Charles IV of Spain

Charles IV
Portrait of Charles IV by Goya
King of Spain (more)
Reign	14 December 1788 – 19 March 1808
Predecessor	Charles III
Successor	Ferdinand VII
Born	11 November 1748 Palace of Portici, Portici, Kingdom of Naples
Died	Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Papal States
Burial	El Escorial
Spouse	Maria Luisa of Parma
Issue	Charlotte Joachina, Queen of Portugal Infanta María Amalia María Louisa, Queen of Etruria Ferdinand VII of Spain Infante Charles, Count of Molina María Isabella, Queen of the Two Sicilies Infante Francisco de Paula
Full name Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego
House	Bourbon
Father	Charles III of Spain
Mother	Maria Amalia of Saxony
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Charles IV (Spanish: Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain from 14 December 1788, until his abdication on 19 March 1808.

Early life

Charles was the second son of Charles III and his wife, Maria Amalia of Saxony. He was born in Naples (11 November 1748), while his father was King of Naples and Sicily. His elder brother, Don Felipe, was passed over for both thrones, due to his learning disabilities and epilepsy. In Naples and Sicily, Charles was referred to as the Prince of Taranto. He was called El Cazador (meaning "the Hunter"), due to his preference for sport and hunting, rather than dealing with affairs of the state. Charles was considered by many to have been amiable, but simple-minded.

Reign

Charles IV of Spain

In 1788, Charles III died and Charles IV succeeded to the throne. He intended to maintain the policies of his father, and retained his prime minister, the Count of Floridablanca, in office. Even though he had a profound belief in the sanctity of his office, and kept up the appearance of an absolute, powerful monarch, Charles never took more than a passive part in his own government. The affairs of government were left to his wife, Maria Luisa, and his prime minister, while he occupied himself with hunting. In 1792, political and personal enemies ousted Floridablanca from office, replacing him with Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda. However, in the wake of the war against Republican France, the liberal-leaning Count of Aranda was himself replaced by Manuel de Godoy, a favourite of the Queen and widely believed to be her lover, who enjoyed the lasting favor of the King.

Godoy continued Aranda's policy of neutrality towards France, but after Spain protested the execution of Louis XVI of France, the deposed king, in 1793, France declared war on Spain. After the declaration, Portugal and Spain signed a treaty of mutual protection against France. In 1795 France forced Godoy to enter into an alliance, and declare war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Spain remained an ally of France and supported the Continental Blockade until the British naval victory at Trafalgar, when Spain became allied with Britain. However, after Napoleon's victory over Prussia in 1807, Godoy again steered Spain back onto the French side. This switching of alliances devalued Charles' position as a trustworthy ally, increasing Godoy's unpopularity, and strengthening the fernandistas (supporters of Crown Prince Ferdinand), who favoured an alliance with the United Kingdom.

Economic troubles, rumours about a sexual relationship between the Queen and Godoy, and the King's ineptitude, caused the monarchy to decline in prestige among the population. Anxious to take over from his father, and jealous of the prime minister, Crown Prince Ferdinand attempted to overthrow the King in an aborted coup in 1807.

Abdication

Main article: Abdications of Bayonne

Riots, and a popular revolt at the winter palace Aranjuez, in 1808 forced the king to abdicate on 19 March, in favor of his son. Ferdinand took the throne as Ferdinand VII, but was mistrusted by Napoleon, who had 100,000 soldiers stationed in Spain by that time.

The ousted King, having appealed to Napoleon for help in regaining his throne, was summoned before Napoleon in Bayonne, along with his son, in April 1808. Napoleon forced both Charles and his son to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as King Joseph I of Spain

Later life and death

Following Napoleon's deposing of the Bourbon dynasty, the ex-King, his wife, and former Prime Minister Godoy were held captive in France first at the château de Compiègne and three years in Marseille (where a neighborhood was named after him). After the collapse of the regime installed by Napoleon, Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne. The former Charles IV drifted about Europe until 1812, when he finally settled in Rome, in the Palazzo Barberini. His wife died on 2 January 1819, followed shortly by Charles, who died on 20 January of the same year.

Character

Well-meaning and pious, Charles IV floundered in a series of international crises beyond his capacity to handle. He was painted by Francisco Goya in a number of official court portraits, which numerous art critics have seen as satires on the King's stout vacuity.

