Affair of the Spanish Marriages
Encyclopedia
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
relating to the marriages of Queen Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...
and her sister the infanta Luisa Fernanda
Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier
Infanta María Luisa Fernanda of Spain was Infanta of Spain and Duchess of Montpensier. She was the youngest daughter of king Ferdinand VII of Spain and his fourth wife Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, the queen-regent, who was also his niece.-Biography:-Heiress-presumptive:When her elder...
in 1846. The affair led to a deterioration of relations between France and Britain in the final years of the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
.
Background
François GuizotFrançois Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848, a conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, and worked to sustain a constitutional...
, the French foreign minister, had been a supporter of friendly relations with Britain and had served as France's ambassador in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1840. During Guizot's tenure in London, the two countries had been brought to the brink of war on the matter of the Syrian question
Syrian War
The Syrian War is the name generally given to the war of 1839-40 fought in the Middle East, also known as the Second Syrian War, mainly on territory that is now Lebanon, between the Allied Powers of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Austrian Empire, the Russian Empire and the...
, before France's king Louis-Philippe
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
intervened to de-escalate the crisis. The second Soult government was formed in autumn of 1840 in France with Guizot as foreign minister, and Guizot set himself to the task of restoring friendly relationships with other European powers – including Britain – who had sided with the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in the crisis. Guizot became a personal friend of the British foreign minister, Lord Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen KG, KT, FRS, PC , styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a Scottish politician, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855.-Early life:Born in Edinburgh on 28 January 1784, he...
. Relations between Britain and France warmed significantly during the tenure of the Conservative Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
government.
Peel and Aberdeen resigned from their posts in 1846 over disputes relating to the Corn Laws
Corn Laws
The Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
, where they were succeeded by a Liberal government led by Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
, with Lord Palmerston serving as foreign minister. Guizot's relationships with this new government were strained at best – Palmerston had been Britain's foreign minister during the Syrian crisis, and had directed an aggressive strategy to bolster the Ottoman Empire in direct contradiction to France's designs. His reappointment as foreign minister in 1846 was seen in France as a threat.
Crisis
British fears of a union between the French and Spanish crowns were long-held; they had been central to the War of the Spanish SuccessionWar of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
more than a century earlier. Guizot, intent on rebuilding relations with Britain and his friend Lord Aberdeen in the early 1840s, had come to an understanding with his British counterpart that Isabella, the Spanish queen, would marry a Bourbon of the Spanish or Neapolitan
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, commonly known as the Two Sicilies even before formally coming into being, was the largest and wealthiest of the Italian states before Italian unification...
branches, rather than a Bourbon of France.
Palmerston rejected this understanding which had been made with his predecessor, and instead revived the suggestion of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as a suitor. The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is a German dynasty, the senior line of the Saxon House of Wettin that ruled the Ernestine duchies, including the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
was closely linked to the British royal house; Queen Victoria's mother was born Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
and her husband since 1840 was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The British had backed the candidature of another Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
as King of Belgium in 1830, and although he had married Louis-Philippe's eldest daughter
Louise of Orléans
Louise of Orléans was born a Princess of Orléans and was Queen consort of the Belgians as the wife of King Leopold I...
, the French were confronted with the possibility of facing a Britain-aligned dynasty on both of France's northern and southern borders if Palmerston succeeded in his enterprise. Guizot therefore determined to adamantly oppose any Coburg marriages.
The affair connected also with the chaotic politics of mid-nineteenth century Spain
Mid-nineteenth century Spain
Spain in the 19th century was a country in turmoil. Occupied by Napoleon from 1808 to 1814, a massively destructive "war of independence" ensued, driven by an emergent Spanish nationalism. An era of reaction against the liberal ideas associated with revolutionary France followed the war,...
. The French backed the ruling conservative moderados, while the British backed the opposition liberal progresistas, who desired to reinstate the liberal Spanish Constitution of 1812
Spanish Constitution of 1812
The Spanish Constitution of 1812 was promulgated 19 March 1812 by the Cádiz Cortes, the national legislative assembly of Spain, while in refuge from the Peninsular War...
. In order to protect their political position, the moderados moved to carry out the French-backed marriages, over Palmerston's protestations, who insisted that the marriages were a breach of the 1712 Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
. Palmerston's efforts failed – on October 10, 1846, on Isabella's 16th birthday, the Spanish queen was married to her cousin, Francis, Duke of Cádiz, while her sister Luisa Fernanda
Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier
Infanta María Luisa Fernanda of Spain was Infanta of Spain and Duchess of Montpensier. She was the youngest daughter of king Ferdinand VII of Spain and his fourth wife Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, the queen-regent, who was also his niece.-Biography:-Heiress-presumptive:When her elder...
was married to Antoine, Duke of Montpensier
Antoine, Duke of Montpensier
- Titles and styles:/*13 July 182421 September 1824: His Serene Highness Prince Antoine d'Orléans*21 September 18249 August 1830: His Royal Highness Prince Antoine d'Orléans...
, the youngest son of Louis-Philippe of France.
Aftermath
Although the French won the day and prevented a British-backed suitor from becoming Spain's king consort, they and their moderado allies in Spain had to pressure the young queen into the marriage, as the Duke of Cádiz was thought to be impotent. The affair was a source of embarrassment for France. The rapprochement between Britain and France was wrecked, and Guizot sought allies instead among the reactionary Northern courtsHoly Alliance
The Holy Alliance was a coalition of Russia, Austria and Prussia created in 1815 at the behest of Czar Alexander I of Russia, signed by the three powers in Paris on September 26, 1815, in the Congress of Vienna after the defeat of Napoleon.Ostensibly it was to instill the Christian values of...
led by Metternich. This movement toward conservatism drove liberals from the ruling coalition in France, and contributed to the final end of the Bourbon monarchy in France two years later in the Revolution of 1848.
Both of the marriages proved to be unhappy ones.