Gaetano I Boncompagni Ludovisi

When Charles of Bourbon made his official entry into Naples, Boncompagni was designated, together with the prince of Centola and representing the Neapolitan nobility, to present the keys of the city to the new sovereign.

For his diplomatic assignment, to which he had been enticed with the considerable sum of 1,500 ducats a month, Gaetano left Naples on 18 January 1735, arriving at the Spanish court on the following 2 September.

King Philip V of Spain awarded him the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1736, and on 20 October of the following year, Gaetano was recalled to his homeland.

In 1737, on the occasion of the wedding between Charles III of Bourbon and Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony, he was appointed Mayordomo mayor to the new Queen.

He was made a Knight of the Order of San Gennaro and on 22 May 1739, Philip V established the title of Grandee of Spain on the Duchy of Sora in favour of Boncompagni and his descendants.