El Infante

Don Luis Antonio Jaime de Borbón y Farnesio was born on July 25, 1727, in the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid. He is the son of King Felipe V and his second wife the Queen consort, Isabel de Farnesio, and brother of two kings of Spain, Carlos III and Fernando VI. From her childhood, he shows a shy and reserved character, his first years of life, as is customary in the Spanish Royal House, are spent in the care of the women of the court and it is from the age of 7 when his education comes to depend on the men of his chamber, especially his tutor, and man of confidence of the Queen, the Marquis Aníval Scotti. During those years he was instructed in the arts and sciences that every infante of Spain should know geography, history, religion, music, drawing, French, Italian, Castilian, ... As was customary with young sons in Europe at the time, his parents directed him towards an ecclesiastical career, requesting for him the encomiendas of four military orders and the habit of Santiago, as well as the Archbishopric of Toledo, to which he acceded when he was only 8 years old, and later the Archbishopric of Seville. This will bring him a high social status and substantial economic benefits. All of them administered on behalf of the prince until he came of age. In 1746 the king died and his son, Fernando VI, received the crown. D. Luis, despite his position, did not feel a religious vocation and preferred to enjoy his hobbies such as hunting and collecting. At the age of 27, he resigned from his ecclesiastical career, stating that "such high dignities impose obligations that his temperament prevents him from fulfilling and his conscience does not allow him to hypocritically hide the mistakes he may have committed". During those years, his love affairs became more visible. He spends his days between Aranjuez, Madrid, and Villaviciosa where he accompanies his brother the king until his death in 1759. At that time, his brother, Carlos III is named King of Spain and returns from Italy where he has remained for the last 30 years. Carlos showed a fraternal affection for his brother, with whom he shared his love of hunting, art, and conversation. During these years, the Infante increased his fortune, buying the Villa de Boadilla del Monte and the estate of Chinchón, and showed his intentions to marry. Although he valued his brother, Carlos III, he was reluctant to allow the Infante to take a wife because of his interests. In Spain, the Salic Law established that the Spanish crown would be inherited by children born and raised in Spain. The children of the king born in Italy could not succeed to the throne, while the children of D. Luis could. In the face of the monarch's opposition to his taking a wife, the infante had numerous mistresses and eventually contracted venereal disease, which became a public scandal. He again asked for permission to marry, and this time the king found a way to satisfy both his brother's wishes and his aspirations by promulgating the Pragmatic Sanction of 1776, which prevented the children of an unequal marriage from inheriting the surname, titles, and honors of their most senior ancestor. Don Luis, obedient to his brother's wishes, renounced a series of privileges and married María Teresa de Vallabriga y Rozas in Olías del Rey on April 24, 1776. Four children were born in this marriage: Luis María, Antonio María, María Teresa, and María Luisa. The marriage quickly deteriorates due to the couple's different characters and is further aggravated by the infante's illness. In the palace of Arenas de San Pedro, which was his last residence and where he best developed his economic and artistic activities, he enjoyed nature and his passion for collecting. He was one of the people of his time most concerned with new forms of agriculture and livestock, through experimentation in the improvement of crops and animal breeds. In Arenas, he came to have mixed farms with a modern and programmed organization. He died on August 7, 1785, and his body was placed in the Royal Chapel of the Monastery of San Pedro de Alcántara, where it remained until 1800, when his nephew, King Carlos IV, ordered its transfer to the Pantheon of the Infantes of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.