Carlota Joaquina of Spain

Infanta Carlota Joaquina, by Anton Raphael Mengs, ca. 1775–76.

Born in the Royal Palace of Aranjuez on 25 April 1775 as the second (but eldest surviving) child of Charles, Prince of Asturias, and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma, she was baptized with the names of Carlota Joaquina Teresa Cayetana, but she was called only by her first name, Carlota, a name that honored both her father and paternal grandfather, King Charles III of Spain—Carlota was his favorite granddaughter. Despite the rigidity of her education and court etiquette, the Infanta was described as mischievous and playful.

She received a rigid and deeply Catholic education, with bases in the fields of study of religion, geography, painting, and riding (Carlota's favorite sport). The closed and austere temperament of the Spanish monarchy imposed on the family and on the whole court rigid norms of behavior and etiquette. King Charles III, a man of reserved behavior, devoted more time to his family than to the animations of the courtesan life, where his daughter-in-law Maria Luisa took an active part. Carlota's mother soon assumed the organization of entertainments at court, with luxurious parties, where morals were easily forgotten. Soon the Princess of Asturias' image would be linked to that of a promiscuous woman who betrayed her husband to other men. Among them, possibly, was the Prime Minister Manuel Godoy, whose alleged love affair was widely explored by the press at the time. Not even the successive pregnancies and long-hoped birth of a living male heir to the throne in 1784 saved Maria Luísa from the contempt of the population. She would go down in history as one of the most unpopular queens in Spain and her bad reputation deeply affected her children, especially Carlota, the firstborn daughter.

Infanta Carlota Joaquina at the time of her betrothal, by Mariano Salvador Maella, 1785.

The subject of Carlota Joaquina's marriage was arranged by both King Charles III and his sister Mariana Victoria, Dowager Queen of Portugal, in the late 1770s when Mariana went to Spain to encourage diplomatic relations between the estranged countries. Carlota Joaquina was to marry Infante John, Duke of Beja (youngest grandson of Mariana Victoria), and Infante Gabriel of Spain (Carlota Joaquina's paternal uncle) was to marry Infanta Mariana Vitória of Portugal (only surviving granddaughter and namesake of the Dowager Queen of Portugal).

Carlota's apprenticeship would be tested when she underwent a series of public examinations in front of the Spanish court and Portuguese ambassadors sent on behalf of Queen Maria I of Portugal to evaluate the qualities of the princess destined to marry her second son. In October 1785, the Gazeta of Lisbon published an account of the tests:

"Everything has satisfied so completely that one can not express the admiration which such a vast instruction ought to cause at such a tender age: but...the decided talent with which God has endowed this most serene Lady, her prodigious memory, understanding and that everything is possible, especially with the awakening and capacity with which the above-mentioned master promotes such useful and glorious applications."

Having proven the talent of the bride, there was therefore no impediment to the union with the Portuguese prince, so on 8 May 1785 was celebrated the proxy marriage; three days later, on 11 May, the 10-year-old Carlota Joaquina and her retinue left Spain for Lisbon. On the day she left the Spanish court, Carlota Joaquina asked her mother to make a painting of her in a red dress to place on the wall, instead of the painting of Infanta Margaret Theresa of Spain (which Carlota Joaquina claimed to be more beautiful). As a part of the infanta cortege were Father Felipe Scio, famous Spanish theologian and scholar, Emília O'Dempsy, as lady-in-waiting, and Anna Miquelina, personal maid of Carlota Joaquina. The official wedding ceremony between Infante John of Portugal and Carlota Joaquina took place on 9 June 1785; she was only 10 years old while her husband was 18. Due to the bride's young age, the consummation of the union was delayed until 9 January 1790, when Carlota Joaquina was then able to conceive and bear children.

Carlota Joaquina, Duchess of Beja, by Giuseppe Troni, 1787.

Nevertheless, the climate in the Bragança court differed in many respects from that of the cheerful Spanish court. While in other parts of the Europe they represented the mark of a new society based on the Age of Enlightenment principles, in Portugal the Catholic Church still imposed norms prohibiting all types of amusement. The dramatization of comedies was banned, including the performance of dances and parties. The reign of Queen Maria I was marked by the rise of a conservative group of the nobility and clergy of Portugal; an extremely "boredom" environment, as defined by Dowager Queen Mariana Victoria (Carlota Joaquina's great-aunt). In this way, Carlota Joaquina found herself in the midst of a very religious and austere environment, in contrast to the extravagance and the faust to which she was accustomed. Despite this, her relationship with her mother-in-law was very tender, as the letters exchanged between them proved. The joy and vivacity of Carlota were responsible for the rare hours of relaxation of the Queen.

Her more liberal habits and customs differed in many ways from that of other women at court. Quite traditional in relation to female behavior, Portuguese men disapproved of the ease with which Carlota Joaquina transited in public space, her performance in the political field and her distemper in the family routine. Since most Portuguese women were deprived of social life, Carlota Joaquina's offending behavior allowed some malicious rumors about her in the court. Some of them were prejudiced, like the Duchess of Abrantès, wife of the French General Junot, who later invaded Portugal. During her time in Lisbon, Madame Junot had ridiculed Carlota Joaquina both for her manner of acting and for her dressing, and she had slain her as an extremely ugly woman.

Portrait by Domingos Sequeira, c. 1802–06

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. 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.

His religious observances bored her, and their personalities were quite incompatible. Nevertheless, she gave birth to nine children during their marriage and, because they were all handsome, it was rumoured that especially the younger ones had a different father.

After Queen Maria I became 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 violent 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 with the intention to take the reins of power from the Prince Regent. She had 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. At that time Carlota Joaquina's enemies claimed that she had bought a retreat where she indulged in sexual orgies.