Doña Carlota Joaquina Teresa Cayetana of Spain (25 April 1775 – 7 January 1830) was Queen of Portugal and Brazil as the wife of King Don John VI. She was the daughter of King Don Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma.
Despised by the Portuguese court, where she was often referred to as "the Shrew of Queluz" (), Carlota Joaquina gradually earned the animosity of the public, who accused her of promiscuity and of using her influence over her husband to further the interests of the Spanish crown. After the escape of the Portuguese court to Brazil, she began conspiring against her husband, claiming that he lacked the mental capacity to govern Portugal and its territories, and sought to establish a regency. She also harbored ambitions to usurp the Spanish throne, which was held by Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte. Following the 1817 marriage of her son, Pedro, to Archduchess Leopoldina of Austria, and the eventual return of the royal family to Portugal in 1821, Carlota Joaquina supported her son Miguel in his efforts to seize the throne. However, their relationship soured over time. Ultimately, Carlota Joaquina was confined to the Palace of Queluz, where she died on 7 January 1830, abandoned by both her children and political allies.
Life Childhood
Born on 25 April 1775 in the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, Carlota Joaquina was the second child of Charles, Prince of Asturias (later King Charles IV of Spain), and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma, though she was the eldest surviving offspring.Robles do Campo, Carlos. (2007). "Los infantes de España bajo la Ley Sálica" (in Spanish). Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía, 10, 305–356. ISSN 1133-1240 She was baptized with the full names Carlota Joaquina Teresa Cayetana, but was commonly referred to simply as Carlota, a name that honored both her father and her paternal grandfather, King Charles III of Spain, who regarded her as his favorite granddaughter. Despite the strictness of her education and the formalities of court life, the Infanta was often described as mischievous and playful.
Carlota received a strict and devout Catholic education, which focused on subjects such as religion, geography, painting, and horsemanship, the latter being her favorite pastime. The Spanish monarchy’s rigid and austere principles shaped the family's upbringing and imposed strict standards of behavior and etiquette upon the entire court. King Charles III, a man of reserved temperament, devoted more attention to his family than to the festivities of court life, where his daughter-in-law, Maria Luisa, took an active role. Carlota’s mother quickly assumed responsibility for organizing entertainments at court, hosting lavish parties where moral propriety was often disregarded. As a result, the Princess of Asturias' reputation became associated with promiscuity, with rumors of infidelity and affairs with various men, including, possibly, Prime Minister Manuel Godoy, whose alleged relationship with her was widely discussed in the press. Despite the birth of a long-awaited male heir in 1784, which was hoped to secure the dynasty, Maria Luisa did not escape public disdain. She became one of the most unpopular queens in Spain, and her tarnished reputation had a profound impact on her children, particularly Carlota, the eldest daughter.
Marriage
The arrangement of Carlota Joaquina’s marriage was undertaken in the late 1770s by King Charles III of Spain and his sister, Mariana Victoria, Dowager Queen of Portugal, during the latter’s visit to Spain to promote diplomatic rapprochement between the two long-estranged kingdoms. It was agreed that Carlota Joaquina would marry Infante John, Duke of Beja, the youngest grandson of Mariana Victoria, while Infante Gabriel of Spain, Carlota Joaquina’s paternal uncle, would marry Infanta Mariana Vitória of Portugal, the Dowager Queen’s only surviving granddaughter and namesake.Drumond Braga, P. (2019). "Palácios para uma rainha: D. Mariana Vitória de Bourbon (1718-1781) entre Espanha e Portugal" (in Portuguese). Librosdelacorte.Es, 17, 87–105. doi:10.15366/ldc2018.10.17.004. https://doi.org/10.15366/ldc2018.10.17.004
Carlota’s education was put to the test when she was subjected to a series of public examinations before the Spanish court and Portuguese ambassadors sent by Queen Maria I of Portugal to assess the qualities of the princess chosen to become the wife of her second son. In October 1785, the Gazeta of Lisbon published an account of these examinations:
Having demonstrated the suitability and accomplishments of the bride, there were no remaining obstacles to her union with the Portuguese prince. Accordingly, a proxy marriage was celebrated on 8 May 1785. Three days later, on 11 May, the ten-year-old Carlota Joaquina departed Spain for Lisbon, accompanied by her retinue. On the day of her departure from the Spanish court, she asked her mother to commission a portrait of herself wearing a red dress to be displayed in place of a painting of Infanta Margarita, whom Carlota Joaquina claimed to surpass in beauty. Among those included in the Infanta’s entourage were Father Felipe Scio, a renowned Spanish theologian and scholar; Emília O’Dempsy, who served as lady-in-waiting; and Anna Miquelina, Carlota Joaquina’s personal maid. The official wedding ceremony between Infante John of Portugal and Carlota Joaquina was held on 9 June 1785. At the time, the bride was only ten years old, while her husband was eighteen. Owing to Carlota Joaquina’s young age, the consummation of the marriage was postponed until 9 January 1790, when she was considered mature enough to conceive and bear children.
