María Teresa Borbón y Vallabriga

María Teresa de Borbón y Vallabriga was born in Velada on November 26, 1780, without honors, titles, or the surname Borbon, due to the application of the pragmatic sanction approved by her uncle, King Carlos III. She spent the first years of her life between Velada and Arenas de San Pedro, in an atmosphere of friendly and cultured exile, which is reflected in the portrait that the painter Francisco de Goya painted of her in Arenas in 1783, a copy of which can be seen in the main hall of the palace you are visiting. The original is now in the National Gallery in Washington. When her father died when she was only 5 years old, she and her sister were sent to the convent of San Clemente in Toledo, where she received a rigorous education for the next twelve years. In the last years of the XVIII century, Carlos IV wanted to return to his cousins the honors that corresponded to them by birth, he named them Greats of Spain and authorized them to use the Borbon surname and coat of arms. He also had his cousin marry his secretary of state and ratified the marriage of Maria Teresa to Manuel Godoy, 16 years old, in the Palace of the Prince of Peace in El Escorial, with the King and Queen of Spain as godparents. Her marriage to Godoy, one of the most influential figures of his time, restored the honor of his family but made the Infanta Maria Teresa, in his personal life, suffer multiple rebuffs and humiliations. From the first moment, she had to endure her husband's love for Josefa Tudó, who acted as if she were Godoy's real wife, being named lady-in-waiting by the Queen and Countess of Castillofiel by the King. Maria Teresa is received at the Court with all the honors due to her rank and becomes the highest dignitary after Queen Maria Luisa. In 1800, Goya portrayed her again at another important moment in her life, when she was four months pregnant after two miscarriages. On October 7 of that year, she gave birth to her only daughter, Carlota Luisa. In 1803, Maria Teresa received from her brother the County of Chinchón and two years later the Palace of Arenas de San Pedro, with its magnificent art collection and the famous Natural History Cabinet, which had belonged to her father. During the mutiny of Aranjuez in 1808, her house was searched for Godoy, they did not find him, and knowing that she was another victim of her husband, they accompanied her to the palace to the cry of “Long live the innocent!” This situation allowed her to finally separate from her husband. In 1812, she participated in the defense of the city of Cádiz and its Liberal Constitution, living through the political upheavals of the time and showing her affinity to the liberal spirit. Eventually forced into exile, she spent the last years of her life in Paris, where she suffered economic hardship. Three days after her death, her daughter Carlota requested her mother's transfer to Spain, and she was buried in the chapel of her palace in Boadilla del Monte.