Antonio Pascual de Borbón y Wettin (Caserta

Caserta

Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...

, December 31, 1755 – El Escorial

El Escorial

The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres northwest of the capital, Madrid, in Spain. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and...

, April 20, 1817) was an infante of Spain, son of King Charles III of Spain

Charles III of Spain

Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...

 and younger brother of King Charles IV of Spain

Charles IV of Spain

Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...

 and Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies

Ferdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...

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Biography

Born Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno Aniello Raimundo Silvestre de Borbón y Sajonia, this good-hearted infante was one of the most intelligent and hard-working sons of King Charles III, together with Infante Gabriel of Spain

Infante Gabriel of Spain

Infante Gabriel of Spain was an Infante of Spain.-Biography:Born at the Palace of Portici outside Naples, he was named Prince Gabriel Antonio Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Serafin Pascual Salvador of Naples and Sicily; he was the fourth son of King Charles VII and V and Maria Amalia of...

. He was a humanist devoted to arts. He bore a striking resemblance to his elder brother Charles IV. At the death of his uncle Ferdinand VI of Spain

Ferdinand VI of Spain

Ferdinand VI , called the Learnt, was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death. He was the fourth son of the previous monarch Philip V and his first wife Maria Luisa of Savoy...

, who he never met, his parents, older brother

Charles IV of Spain

Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...

, two sisters Maria Luisa

Maria Luisa of Spain

Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary as the spouse of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.-Names:...

, Maria Josefa

Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain

Maria Josefa of Spain was a Princess of Naples and Sicily by birth. At the accession of her father to the Spanish throne as Charles III, she became an Infanta of Spain. Born and raise in Naples, she arrived in Spain with her family in October 1759, at age fifteen...

 and Gabriel departed for Spain where his father ruled as Charles III. His mother died in 1760; his parents were devoted to each other.

Aged 40, he married on August 25, 1795, María Amalia of Spain

Infanta María Amalia of Spain (1779-1798)

Maria Amalia of Bourbon, Infanta of Spain , was a Spanish princess. She was a daughter of King Charles IV of Spain and his spouse, Queen Maria Louisa of Bourbon-Parma ....

, 16-year-old daughter of his brother Charles IV. She died 3 years later without leaving any children.
He supported his nephew Prince Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias, and profoundly disliked Manuel Godoy.

He headed the Junta Suprema de Gobierno, in the absence of his brother and nephew, when they tried to humor Napoleon in Bayonne

Abdications of Bayonne

The Abdications of Bayonne is the name given to a series of abdications of kings of Spain that led to the Peninsular War.The Mutiny of Aranjuez forced king Charles IV to abdicate and give the throne to his son, Ferdinand VII. Napoleon Bonaparte forced Ferdinand to abdicate as well, ending the...

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During the Peninsular War

Peninsular War

The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...

 he lived with the rest of the Royal Family under home arrest in Valençay

Valençay

Valençay is a commune in the Indre department in central France.-Geography:Valençay is situated in the Loire Valley on a hillside overlooking the River Nahon.-History:...

. After the war he served in several high functions. He was a fervent supporter of absolutism

Absolutism (European history)

Absolutism or The Age of Absolutism is a historiographical term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by all other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites...

, organizing support for the restoration of the absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...

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Titles and styles

• 31 December, 1755 – 10 August, 1759 His Royal Highness
  Royal Highness
  Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
  
  Prince Antonio Pascual of Naples and Sicily, Infante of Spain
• 10 August, 1759 – 20 April, 1817 His Royal Highness the Infante Don Antonio Pascual

See also