Life in the Portuguese court
The atmosphere at the Portuguese court differed in many respects from that of the lively Spanish court. While in other parts of Europe court life increasingly reflected the ideals of the Enlightenment and a changing society, in Portugal the Catholic Church continued to impose strict norms that prohibited most forms of entertainment. The staging of comedies was forbidden, as were dances and court festivities. The reign of Queen Maria I was characterized by the ascendancy of a conservative faction within the Portuguese nobility and clergy, creating an environment described by the Dowager Queen Mariana Victoria, Carlota Joaquina’s great-aunt, as one of extreme monotony. As a result, Carlota Joaquina found herself immersed in a deeply religious and austere setting, in stark contrast to the extravagance and gaiety to which she had been accustomed. Nevertheless, her relationship with her mother-in-law was affectionate, as evidenced by the correspondence exchanged between them. Carlota’s natural cheerfulness and vivacity provided the Queen with rare moments of relaxation and amusement.
Her more liberal habits and customs differed markedly from those of other women at court. Adhering to traditional expectations of female conduct, Portuguese men disapproved of the ease with which Carlota Joaquina moved within public spaces, her involvement in political matters, and her perceived lack of restraint in domestic life. As most Portuguese women were largely excluded from social life, her conduct was regarded as provocative and gave rise to malicious rumors within the court. Some of these criticisms were openly prejudiced, notably those expressed by the Duchess of Abrantès, the wife of the French general Jean-Andoche Junot, who would later invade Portugal. During her stay in Lisbon, Madame Junot mocked Carlota Joaquina for both her behavior and her manner of dress, and portrayed her in highly derogatory terms, even depicting her as exceedingly unattractive:
Carlota’s husband, afflicted by profound and persistent melancholy, was known to wander silently through the dark cloisters of the palace, burdened by fears of revolution and displaying little affection for his wife. Although the couple had nine children together, after the birth of their last child they appeared jointly only at official court ceremonies and thereafter resided in separate palaces. This arrangement continued even after their relocation to Brazil, where Don John and Carlota each maintained separate households: Don John lived with his mother and the princes Pedro and Pedro Carlos, while Doña Carlota resided surrounded by her daughters and the infant Miguel.
At court, persistent rumors suggested that not all nine of Carlota Joaquina’s children were fathered by Don John. In particular, it was claimed that infant Miguel was not Don John’s son; some speculated that his father was a squire in Carlota’s service, while others suggested a doctor from Lisbon. These assertions were supported by the observation that infant Miguel bore little physical resemblance to the rest of Don John’s children.
Princess of Brazil
In 1788, when his eldest brother Joseph, Prince of Brazil died, Infante John became the first in line to his mother's throne. Soon he received the titles Prince of Brazil and 15th Duke of Braganza.Cronologia Período Joanino . Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, 2010. In Portugal. Between 1788 and 1816, Carlota Joaquina was known as Princess of Brazil as the wife of the heir-apparent of the Portuguese throne. Some scholars believe that her disdain for Brazil led to behaviors that alienated her from both the people and her husband.
After Queen Maria I was declared insane in 1792, Prince John took over the government in her name, even though he only took the title of Prince Regent in 1799. This change in events suited Carlota Joaquina's ambitious and sometimes malevolent nature. In the Portuguese court she would interfere frequently in matters of state, trying to influence the decisions of her husband; these attempts to meddle in politics displeased the Portuguese nobility and even the population.
Because she was often excluded from government decisions, Carlota Joaquina organized a plot (Conspiração do Alfeite) with the intention to take the reins of power from the Prince Regent. She planned to have him arrested, declaring that, like his mother, he was incapable of rule.
However, in 1805 this plot was discovered. Count of Vila Verde proposed the opening of an investigation and the arrest of all those involved, but Carlota Joaquina was saved because her husband, wishing to avoid a public scandal, opposed her arrest, preferring to confine his wife to Queluz Palace and Ramalhão Palace, while he himself moved to Mafra Palace, effectively separating from her. It was during this period that she came to be known as "the Shrew of Queluz" ().
In Brazil Background By the end of 1806, the international situation was approaching a critical juncture. France had imposed the Continental Blockade, aiming to isolate Britain from its allies and disrupt its trade network. At the same time, the invasion of the Kingdom of Portugal and the potential deposition of its monarch appeared imminent, and armed resistance was deemed futile against the overwhelming strength of the enemy. Consequently, by mid-1807, the idea of relocating the royal family and the court to Brazil was revived—an option that had been considered during previous crises.GOMES, Laurentino. 1808: The Flight of the Emperor (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Ed. Planeta, 2008
In July 1807, the Treaties of Tilsit, between France and Russia, and Fontainebleau, between France and Spain, were signed, outlining the conquest and partition of Portugal. Regarding the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Carlota wrote to her father, expressing her distrust of the alliance with the French emperor:Carta de Carlota Joaquina a Carlos IV (in Spanish). (1789, July 21). Archivo Histórico Nacional (Madrid), Estado, Legajo 4459, núms. 2–3.
Flight to Brazil
In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte’s French forces advanced toward Portugal via Carlota Joaquina’s native Spain. To prevent the Braganza dynasty from being usurped by the Bonapartes, the Portuguese court was transferred to Brazil.