| Maria Luisa was the
granddaughter of Louis XV of France who was married to King Charles IV of Spain
and memorialized in the famous painting by Goya. She
was
in many ways
the female mirror image
of Louis XV.
She was a less than attractive nymphomaniac
who used her
political power to provide herself with young lovers, one of
whom
she elevated
to Prime
Minister.
As Louis XV created the infamous
Le Parc aux
Cerfs,
his
private
bordello of teenaged sex partners, Maria Luisa
created
her
Casita del
Principe
(Little
Prince House) for the same purpose.
In 1786
.when she was 37. Maria Luisa
turned
cougar, and became passionately
involved
with a 21 year
old
guardsman, Manuel de Godoy, who she met after having
an affair
with and
subsequently exiling Godoy's brother. Manuel immediately became
the grand
passion of Maria's life and the toothless, haggard queen would
deny him nothing.
Within three years,
her relatively uneducated, politically
naive
stud lover became
Prime Minister and virtual dictator of Spain.
Even though
Maria Luisa's
obsession
with Godoy was common knowledge and she bore two of
his sons, Maria's
husband,
Charles IV, was apparently oblivious to his wife's nymphomania
and relationship
with the new
Prime Minister. Her relatively uneducated, politically
naive lover
soon became
Prime Minister and virtual dictator of Spain.
Even though
Maria Luisa's
obsession
with Godoy was common knowledge and she bore two of
his sons, Maria's
husband,
Charles IV, was oblivious
to his wife's nymphomania
and relationship
with the new
Prime Minister.
The naive Godoy became Napoleon's puppet in Spain,
resulting in the
return of
the Spanish territory of Louisiana
to France and
the
depletion of the
Spanish
Treasury in subsidies to Napoleon. After the loss of
the Spanish fleet
at
Trafalgar and the
loss of Trinidad to the British, Maria
Teresa's son
and
heir, Fernando VII, tried to oust Godoy. Napoleon intervened
and forced Charles
IV to
abdicate,
Fernando to renounce his claim to the throne;
and placed his
brother,
Joseph Bonaparte, as King of Spain. When Charles abdicated,
he moved
to Rome with Maria Luisa, Godoy, Godoy's mistress, Pepita,
and their menage of
children,
including
the two children of Maria Luisa and Godoy,
and the two
children
of Pepita
and Godoy. |
|
Portrait of the Queen Consort
Maria Louisa
by Francisco De Goya
|
![[Maria+Louise+-+goya.jpg]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_r7sURkxKVvE/RusFmUD357I/AAAAAAAABj0/A8BaPH026k4/s1600/Maria+Louise+-+goya.jpg)