Manuel de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria Ríos, 1st Prince of the Peace (12 May 1767 – 4 October 1851) was First Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808. He was one of the central Spanish political figures during the rise of Napoleon and his invasion of Spain. Godoy came to power at a young age as the favourite of King Charles IV and Queen Maria Luisa, with whom he had a sexual relationship. He has been partly blamed for the Anglo-Spanish War of 1796–1808 that weakened the Spanish Empire. Godoy's unmatched power ended in 1808 with the Tumult of Aranjuez, which forced him into a long exile. He died in Paris in 1851.
Godoy was born in Badajoz as the youngest child of José de Godoy Cáceres Ovando y Ríos, regidor of Badajoz for the "estado noble", and Antonia Álvarez de Faria, of noble Portuguese extraction. Much is known about his family and the documented nobility of his four grandparents, mainly due to the reports presented by his brothers Luis and Diego for their respective memberships to the Order of Santiago, and Order of Calatrava, as well as his mother's brothers, José and Juan Manuel Álvarez de Faria for the Order of Santiago. The Godoy family of Badajoz came originally from Galicia, claiming descent from Pedro Muñiz de Godoy, master of the orders of Santiago and Calatrava, Adelantado-Mayor and Capitán-General of the border with Portugal, who distinguished himself during the reign of Henry II of Castile, and died in 1385 at the Battle of Valverde.
José (Badajoz), canon of Badajoz and of Mojacar.
Luis, field-marshal and captain-general of Extremadura, knight of the Order of Santiago (1787). Married (1792) Juana de Armendáriz, 7th Vicountess of La Armería, daughter of Juan Esteban de Armendáriz, 2nd Marquis of Castelfuerte, and Donata de Samaniego, 6th Vicountess of La Armería.
Diego, 1st Duke of Almodóvar del Campo, knight of the Order of Calatrava (1794), first married Pascuala Paes, with no issue, and secondly Josefa Joaquina de Olazábal y Murguía, 25th Noble Dame of the Royal Order of Queen María Luisa.
María Antonia, 21st Noble Dame of the Royal Order of Queen María Luisa, married (1790) to Miguel de la Grúa Talamanca, 1st Marquis of Branciforte, Viceroy of New Spain, son of Vincenzo La Grua Talamanca, 5th Prince of Carini, Duke of Villanova, and Lucrezia Branciforte di Butera.
Ramona de las Mercedes, 87th Noble Dame of the Royal Order of Queen María Luisa, married to Manuel José Cándido de Moreno Cidoncha, 1st Count of Fuente Blanca.
Early life and royal favourite
In 1784, at the age of 17, Godoy moved to Madrid where he entered the Guardia de Corps (guards of the Royal Family). When he went to court in Madrid, his singing and guitar playing set him apart (although he denied this in his Memoirs) and led him to royal favour, where by his intelligence and audacity (and according to some, the favors of María Luisa) he obtained Charles, Prince of Asturias' trust. In 1788 he met the heir to the Spanish throne, who later that year acceded as King Charles IV.
Godoy quickly became a favourite of Charles IV and of his wife, Queen Maria Luisa. On 30 December 1788 he was given the office of Cadete supernumerario in the royal palace and in May 1789 he was promoted to the rank of colonel. In November 1789 he was named a knight of the Order of Santiago and in August 1790 he advanced to the rank of commander in the same order. In 1791 he was Adjutant-General (Ajudante-General) of the Bodyguard, in February he was named Field-Marshal (Mariscal de Campo), in March Gentleman of the Chamber (Gentilhombre de la Cámara), and in July Lieutenant-General (Teniente-General) and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III in 1791.
Godoy's frequent promotions were signs of his increasing influence over the King and Queen. In 1791 Prime Minister Floridablanca, accused Godoy of an adulterous relationship with the Queen. In January 1792 Floridablanca fell from office on account of Spain's relationship with the emerging French Republic. His successor Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, 10th Count of Aranda fell from office the following November, and Queen Maria Luisa arranged for Godoy to be prime minister. Godoy's appointment seems to have been accomplished with the full acceptance of King Charles IV who, lacking talent for governing, was happy to employ a competent and trustworthy stand-in.
In 1792 Godoy was made Duke of la Alcudia with grandeeship and a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece the following year. Another year later, he was made Captain General and Duke of Sueca, Marquis of Alvarez, and Lord of Soto de Roma. He was also made the 15th Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain on 15 November 1792.
Godoy continued Spain's neutral policy towards the French Republic. In 1793 he failed to save King Louis XVI from the guillotine. Spain's protest against Louis' execution and its joining the alliance against the French Republic unleashed the War of the Pyrenees. The French armies managed to advance into the Basque districts in Spain by the west, and by the east (Catalonia).
In July 1795, Godoy negotiated the Peace of Basel with France, by which Spain's frontier was restored, but its portion of the island of Hispaniola was ceded to the French. Although Godoy was widely criticized for the treaty, he received after its conclusion the title of "Prince of the Peace" (Príncipe de la Paz) and the grandeeship of Spain. In August 1796 Godoy negotiated and signed the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso with France, which required that Spain declare war on Great Britain. This placed its ally Portugal in a difficult position, as Portugal was allied to Great Britain.
In 1797, Godoy had Charles IV grant the titles of 1st Condesa de Castillo Fiel with a coat of arms of de Tudó and 1st Vizcondesa de Rocafuerte (Letters of 14 July 1807) to Godoy's mistress, Josefa (Pepita) de Tudó, born in Cádiz on 19 May 1779, Dame of Her Royal Majesty the Queen and 385th Noble Dame of the Royal Order of Queen María Luisa. She was the daughter of Antonio de Tudó y Alemany, Brigadier of the Royal Spanish Armies, Governor of the Royal Buen Retiro Palace, and his wife Catalina Cathalán y Luecia. Some sources mention a secret marriage between Godoy and Pepita, supposedly celebrated 22 June 1797 in the Prado. Pepita had lived in Godoy's household for several years with her mother and two sisters.
In 1797 Queen Maria Luisa arranged a marriage for Godoy, which she hoped would draw him from his mistress and at the same time obscure her own relationship with Godoy. Doña María Teresa Carolina de Borbón, born at Velada on 6 March 1779 (some say 26 January 1780), Charles IV's cousin and the daughter of his exiled and disgraced uncle Luis de Borbón y Farnesio, 13th Count of Chinchón, was chosen to be Godoy's wife. Although she had not met Godoy, Maria Teresa acquiesced in the marriage, which ensured the restoration of her family's fortunes. They married on 11 September or 2 October in the Escorial, Madrid. Godoy received a financial settlement as part of the marriage agreement, but his mistress continued to live in the same house as his wife.
Godoy was removed from the office of prime minister in 1797 and elevated to the position of Captain-General (Capitán-General). His position had been compromised by ongoing relationship struggles both with the French Republic and with Queen Maria Luisa, and he ceased to be Minister for Foreign Affairs on 30 March 1798. In October 1800 Godoy's wife Maria Teresa, previously made 1st Marquesa de Boadilla del Monte (Letter of 4 August 1799), bore a daughter Carlota Luisa Manuela, an only daughter who later inherited her mother's titles and/or representations and all of her father's Spanish and Portuguese titles and/or representations. She was baptised at the Escorial with Charles IV and Maria Luisa standing as godparents. The same day, along with her daughter and sister, she was made the 96th Noble Dame of the Royal Order of Queen María Luisa, on 10 October 1800.