, and had been well educated, but he had no principle and no control of his passions or his appetites. He married early in life a pretty Spanish girl named Pepita Tudo. When he rose to high favor with the queen, he sent his wife to live in a distant country town, and that was the end of her. He was so handsome, and so dashing, and dressed so beautifully, and rode such prancing horses, that all the girls in Spain were in love with him. Among these was one whose father was an uncle of the king, and likewise a cardinal and an archbishop. Queen Maria Louisa ordered the prince to marry her, which he did without wincing. And this nice party, the pig-headed king and his shameless wife, the wild scape-grace and the cardinal's daughter, all held high revel, and feasted and dressed and rode and hunted as though life were nothing but a frolic, and there were no grave burghers in Madrid to knit their brows at such goings-on."(A Child's History of Spain)
"And the dull, stupid king consented. This Godoy was a young man who had served in the life-guards, and was said to be the handsomest man in Spain. The queen had seen him at a review, and had taken a fancy to his face and figure. She had forced her weak husband to create him a duke, and now, before he was twenty-five, she made him prime-minister. Soon afterwards he got another title—Prince of the Peace—because he had made a peace with France, and by that title he was generally known. He was a young man of good family, and had been well educated, but he had no principle and no control of his passions or his appetites. He married early in life a pretty Spanish girl named Pepita Tudo. When he rose to high favor with the queen, he sent his wife to live in a distant country town, and that was the end of her. He was so handsome, and so dashing, and dressed so beautifully, and rode such prancing horses, that all the girls in Spain were in love with him. Among these was one whose father was an uncle of the king, and likewise a cardinal and an archbishop. Queen Maria Louisa ordered the prince to marry her, which he did without wincing. And this nice party, the pig-headed king and his shameless wife, the wild scape-grace and the cardinal's daughter, all held high revel, and feasted and dressed and rode and hunted as though life were nothing but a frolic, and there were no grave burghers in Madrid to knit their brows at such goings-on."(A Child's History of Spain)
"Malaspina was confident that he could correct the policy of the government in a day, if it were not for the Sultan. The Sultan was Manuel Godoy, the chief minister of Charles IV. The pejorative designation may have referred to a high-handed manner on the part of Godoy, or to his having a number of mistresses as well as being the queen's lover. From this point on, the fate of Malaspina was bound to the man who became his nemesis. Godoy was a young Guards officer whose family were on the minor nobility in Badajoz. He had been accepted in the Guards regiment and had hardly put on his uniform before he took it off again to become the chief lover of Queen Maria Luisa. In spite of this, or in ignorance of it, the king held him in the highest esteem and soon made him the duke of Alcudia. On 14 November 1792 he dismissed Aranda and appointed Godoy as secretary of the Council of State, in effect as the first minister of Spain. With the help of the queen it was easy for Godoy to manipulate the indolent king, who was interested only in hunting twice every day. . . " (Alejandro Malaspina: Portrait of a Visionary: 123)
Queen Maria Luisa ruled the king; Godoy ruled the queen.
" . . . Her husband's hasty, frequent, and therapeutic embraces left her unsatisfied, and she took as a lover a young guardsman, Manuel Godoy, who served her better and whom she gradually propelled into the post of chief minister. Maria Luisa ruled the king, and Godoy ruled Maria Luisa, whom he treated with coarse and brutal contempt. The relationship was known to everybody in Spain except to her husband, who liked to joke good-naturedly about his cuckold cousin the king of Naples and Sicily... When Godoy tired of the queen, she kept him in her favor but took on other lovers, notably a certain Mallo, major-domo of the palace, on whom she lavished money and jewels, whom she despised, and without whom she could not manage. . . ." (The Age of Napoleon: 202)
Affair's benefits to Godoy.
Affair's benefits to Godoy.
" . . . The kind, for unaccountable reasons, had recently made him a grandee with the title of the Duke de la Alcudia. Now he raised him to be his first secretary, above all men of higher rank and more experience in government. Why this sudden favor? Because, rumor said, Godoy was the queen's current lover; Maria Luisa had the reputation of indulging herself with handsome young men of the court. . . ." (An Historical Essay on Modern Spain: 66)
"' . . . the most Excellent Lord Don Manuel de Godoy y Alvarez de Faria, Rios, Sanchez Zarzosa, Prince of the Peace, Duke of Alcudia, Lord of Soto de Roma and of the State of Albala; Grandee of Spain of the first class; perpetual Regidor of the City of Santiago, Knight of the Illustrious Order of the Golden Fleece, and Great Cross of the Royal and distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III; Commander of Valencia del Ventoso, Rivera, and Aceuchal in that of Santiago; Knight and Grand Cross of the religious Order of St. John; Counsellor of State; First Secretary of State and Despacho; Secretary to the Queen; Superintendent General of the Posts and Highways; Protector of the Royal Academy of the Noble Arts, and of the Royal Societies of Natural History, Botany, Chemistry, and Astronomy; Gentleman of the King's Chamber in employment; Captain-General of his Armies; Inspector and Major of the Royal Corps of Body Guards, etc, etc, etc. . . . .'" (Napoleon Series)
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| Manuel Godoy Duque de Alcudia |
Affair's beneficiaries.
