If there is any king, of those who inhabited the New Royal Palace in Madrid, who is characterised by an absolutely European view of historical events and the role of the monarchy, it is Charles III (1716-1788).
This was only natural considering that he was the son of a French man, Philip V, and an Italian woman, Isabella Farnese, thanks to whom he was made duke of Parma and Tuscany in 1731 and was subsequently king of Naples between 1735 and 1759, the year he returned to Spain as his step-brother Ferdinand VI’s successor to the Spanish throne.
During his long reign he proved to be an intelligent sovereign and the perfect embodiment of the model of enlightened monarch. Proof of this is his various reforms aimed at modernising the state’s administrative and productive structures, for which he relied on ministers of the stature of Esquilache, Aranda and Floridablanca.
As for cultural and educational policy, his reign was characterised by thorough renewal and the institutionalisation of the arts and letters through the setting up of Academies.
The establishment of the Royal Porcelain Factory should also be attributed to his initiative, in addition to an urban planning system for the oldest part of Madrid. Artists as great as Tiepolo, Mengs and Goya were also in the service of the king during his reign.