Marriage and children

Charles IV married his first cousin Maria Louisa, the daughter of Philip, Duke of Parma, in 1765. The couple had fourteen children, six of whom survived into adulthood:

Children of King Charles IV

Name	Portrait	Lifespan	Notes
Carlos Clemente Infante of Spain		19 September 1771 – 7 March 1774	Born and died at El Escorial; baptized on the same day he was born, with Charles III representing "the Holy Father" at the christening. Pope Clement XIV celebrated Carlos' birth and sent the infant consecrated swaddling clothes.
Carlota Joaquina Queen of Portugal and the Algarves		25 April 1775 – 7 January 1830	Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, she married John VI of Portugal in 1785 and became Queen consort of Portugal in 1816. Had issue, including the future Pedro I of Brazil. She died at Queluz National Palace.
Maria Luisa Infanta of Spain		11 September 1777 - 2 July 1782	Born and died at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso.
María Amalia Infanta of Spain		9 January 1779 - 22 July 1798	Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, she married her uncle Infante Antonio Pascual of Spain in 1795. She gave birth to a stillborn son in 1798 and died shortly thereafter.
Carlos Domingo Infante of Spain		5 March 1780 - 11 June 1783	Born at the Royal Palace of El Pardo and died at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. After his birth, his father pardoned all of the convicts from Puerto San Julián as a sign of celebration.
Maria Luisa Queen of Etruria Duchess of Lucca		6 July 1782 - 13 March 1824	Born at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, she married Louis, King of Etruria in 1795 and had issue, including Charles II, Duke of Parma. Became Duchess of Lucca in her own right in 1817 and died in Rome in 1824 of cancer.
Carlos Francisco de Paula Infante of Spain		5 September 1783 - 11 November 1784	Twins, born and died at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. Their birth was an important event for the people of Spain and provided security for the succession, a security which was truncated with the early deaths of Carlos and Felipe.
Felipe Francisco de Paula Infante of Spain		5 September 1783 - 18 October 1784
Fernando (VII) King of Spain		14 October 1784 - 29 September 1833	Born and died at El Escorial, he succeeded his father as King in 1808, but was deposed by Joseph Bonaparte one month later. Married Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily in 1802, no issue. Re-instated as King in 1813. Married Maria Isabel of Portugal in 1816, had issue. Married Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony in 1819, no issue. Married Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies in 1829 and had issue, including the future Isabella II of Spain. Died in 1833.
Carlos María Isidro Benito Count of Molina		29 March 1788 - 10 March 1855	Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. Married Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal in 1816 and had issue. Married Maria Teresa, Princess of Beira in 1838, no issue. First Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain as "Carlos V". Use the title "Count of Molina" between 1845 and his death in 1855.
María Isabel Queen of the Two Sicilies		6 July 1789 - 13 September 1848	Born at the Royal Palace of Madrid, she married Francis I of the Two Sicilies in 1802 and had issue, including the future Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. Queen consort between 1825 and 1830, her husband's death. Died at the Palace of Portici in 1848.
Maria Teresa Infanta of Spain		16 February 1791 - 2 November 1794	Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and died at El Escorial of smallpox.
Felipe Maria Infante of Spain		28 March 1792 - 1 March 1794	Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and died at the Royal Palace of Madrid.
Francisco de Paula Duke of Cadiz		10 March 1794 - 13 August 1865	Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, he married Princess Luisa Carlotta of Naples and Sicily in 1819 and had issue. Died in Madrid in 1865.

Ancestors

Family of Charles IV of Spain

16. Louis XIV of France               8. Louis, Le Grand Dauphin                       17. Maria Theresa of Spain               4. Philip V of Spain                             18. Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria               9. Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria                       19. Henriette Adelaide of Savoy               2. Charles III of Spain                                   20. Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma               10. Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma                       21. Isabella d'Este               5. Elisabeth Farnese of Parma                             22. Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine               11. Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg                       23. Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt               1. Charles IV of Spain                                         24. John George III, Elector of Saxony               12. Augustus II of Poland                       25. Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark               6. Augustus III of Poland                             26. Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth               13. Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth                       27. Sofie Luise of Württemberg               3. Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony                                   28. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor               14. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor                       29. Eleonor Magdalene of the Palatinate               7. Maria Josepha of Austria                             30. John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg               15. Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick                       31. Benedicta-Henrietta of Simmern

Titles and styles

• 11 November 1748 – 10 August 1759 His Royal Highness the Prince of Taranto
• 10 August 1759 – 14 December 1788 His Royal Highness the Prince of Asturias
• 14 December 1788 – 19 March 1808 His Majesty the King
• 19 March 1808 – 20 January 1819 His Majesty King Carlos

References

• Historia del Reinado de Carlos IV, by General Gomez de Arteche (5 vols.), in the Historia General de España de la Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid, 1892, etc.).
• Historiaantiqua. Isabel II; (Spanish) (2008)

External links

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Charles IV of Spain House of Bourbon Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty Born: 11 November 1748 Died: 20 January 1819
Regnal titles
Preceded by Charles III	King of Spain 1788–1808	Succeeded by Ferdinand VII
Spanish royalty
Vacant Title last held by Ferdinand (VI)	Prince of Asturias 1759–1788	Succeeded by Ferdinand (VII)