". . . (F)irst, the two girls who, thanks to the extraordinary fortunes of their brother, were later to become the Marchioness of Branciforte and the Countess of Fuente Blanca respectively; next, the four sons, Jose, who would be a canon of Toledo, Luis, who would be made Captain-General of Estremadura, Manuel, the entire family's future benefactor, and Diego, who would bear the title of Duke of Almodovar del Campo." (Godoy Master of Spain, 1792-1808:15)
"Godoy’s relatives (and in-laws) had done extremely well from his royal connections. On 15 August 1790, his sister, Maria-Antonia de Godoy y Alvarez-Faria (died 25 July 1836), had married Miguel de la Grua Talamanca de Carini (born Sicily 1755), a former Captain-General of the Canary Islands and holder of the Order of the Golden Fleece. During Godoy’s premiership, Grua had been appointed the 53rd Viceroy of New Spain (26 March 1794); holding office from 11 July 1794 to 31 May 1798, Grua was removed in 1798 for excessive corruption. Despite his misrule in New Spain, Maria-Antonia’s husband was granted the title of 1st marques (marquis) de Talamanca y Branciforte on 10 January 1799, along with a 1st-class Grandeeship.[7]
"Ramona de Godoy y Alvarez-Faria, Godoy’s other sister, received the Order of Queen Maria Luisa (as did Maria-Antonia). She married Manuel Candido Moreno y Cidoncha, who was created 1st conde de Fuenteblanca on 27 January 1799.
Godoy’s uncle, Juan Manuel de Alvarez-Faria y Sanchez-Zarzosa (1739-1802), received the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1799." (Napoleon Series)
Godoy's personal & family background.
"Yet although his father, Don Jose Godoy, a notable and 'defender' of the city, a retired colonel of the militia, was Spanish, his mother, Dona Antonia Justa Alvarez de Faria, was of Portuguese origin. Both came from noble families. . . (T)here seems to be no doubt that both the Godoys and the Alvarez de Faria had good title to it. A Godoy had, it is possible, fought alongside King Sancho el Deseado in the thirteenth century; probably another had been lieutenant to Cortes in the days of Mexico's conquest. . . ." (Godoy Master of Spain, 1792-1808:14)
Godoy's spouses & children.
1) Maria Teresa de Borbon y Villabriga, 15th Condesa de Chinchon (1768-1828), daughter of Luis Antonio Jaime de Borbon, Conde de Chinchon, mar 1797, div 1808.
"Godoy was married to a niece of Charles III's, María Teresa de Borbón y Vallabriga (1780-1828), later Countess of Chinchón, daughter of the Infante Luis de Borbón. This marriage was very humiliating for the countess, it was arranged by the Queen Maria Luisa for her own duplicitous purposes. There are four known portraits of María Teresa by Goya; he maintained a lifelong sympathetic relationship with her." (ABC Gallery)
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| Josefa de Tudo Condesa de Castillo Fiel |
1st Condesa de Castillo Fiel 1807
1st Viscondesa de Rocafuerte
Noble Dame of the Order of Maria Luisa
Maid of Honour to Queen Maria Luisa
Daughter of: Antonio de Tudo y Alemany, a Spanish gunner, & Catalina Cathalan y Luecia.
Natural offspring:
1. Manuel de Godoy di Bassano, 2nd Principe Godoy di Bassano (1805-1871)
2. Luis (1807-?), mar 1829
"To make such an existence supportable, some lasting affection was absolutely necessary, and this, after some passing fancies, Godoy found with a dark-haired Andalusian girl, orphan child of a penniless artillery officer. Her name was Josefina Tudo: her friends called her Pepita. Vicente Lopez's portrait of her shows us a woman of regular features, large eyes, thick lips, big hands and a rather flaccid air -- all utterly different from Maria Luisa. She had come along with her mother Dona Catalina and her sisters, Magdalena and Socorro, to crave some boon of the favourite. She had passed along the road on which many others had preceded her. But she had pleased him and he had kept her. She was no fool and seemed a gentle creature. The Prince of the Peace found with her relaxation and, possibly, love: there was a tender streak in the depths of this libertine. The doubtless unfounded rumour soon got about Madrid that he had married the Tudo secretly. To her at any rate, though he would not abjure other delights for that, he was to stay constantly attached; at a much later date he would marry her publicly; but, when that time came, Pepita would be weary of Godoy who was both ruined and exiled, and would in the end leave him." (Godoy: Master of Spain, 1792-1808: 72)
"Dona Josepha Tudo was the mistress of the Prince of Peace. Some people have pretended that they were united by a secret marriage." (Memoirs of the Prince de Talleyrand, Vol 1: 265)
"To make such an existence supportable, some lasting affection was absolutely necessary, and this, after some passing fancies, Godoy found with a dark-haired Andalusian girl, orphan child of a penniless artillery officer. Her name was Josefina Tudo: her friends called her Pepita. Vicente Lopez's portrait of her shows us a woman of regular features, large eyes, thick lips, big hands and a rather flaccid air -- all utterly different from Maria Luisa. She had come along with her mother Dona Catalina and her sisters, Magdalena and Socorro, to crave some boon of the favourite. She had passed along the road on which many others had preceded her. But she had pleased him and he had kept her. She was no fool and seemed a gentle creature. The Prince of the Peace found with her relaxation and, possibly, love: there was a tender streak in the depths of this libertine. The doubtless unfounded rumour soon got about Madrid that he had married the Tudo secretly. To her at any rate, though he would not abjure other delights for that, he was to stay constantly attached; at a much later date he would marry her publicly; but, when that time came, Pepita would be weary of Godoy who was both ruined and exiled, and would in the end leave him." (Godoy: Master of Spain, 1792-1808: 72)
"Dona Josepha Tudo was the mistress of the Prince of Peace. Some people have pretended that they were united by a secret marriage." (Memoirs of the Prince de Talleyrand, Vol 1: 265)
"One such petitioner was Pepita Tudo, an Andalusian women who journeyed with her mother to Madrid to ask Godoy to intervene in a village land dispute. Eventually Tudo became Godoy's mistress and was given titles and privileges at court...." (A Social History of Modern Art, Vol 2: Art in an Age of Bonapartism, 1800: 293)
Natural Offspring: "Early in their reign, this hapless royal pair fell under the influence of the clever and devious Manuel de Godoy, originally a guardsman of the royal household. This man, sixteen years Queen Maria Luisa's junior, was generally believed to have been her principal lover. It was even rumored that he sired two of the royal children. Charles IV, referred to as the 'Royal Cuckold,' never seemed aware of his wife's rampant libido or the situation with Godoy. He gave Godoy estates and royal titles, finally dubbing him the 'Prince of Peace' after he helped negotiate peace with the French Directory in 1795." (The Louisiana Purchase: A Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia: 65)
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Luis de Urquijo, c1800 |
6) Luis de Urquijo.
