His siblings were: In 1784, at the age of 17, Godoy moved to Madrid where he entered the Guardia de Corps (guards of the Royal Family).

[6] 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 Queen María Luisa) he obtained Charles IV's trust.

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.

Another year later, he was made Captain General and Duke of Sueca, Marquis of Alvarez, and Lord of Soto de Roma.

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.

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.

Even without a siege, Olivença and Juromenha surrendered without resistance, as did Arronches, Portalegre, Castelo de Vide, Barbacena and Ouguela.

[8] In 1804 a British squadron engaged and defeated a Spanish force sailing from Peru to Spain, causing Godoy to again declare war on Britain.

On 21 October 1805, the French and Spanish fleets suffered a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar, ending Spain's last bid to be a world power.

Some genealogies hold that they had an only son, who inherited his mother's titles/representations and his father's Italian title, which could only be acquired through the male line, named Manuel Luis.

In March 1808, Godoy, Charles IV, Maria Luisa, and the rest of the court abandoned the Escorial and fled to Aranjuez with the intention of escaping to New Spain.

Supporters of Ferdinand (who had for some time been considering a coup d'état against his father) spread the story that Godoy had sold Spain to Napoleon.

The officer corps as a whole was disgruntled by the failure of reforms to make any difference in its situation, and his orders to resist the French were already widely disobeyed; much of the upper nobility and the Church was hostile; reformist circles had long since lost all faith in Godoy's political credentials; and the common people were in a state of open revolt.

Murat had occupied the city only the day before, and, despite increasingly abject attempts to win France's favour, refused to recognize Fernando.

He summoned Carlos, María Luisa, and Fernando to meet him for a conference at Bayonne (Godoy was rescued from captivity and transported to France).

Carlos assented, and on 5 May Fernando's defiance was overcome and the throne was formally signed over to Napoleon in exchange for generous pensions for the royal family and guarantees of territorial and religious integrity for Spain.

Napoleon had been motivated neither by an altruistic desire to spread the benefits of freedom and enlightenment, nor by a gigantic strategic combination, nor by an overwhelming clan loyalty that made the creation of family courts the centrepiece of French foreign policy.

Strategic, ideological and historical factors were present in his thinking, certainly, but in the last resort what mattered was, first, the emperor's character, and, second, the force of circumstance.

After Napoleon's final defeat, Charles IV, Maria Luisa and Pepita returned to Rome, but the Pope required Godoy to stay at Pesaro.

At the end of the year, Maria Luisa caught pneumonia; Charles IV was absent in Naples at the time, but Godoy stayed by her bedside until she died, on 2 January 1819.

He also did not allow Godoy's daughter Carlota to marry into a sovereign house, but did agree to her marriage in 1821 to Don Camillo Ruspoli, the younger son of a Roman princely family.

The painting La maja desnuda by Francisco de Goya, which depicts a fully nude reclining woman, was once in Godoy's personal collection.

It is variously claimed to portray Josefa, Countess of Castillo Fiel or Cayetana, Duchess of Alba, who were Godoy's mistresses.