Queen of Spain
In 1788, her husband succeeded his father as Charles IV of Spain, making Maria Luisa queen. On the first meeting between Charles IV and his ministers, Maria Luisa was present, a step which attracted attention and which became the rule during the reign of her spouse. Maria Luisa dominated Charles IV and thus the government, but was in turn reputed to be dominated by prime minister Manuel de Godoy.
María Luisa was reputed to have had many love affairs. The most infamous of them was with the prime minister Manuel de Godoy, whom contemporary gossip singled out as a long-time lover; in 1784 a member of the guard, he was promoted through several ranks when Charles and Maria Luisa succeeded to the throne, and was appointed prime minister in 1792. Godoy was also rumored to be the natural father of several of Luisa's children. In 1791, minister Floridablanca lost his office after accusing Godoy of being the lover of the Queen. Several other men have been pointed out as her lovers, among them her courtier Mallo.
Several contemporaries, such as the French ambassador Alquier, reported on these rumors, and they appeared in the diplomatic correspondence of the time. The truth is less clear, and these rumors may have been fabricated or exaggerated for political reasons by both the royal court and by foreign powers. The Queen's confessor Fray Juan Almaraz wrote in his last will that she admitted in articulo mortis that "none, none of her sons and daughters, none was of the legitimate marriage." The veracity of that testimony, however, remains disputed. King Charles IV never expressed any suspicions or doubt about the queen's fidelity. There is no doubt that Maria Luisa and Godoy had a close relationship regardless of the nature of it, as their correspondence illustrates that she spoke to him of such intimate matters as the discontinuation of her menstruation and the depression caused by her menopause, and was given comfort by him and assured that she would find her new state in life fulfilling as well. Aside from her purported affairs, other rumors about Luisa circulated. When the Queen's rival, the duchess of Alba, died in 1802, she was rumored to have been poisoned by the Queen. When her son's wife, Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily, died in 1806, she was also rumored to have been poisoned by the Queen.
Maria Luisa was interested in music and art, and known as a protector of artists, most notably Francisco Goya.
The Queen's purported relationship with prime minister Godoy, in combination with her reputed political influence, exposed her to the public's discontent over Godoy's Treaty with Napoleonic France, in which French troops were stationed in Spain. In one incident, the Queen was threatened by a mob and had to be protected by her life guard. In 1808, the popular discontent over the policy against France resulted in an uprising in Aranjuez.