Prime Minister of Spain, 1799-1800 & 1808-1813.
" . . . Best of all, he knew personally Spain's principal minister, Mariano Luis de Urquijo. This statesman was said to be a lover of the Spanish queen, which would give him access to the king. If the queen approved of their plans, then the king would agree, and indeed the matter was soon settled. . . ." (Explorers of the Amazon: 226)
7) Antonio Cornel y Ferraz.
8) Manuel Mallo.
Major-domo of the Palace
"...The ascendancy of Manuel Mallo and Francisco de Saavedra, two of Esteban's friends, made it a favorable moment. Born in Popayan, Mallo had grown up in Caracas with the Palacios Blancos brothers, Esteban, Carlos, and Pedro. He had displaced Manuel de Godoy (1767-1851) as Queen Maria Luisa's court favorite. His official position of weekly steward gave him access to the royal family. Saavedra, a Spaniard, and the Palacios Blancos had become friends during his term as finance minister in Caracas (1783-88)." (Sex with the Queen: 17).
"When the queen took on a new lover named Manuel Mallo, King Carlos, seeing Mallo in a beautiful carriage pulled by for magnificent horses, wondered aloud how the fellow could afford to keep such a splendid equipage...." (Sex with the Queen: 189).
"...Bolivar was dispatched to the army where his physical strength earned him promotion and respect. When he returned to Caracas, his uncles sent him to Spain where he moved in the highest circles as his protector, Manuel Mallo, was chief advisor to (and the lover of) Queen Maria Luisa of Parma, who dominated her husband King Charles IV." (The Battle of Venezuela)
"During the Ministry of Saavedra and in the middle of a temporary cool relationship between the Queen and Godoy, his enemies organized another conspiracy to replace him... One day the King and Queen were on the main balcony of the El Pardo Palace accompanied by Godoy and other grandees... Manuel Mallo appeared with a team of beautiful horses and a brilliant entourage. Carlos IV was most impressed with this magnificent display and on inquiring who the individual was, he was told it was the youthful criollo Mallo. Surprised, the King responded: “I cannot comprehend how this person can maintain this luxury!” To which Godoy responded: “Your Majesty, it is scandalously rumored that Mallo is supported by an ugly, old woman, whose name I cannot recall.” The Queen interjected, “Carlos, you know Manuel, always joking!'" (A Queen and the Fall of an Enlightened Thinker)
Effects on Lovers' Family, Other People and Society.
". . . What is known of Maria Luisa's later life makes it, all the same, necessary to give some credence to the rumours which ran around about her flightiness. In the end, at any rate, these rumours became sufficiently concrete to reach the ears of Charles III, for whom morals were no laughing matter. He gave his daughter-in-law a severe scolding, which reduced her to tears but did not otherwise change the course of things. Then the Sovereign took stronger measures: the moment information reached hum that a young man seemed to be getting on too well with the Princess, the unfortunate would find himself condemned to an exile that was often of Ovidian rigour." (Godoy Master of Spain, 1792-1808: 21)
Early lovers' fate from the sovereign.
"The first to undergo this fate was a passionate Andalusian, the Count of Teba, heir of the grandeeship of Montijo; next came a Portuguese gentleman, the Count of Lancaster; then followed the handsome Pignatelli, also the lover of the bewitching Duchess of Alba whose path then for the first time crossed that of Maria Luisa; a Spaniard of the name of Ortiz, a gentleman of the royal Chamber, brought up the rear." (Godoy Master of Spain, 1792-1808: 22)
"In 1785 the Prince was a strapping fellow of thirty-seven, fairly tall, putting on weight, with a small head, regular features, round eyes, a ruddy complexion and a long nose which overhung a weak mouth and a protruding chin -- the whole combined with what the courtiers called an air of majestic benevolence, and the ill-disposed, stupidity. . . ." (Godoy Master of Spain, 1782-1808: 18)
9) Ortiz., a Spanish gentleman of the royal Chamber.
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| Isabel II of Spain |
"Maria Cristina did little to build stable, long-lasting support for Isabella. The terms of the regency stipulated that Maria Cristina could not remarry. But within three months of Ferdinand's death she fell in love with a soldier named Agustín Fernando Muñoz y Sánchez and secretly married him in an irregular ceremony. Over the years, she gave birth to four children with Muñoz, none of whom she could publicly recognize." (encyclopedia.com)
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Isabel II & Francisco de Borbon & her bastard children |
Wife of: Francisco de Asis de Borbon, Duke of Cadiz (1822-1902)
"As you know, the marriages of royalty are based upon national interests, without a thought of love, though now and then, as in the case of Queen Victoria and later in that of one of the Kings of Spain, genuine affection manifests itself. From the very birth of Isabella, the future Queen, one of the most interesting questions of Spain was as to who should be her husband. Many candidates were named, and the consideration of the problem went on for several years, but the choice finally fell upon Don Francisco d'Assisi, one of the sons of Don Francisco di Paula, a brother of Ferdinand VII., and therefore the cousin of Isabella. He was an effeminate man, whom Isabella abhorred, and for that reason he was selected by Christina and her allies. The marriage took place amid splendid ceremonies in 1846, on the sixteenth birthday of Isabella. The young Queen made no attempt to conceal her contempt for her husband, but exiled him to a country residence, and in her indignation toward her mother gave her to understand that she would permit no further interference from her. Then she threw off all restraint and wallowed in a mire of shameless immorality." (The Baldwin Project)
"Isabel’s marriage was a further point of controversy and different factions and international interests supported various candidates. In the end the chosen candidate was a weak and inoffensive Italian, Francisco de Asís de Borbón, who was double second cousin to Isabel via both his parents. However, there was no danger of genetic complications from their union. From the age of 13 Isabel demonstrated a voracious sexual appetite and became promiscuous to point of general alarm. She was married on her sixteenth birthday to avoid the danger of accidental illegitimacy. Her new husband was overtly homosexual, much to the distaste of Isabel who later said: 'What can I say about a man who, on our wedding night, was wearing more lace than I was?' Isabel gave birth to eleven children, but only five of her children reached maturity. At each birth her husband was paid a sum of money to recognize the child as his own and therefore make the child legitimate. Whilst Isabel surrounded herself with her lovers, her husband achieved emotional stability with a discreet lasting relationship with a young courtier." (Jane Cronin)
Francisco's physical appearance.
"Don Francisco was small and slight, with a shrill voice. In an age when were generally expected to be dashing soldiers and incorrigible philistines, he was a peace-loving devotee of the arts. He was also a hopeless hypochondriac who refused to give audiences to anyone suffering from a cold. Throughout the courts of Europe he was known as 'Paquita', which translated into English as 'Fanny'. It was said that when in uniform he looked just like a young girl dressed up as a general. If Queen Isabel had been looking for a husband who was the personification of manliness, then she was to be sorely disappointed. He was believed to have little interest in consummating their marriage, even if he was capable of doing so. If he did not provide the Queen with any children, the crown of Spain would pass to the descendants of her sister Luisa. To Leopold, King of the Belgians, Queen Victoria railed bitterly about 'thus truly unfortunate and painful Spanish business', saying that her 'feelings were and are deeply wounded at the unhandsome and secret manner (so totally, in letter and in meaning, contrary to an entente cordiale) in which this affair was settled, and in which the two marriages were incorporated.'" (Divided Kingdom)
Presumed royalty paternity?.
Presumed royalty paternity?.
" . . . Obligated by dynastic reasons to marry her cousin, impotent and a homosexual, she said of him 'What can I report of a man who on his wedding night wore more lace than I?' Since she and her impotent consort had numerous children, of whom five lived to become fine persons, each birth became the occasion for a good deal of open speculation as to who the father might have been, and since Isabel took a bewildering series of lovers in rapid succession, the guessing sometimes became confused. The father of her first child could have been any one of four: a general, an opera singer (tenor), a marques or a young colonel in the army. This child died. . . The next child, who also died, was attributed to either Obregon the singer, Arrieta the composer, Puig-Molto the soldier or an unspecified marques. Regarding the parentage of her later children the guesses were fantastic, for preceding their births Isabel had what might be termed a catch-as-catch-can series of lovers from all ranks of society, although she always maintained a preference for musicians and soldiers. What concerns history is the parentage of her first surviving male child, the boy who later became King Alfonso XII. Prior to his birth the queen's favorite had been the soldier, who enjoyed a longer stay at the palace than most, but there is reason to believe that he could not have been in attendance when the child was conceived; he was absent on maneuvers. . . ." (Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections: 295)
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| Isabel II de España |
Isabel II's lovers were:
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Francisco Serrano Duque de la Torre |
1st Duque de la Torre
Grandee of Spain
Count of San Antonio
"Despising and disregarding her husband, Isabel soon found what she wanted in the arms of other men. One of the first was General Francisco Serrano y Dominguez, a handsome dashing courtier whom she had known before her marriage. Twenty-two years older than the Queen, he had followed a military career and rose in rank from captain to brigadier-general in the Carlist wars, then went into politics and became a member of the Cortes. In 1840 he had helped Espartero overthrow Queen Maria Cristina, and for his efforts was rewarded with the post of minister for war in Olozaga's government. Queen Maria Cristina held strong views on the sanctity of marriage, and would probably have briskly dispelled any notion her pleasure-loving elder daughter might have had about allowing the General to share her bed. Yet Isabel was now confident enough to refuse to be dictated to by her mother, and within a few weeks of her wedding it was an open secret that Serrano was her lover." (Divided Kingdom: The Spanish Monarchy from Isabel to Juan Carlos)
" . . . Isabella was fun-loving, cheerful, willful, ill-educated and plump. The marriage was an almost instant failure and Isabella’s fondness for a handsome young general named Francisco Serrano was soon noticed. . . ." (History Today)
"...He died in Madrid on 25 November/26 November 1885, twenty-four hours after Alfonso XII, who some say to be his own son. Alfonso was the son of Isabella II of Spain, and allegedly, Francis of Assisi de Borbon, her King Consort. His true biological paternity is uncertain, though his legal paternity is not: his mother was married to her (presumed homosexual) cousin Francis of Assisi de Borbon, the King Consort of Spain, at the time of Alfonso's conception and birth. Some theories suggest that Alfonso's biological father might have been either Enrique Puigmoltó y Mayans,Captain of the Royal Guard, or General Francisco Serrano." (Wikipedia)
2) Jose Mirall.
Spanish singer.
Spanish singer.
"A week later Narvaez left Paris and returned to Madrid. Some thought that he had the consent of King Louis Philippe and Queen Maria Cristina to begin divorce proceedings between the King and the Queen, and that he intended to send Bulwer away, maybe even have Serrano shot. Unknown to everyone else, the fickle Queen Isabel was beginning to tire of Serrano. A young opera singer, Jose Mirall, had been spending much time at the palace, ostensibly on the grounds that he was giving the Queen singing lessons. . . ." (Divided Kingdom: The Spanish Monarchy)
"Nevertheless, there were limits to the licence permitted to the Queen's favourites. On returning to his lodgings from the palace early one morning in November, Mirall found his rooms full of police. They promptly bundled him into a carriage and sent him to Valencia. While they probably had no illusions as to such an action strengthening their marriage, at least they could observe their role in helping to encourage her to behave with greater propriety in future." (Divided Kingdom: The Spanish Monarchy)
5) Manuel Lorenzo de Acuña y Dewitte, 10th Marques de Bedmar (1821-1883)
"On December 20th, 1851 Isabel de Borbón y Borbón , was born. She was the first daughter to Queen Isabel and her husband Francisco de Asis, although it seems that her real father was somebody different. In general it is believed that it was José Ruiz de Araña y Saavedra, Duke of Baena, who was the Queen´s lover from 1850 until 1856." (sightseeing-madrid.com)
". . . Who the father of her second baby was no one cared to state for this time there were six putative fathers, but the little girl, who lived to become one of Spain's gentlest and noblest ladies, beloved by everyone, was generally known as Arañuela, after her mother's prominent lover at the time, an ordinary soldier named Araña. . . ." (Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections: 295)
1st Duque de Tetuan, 1st Conde de Lucena, Grande de Espana.
" . . . By this time Isabella was twenty-four---old enough to realise to the full the importance of her actions; yet, within a few months of this revolt, she began to intrigue against the man who had saved her; and, as if bent upon seeking compensation for her impotence as a sovereign by abusing her liberty as a wife, she made her court the scene of worse disorders even than before. Favourite followed favourite in quick succession (amongst them Emilio Arrieto the composer, and Tirso Obregon the singer), King Francis the while standing by as a placid spectator. . . . " (The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 267: 275)
"Isabella at that time was at San Sebastian for sea-bathing, with the King, her children, her court, her lover Marfori )an opera-singer, raised lately to the Spanish peerage by the title of Marquis de Loja), and her confessor, Father Claret, Archbishop of Cuba. Marfori had also been made Intendant of the Palace---an office usually bestowed in men of rank or distinction." (Spain in the Nineteenth Century: 326)
"Nevertheless, there were limits to the licence permitted to the Queen's favourites. On returning to his lodgings from the palace early one morning in November, Mirall found his rooms full of police. They promptly bundled him into a carriage and sent him to Valencia. While they probably had no illusions as to such an action strengthening their marriage, at least they could observe their role in helping to encourage her to behave with greater propriety in future." (Divided Kingdom: The Spanish Monarchy)
3) Emilio Arrieta (1823-1894)
Spanish composer, songwriter.
"The son of a country landowner, Pascual Emilio Arrieta y Corera was born in Puente la Reina, Navarra, on 21st October, 1821. Several adventurous trips to Italy culminated in an extended period of study at the Milan Conservatory (1841-5) under various maestri including Vaccai. There he became friends with Amilcare Ponchielli, composer of La Gioconda, winning First Price on his graduation and writing Ildegonda (1846), a three-act opera to an Italian libretto by the fashionable Temistocle Solera which was successfully performed in several Italian cities. He returned to Madrid the same year, becoming a fast favorite of the Queen, Isabel II. She appointed the young composer to a succession of posts, culminating in his investiture as first director of the Teatro Real in December 1849, two months after the presentation of Ildegonda at the new theatre. A second Italian opera La Conquista de Granada followed in 1850, again to a text by Solera. He taught at the Madrid Conservatory from 1857, becoming director after the 'Glorious'Revolution of 1868; his leading pupils were Chapi and Breton, but after the final deposition of Isabel II his influence gradually declined. Two years after suffering a stroke he died at his home in Madrid on 11 February 1894." (The Zarzuela Companion: 27)
4) Colonel Gandara.
"The son of a country landowner, Pascual Emilio Arrieta y Corera was born in Puente la Reina, Navarra, on 21st October, 1821. Several adventurous trips to Italy culminated in an extended period of study at the Milan Conservatory (1841-5) under various maestri including Vaccai. There he became friends with Amilcare Ponchielli, composer of La Gioconda, winning First Price on his graduation and writing Ildegonda (1846), a three-act opera to an Italian libretto by the fashionable Temistocle Solera which was successfully performed in several Italian cities. He returned to Madrid the same year, becoming a fast favorite of the Queen, Isabel II. She appointed the young composer to a succession of posts, culminating in his investiture as first director of the Teatro Real in December 1849, two months after the presentation of Ildegonda at the new theatre. A second Italian opera La Conquista de Granada followed in 1850, again to a text by Solera. He taught at the Madrid Conservatory from 1857, becoming director after the 'Glorious'Revolution of 1868; his leading pupils were Chapi and Breton, but after the final deposition of Isabel II his influence gradually declined. Two years after suffering a stroke he died at his home in Madrid on 11 February 1894." (The Zarzuela Companion: 27)
4) Colonel Gandara.
" . . . Another candidate was Colonel Gandara, an army officer who also had an affair with her around that time. When Narvaez announced ti the Cortes that Her Majesty was with child, Francisco asked him to let him attend the meetings of the Council as the prospective father of the heir to the throne, a request that was greeted with some amusement. Narvaez refused on the grounds that there was no precedent for a King consort to be present. . . ." ( Divided Kingdom: the Spanish Monarchy)
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| Manuel Lorenzo Marquess of Bedmar @geni |
Ambassador to France
Ambassador to Russia.
During the next few years Queen Isabel had twelve children, though only five lived to adulthood. The paternity of most was open to some doubt, and despite the disapproval if not outright hostility of her husband (who was probably father to no more than two or three of them), her mother and her ministers, the Queen continued to take lovers -- and tire of them. Once Francisco threatened to have them all hanged from her balcony. Serrano and Mirall were not the only ones prepared to take the risk. Another was Don Manuel Lorenzo de Acuña y Devitte, the Marquis de Bedmar, a businessman, diplomat and close friend of Sir Henry Bulwer. He had a room below that of the Queen in the palace, their apartments being connected by a small staircase. The reinstatement of Narvaez almost proved his undoing, for when he learnt that Bedmar was living in the palace, he demanded a meeting with the Queen and lectured her on her shameless behaviour. Furious at his presumption, she ordered him never to enter her presence again. He promptly went to see Queen maria Cristina, wo endorsed the dismissal of Bedmar and the retention of Narvaez in office. Bedmar was transferred to the Spanish legation in Paris, and later became ambassador to Russia. As Bedmar had been living in the palace when Queen Isabel conceived her first child, he may have been the father. . . ." ( Divided Kingdom: the Spanish Monarchy)
During the next few years Queen Isabel had twelve children, though only five lived to adulthood. The paternity of most was open to some doubt, and despite the disapproval if not outright hostility of her husband (who was probably father to no more than two or three of them), her mother and her ministers, the Queen continued to take lovers -- and tire of them. Once Francisco threatened to have them all hanged from her balcony. Serrano and Mirall were not the only ones prepared to take the risk. Another was Don Manuel Lorenzo de Acuña y Devitte, the Marquis de Bedmar, a businessman, diplomat and close friend of Sir Henry Bulwer. He had a room below that of the Queen in the palace, their apartments being connected by a small staircase. The reinstatement of Narvaez almost proved his undoing, for when he learnt that Bedmar was living in the palace, he demanded a meeting with the Queen and lectured her on her shameless behaviour. Furious at his presumption, she ordered him never to enter her presence again. He promptly went to see Queen maria Cristina, wo endorsed the dismissal of Bedmar and the retention of Narvaez in office. Bedmar was transferred to the Spanish legation in Paris, and later became ambassador to Russia. As Bedmar had been living in the palace when Queen Isabel conceived her first child, he may have been the father. . . ." ( Divided Kingdom: the Spanish Monarchy)
6) Jose Ruiz de Araña y Saavedra (1826-1891)
Lover in 1850-1856
8th Conde de Sevilla la Nueva, Viscount of Mamblas, Duque de Castel Sangro, Duque de Baena
Son of: Jose Maria Ruiz de Araña y Alvarez & Maria de la Candelaria Saavedra y Ramirez de Baquedano, 7th Countess of Sevilla la Nueva.
Husband of: Maria Rosalia Osorio de Moscoso y Carvajal, 14th Duchess of Baena (1840-1918).
"Later that year she took another lover, Don Jose Maria Ruiz de Araña, a young army officer who had recently fought on behalf of the crown in an insurrection in Madrid. By the early summer of 1851 the Queen was known to be expecting again, and on 20 December she gave birth to a daughter. No effort was spared to ensure no harm would come to the baby girl, and the Queen would hardly let her out of her sight. At a ceremony two days later she was christened Isabel after her mother, but she was known as 'La Aranuela' by gossips of the day. The godparents were Dowager Queen Maria Cristina and the Infante Don Francisco de Paula. . . ." (Divided Kingdom)
"On December 20th, 1851 Isabel de Borbón y Borbón , was born. She was the first daughter to Queen Isabel and her husband Francisco de Asis, although it seems that her real father was somebody different. In general it is believed that it was José Ruiz de Araña y Saavedra, Duke of Baena, who was the Queen´s lover from 1850 until 1856." (sightseeing-madrid.com)
". . . Who the father of her second baby was no one cared to state for this time there were six putative fathers, but the little girl, who lived to become one of Spain's gentlest and noblest ladies, beloved by everyone, was generally known as Arañuela, after her mother's prominent lover at the time, an ordinary soldier named Araña. . . ." (Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections: 295)
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| Enrique Puigmolto y Mayans. |
Lover in 1848-1856.
3rd Conde de Torrefiel
1st Vizconde de Miranda
Spanish aristocrat & military officer
Believed to be the father of Alfonso XII of Spain
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| Leopoldo O'Donnell |
8) Leopoldo O'Donnell (1809-1867)
Spanish general & statesman.
1st Duque de Tetuan, 1st Conde de Lucena, Grande de Espana.
9) Miguel Tenorio de Castilla.
Spanish writer & politician & her secretary:
Lover in 1858-1865.
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| Tirso de Obregon y Pierrad |
10) Tirso de Obregon y Pierrad (1832-1889)
Spanish baritone.
Son of: Juan de la Cruz de Obregon y Velazquez & Carmen Pierrad Yebenes.
Spouse & Children: She married Francisco de Asis de Borbon. The couple had the following "official children": 1) Isabel (1851-?), presumed daughter of Jose Ruiz de Araña; 2) Alfonso XII (1857-?), presumed son of Enrique Puigmolto y Mayans; 3) Pilar (1861-?); 4) Paz (1862-?); and 5) Eulalia (1864-?), the last three presumed to be daughters of Miguel Tenorio.
"A natural consequence of the real or supposed impotence of the King Consort . . . was the Queen's reputation for sexual immorality which, linked to her expansive personality, often led to acts of indiscretion. The identity and number of the Queen's lovers must ultimately remain a matter of speculation, but Serrano, 'el general bonito' and Carlos Marfori, who eventually received the Ministerio de Ultramar, seem generally acclaimed as belonging to that number. . . ." (Valle-Inclán's Ruedo Ibérico: A Popular View of Revolution: 34)
"Even much of the talk about Queen Isabel II had some basis in fact. Luis de Ayala and Minister Marfori are said to have had intimate relations with the Queen, which is wholly possible due to her alleged nymphomania." (Wikipedia)
" . . . By this time Isabella was twenty-four---old enough to realise to the full the importance of her actions; yet, within a few months of this revolt, she began to intrigue against the man who had saved her; and, as if bent upon seeking compensation for her impotence as a sovereign by abusing her liberty as a wife, she made her court the scene of worse disorders even than before. Favourite followed favourite in quick succession (amongst them Emilio Arrieto the composer, and Tirso Obregon the singer), King Francis the while standing by as a placid spectator. . . . " (The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 267: 275)
11) Jose de Murga y Reolid, 1st Marques de Linares (1833-1902)
1st Visconde de Llanteno.
Husband of Raimunda de Osorio y Ortega, mar 1858
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| Crown of the Marques de Loja |
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| Coat of Arms of Carlos Marfori |
"Isabella was at her summer residence in San Sebastian, whose blossoming as a resort under royal patronage was perhaps her principal contribution. With her was her latest lover, Carlos Marfori, a former actor. She found herself deserted by her generals, including Serrano, and fled by train to exile in Paris. Her husband and Marfori went with her and she bought a house in the Avenue Kleber and christened it the Palais de Castille. There two years later she abdicated in favour of her teenage son, Don Alfonso. Who his father was is a good question, but he prudently went off to study soldiering at Sandhurst." (History Today)
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| Miramar Palace Isabella Ii of Spain's summer residence in San Sebastian |
"All this was terrifying news to Queen Isabella, who with her immediate friends, including a new lover, named Marfori, was at San Sebastian taking the sea baths. The authorities telegraphed her to return to Madrid at once, but to leave her lover behind. The request threw her into a rage, and she stayed where she was." (The Baldwin Project)
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Miramar Palace |
"Still she sought happiness in the company of a faithful male companion. Shortly after her son's recall to the throne, Canovas had ordered her to send Marfori back to Spain, where he was arrested in October 1875 but released for months later as the government could not charge him with any crime. He remained in Spain until his death in 1892. . . ." (Divided Kingdom)
"In the late 1860s affairs began to go further downhill. Isabella's latest lover Carlos Marfori was fat, middle-aged and pretentious, so this caused more irritation than usual. . . A serious mutiny at the San Gil barracks was put down but then followed by another military coup, this time by Isabella's former lover the more liberal General Serrano who won a hard-fought battle at Alcolea in 1868. Facing deposition and reluctant to give up her lover Marfori, Isabella now aged forty headed for the French border and stayed for a while at the Chateau Pau, birthplace of the ancestor of all Bourbon monarchs, Henri IV, before buying herself a palace in Paris, now the Hotel Majestic." (The Impossible Bourbons: Europe's Most Ambitious Dynasty)
" . . . In 1864, a rich Russian nobleman named Alexander Basilewski (de) constructed a palace at 19 avenue du Roi de Rome, designed by architect Clément Parent. Basilewski sold the palace in 1868 to the Duke of Sesto, who re-named it the Palacio Castilla. It was bought in behalf of Queen Isabella II of Spain, who had just exiled to Spain following the Glorious Revolution. The Duke of Sesto had preceded the queen to France and arranged for her welcome by Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie. The Duke of Sesto and Eugenie had known one another since they were both teenagers in Madrid. The Palacio Castilla was used as her home in exile where the Duke of Sesto and Queen Isabel plotted to have her son Prince Alfonso be elevated to the Spanish throne. The duke talked Queen Isabel II into abdicating on June 20, 1870, the ceremony taking place at Palacio Castilla in the presence of as many Spanish grandees as could be brought to Paris for the ceremony. The queen's abdication led toward France's declaration of war against Prussia less than a month later. Queen Isabel II continued to live in Paris while the Duke of Sesto succeeded in arousing support in Spain for Prince Alfonso who was welcomed into Madrid in 1875 as King Alfonso XII. However, he died at the age of 28 of tuberculosis and was succeeded by his son Alfonso XIII as an infant under the regency of his mother Queen Maria Cristina. The former Queen Isabel II continued to live in Paris until her death in 1904. The property was then acquired by hotel magnate Leonard Tauber after a bidding war that involved the United States government and the King of Belgium." (Wikipedia)
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| @Wikipedia |
13) Jose Ramiro de la Puente y Gonzales-Nandin, Marques de Alta Villa (1845-1909)
Spanish writer
" . . . Alone again, she took a new lover, Jose Ramiro de la Puente y Gonzalez de Adin, an army officer. He arrived in Paris in 1877, and soon after returning from Spain Isabel made him her personal secretary and head of her household. Early the following year she bought him and settled in a hunting lodge at Fontenay." (Divided Kingdom)
"Though now aged forty-five, her childbearing days were not quite over. On 28 March she had another child, apparently a stillborn. Very few people, apart from her lady-in-waiting and a few confidantes among her household, knew about the birth. Again she suffered from severe depression as a result, and her relationship with Ramiro de la Puente did not survive much longer. At her personal request the title of Marques de Villa Alta was conferred on him by the King of Italy, and he later returned to Madrid." (Divided Kingdom)
"This unhappy episode was to have a curious sequel. About twenty years later, towards the end of Queen Isabel's life, Pedro de Repide, a young Spanish writer, arrived in Paris saying he had come with instructions to take care of personal library. When questioned about his family, he said he was the adopted son of a civil servant with whom he shared a name, and to whose care he had been entrusted by the family of Ramiro de la Puente in 1878. He had always been supported and educated with money from the Duke of Sesto. While staying at the Palacio de Castilla he had had access to the Queen's documents, and after studying these he eventually concluded that he was the child born at Fontenay. Nobody ever saw fir to prove or disprove his claim." (Divided Kingdom)
Her other lovers were:
Antonio Ramon Meneses.
Carlos Luis de Borbon.
Carlos Luis de Borbon.
Her cousin
Husband of:
1. Teresa Bagioli (1836-1867) mar 1852-1867.
2. Carmina Creagh mar 1871-1914
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Daniel Sickles |
"Sickles spent most of the 1870s abroad, and like many of his contemporaries, initially had little involvement in veterans' and battlefield affairs. He was Minister to Spain from 1869-1873. While in Madrid, he allegedly had an affair with Queen Isabella II, began a stormy second marriage to one of Isabella's twenty-something attendants, quarreled with Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, was accused of using 'child virgins for the purpose of prostitution,' and encouraged a war with Spain. Life with Sickles was never dull. He resigned and moved to Paris in 1874, before deciding to return to the United States in late 1879." (Civil War Trust)
" . . . General Dan Sickles' prewar adventures included serial infidelity and the murder of his wife's lover. Post-war, as US ambassador to Spain, he had a torrid affair with Queen Isabella II." (Sexual Misbehavior in the Civil War: A Compendium: 265)
" . . . Later in his life, he would jump into bed with Spain's deposed Queen, Isabella II, as well as a few of her attendants." (TSBMag)
"Sickles's remarkably indulgent parents packed him off to the Manhattan household of Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's old librettist, in the hopes that young Dan would get an education there. He certainly did. Before long, he was rumored to have seduced Da Ponte's adopted, married daughter, Maria Cooke Bagioli, and blackmailed her husband. Not so many years later, he would seduce Maria's 15-year-old daughter, Teresa, bringing her before the formidable Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, John J. Hughues, to be married only when she was visibly pregnant." (NYT)
"Dan Sickles, congressman from New York, was married to the most beautiful woman in Washington but his other interests, including his mistresses, often kept him away. His lonely young wife, Teresa, found comfort in the arms of Philip Barton Key, D.C. District Attorney and son of poet Francis Scott Key. When Sickles learned of their affair he armed himself and confronted Key on the street. Blinded by rage he shot and killed his wife's lover. . . ." (Murder by Gaslight)
General Sickles's other lover:
1) Fanny White.
Francisco Frontela.
Spanish voice teacher
Josef Haltmann.
Josef Haltmann.
Jose Vicente Ventosa.
Teacher.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
"Undaunted by the vagaries of Broadway, Robert Altman is planning to bring to the stage what sounds like his most unusual project yet---Great Gottschalk!, a musical without songs. The inspiration for the project is Louis Moreau Gottschalk, an American-born nineteenth-century composer whose music made him the toast of Europe---but who was known in his homeland for a crowded love life that included affairs with Spain's Queen Isabella II and an underage girl in San Francisco." (New York Magazine: 18)
18) Luis de Ayala.
19) McKeon.
18) Luis de Ayala.
19) McKeon.
American dentist.
"I am constantly fascinated by this empty-headed, charming fellow, because there is a strong possibility that he was a part-American whose name should have been Alfonso McKeon. Clearly he was the son of King Alfonso XII and Queen Maria Cristina of Austria; no one questioned that, but who Alfonso XII might have been was another matter. He was the son of the son of Spain's notorious Queen Isabel II, probably the most lecherous crowned head ever to rule in Europe, man or woman; if she is in second place it is only to Catherine the Great of Russia, and this I doubt. . . The honor of siring the future king probably went to an itinerant American dentist named McKeon, who, the gossips said, 'did a lot more at the palace than fill teeth.' For more than a year he was the royal favorite and this during the time when the future king was conceived. The extraordinary fact about Isabel's children is that regardless of who their fathers were, each looked a true Borbon, while Alfonso II and his son Alfonso XIII actually had Habsburg chins!" (Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections: 295)
Salustiano Olozaga (1805-1873)
Queen Ena's affair?.
"More than a century later, when another Spanish king, Alfonso XIII, the grandfather of Juan Carlos, the current monarch, went into exile, initially in Paris, he became concerned by the closeness of his queen, Victoria Eugenie, to the Duke of Lecera and his wife, the Duchess, thought to be a lesbian. When Victoria Eugenie remonstrated with him over one of his affairs, he taunted her over her relationship with the couple, declaring, 'I choose them and never want to see your ugly face again.'" (Great Survivors: 161)Queen Ena's lovers were:
Jaime de Silva, Duque de Lecera and his wife Rosario Agrela.
"In the Hotel Savoy de Fontainebleau the ex-kings were interviewed, and their conversation was extremely hard. Victoria Eugenia was accompanied by the Dukes of Lécera, Jaime de Silva and Rosario Agrela, with whom she had double sex. Her husband reproached her for living with them in exile, and gave her an ultimatum: she had to choose between him and them. The ex queen replied "I choose them, and I do not want to see your ugly monkey face in life again." From that day the spouses resided in distant places, and Victoria Eugenia refused to even attend the weddings of her children Beatriz, Jaime and Juan, to avoid meeting her despised husband." (Unidad Civica por la Republica)
"In the Hotel Savoy de Fontainebleau the ex-kings were interviewed, and their conversation was extremely hard. Victoria Eugenia was accompanied by the Dukes of Lécera, Jaime de Silva and Rosario Agrela, with whom she had double sex. Her husband reproached her for living with them in exile, and gave her an ultimatum: she had to choose between him and them. The ex queen replied "I choose them, and I do not want to see your ugly monkey face in life again." From that day the spouses resided in distant places, and Victoria Eugenia refused to even attend the weddings of her children Beatriz, Jaime and Juan, to avoid meeting her despised husband." (Unidad Civica por la Republica)
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