Philip IV of Spain - Philip, Olivares and His Royal Favorites

Philip, Olivares and His Royal Favorites

During the reign of Philip's father, Philip III, the royal court had been dominated by the Sandoval noble family, most strikingly by the Duke of Lerma, Philip III's principle favourite and chief minister for almost all of his reign. Philip IV came to power as the power of the Sandovals was being undermined by a new noble coalition, led by Don Baltasar de Zúñiga. De Zúñiga regarded it as essential that the Sandovals be unable to gain an influence over the future king; de Zúñiga first began to develop his own influence over Prince Philip, and then introduced his nephew, Olivares, to the prince, then aged ten; At first, Philip did not particularly take to Olivares. Over the course of at least a year, however, the relationship became very close, with Philip's tendency towards underconfidence and diffidence counteracted by Olivares' drive and determination. Olivares rapidly became Philip's most trusted advisor and when Philip ascended the throne in 1621, at the age of sixteen, he showed his confidence in Olivares by ordering that all papers requiring the royal signature should first be sent to the count-duke. Philip retained Olivares as his confident and chief minister for the next twenty years.

Early in his reign, Philip would be woken by Olivares in the morning to discuss the day's affairs and would meet with him twice more during the day, although later this routine declined until the king would hold only one short meeting on policy with Olivares each day. Philip intervened far more in policies during 1641–2, however, and it has been suggested that Philip paid more attention to policy making than has traditionally been depicted; some recent histories go so far as to describe him as 'conscientious' in policy-making, although he is still criticised for his failiure to make timely decisions. Philip himself argued that it was hardly appropriate for the king himself to go house to house amongst his ministers to see if his instructions were being carried out. The close relationship between Philip and Olivares was demonstrated by their portraits' being placed side by side at the Buen Retiro palace — an act unheard of in Europe at the time. Philip's relationship with Olivares, however, was not a simplistic one. The pair had many rows and arguments over the course of their relationship, both as a result of their different personalities and differences of opinion over policies.

Initially, Philip chose to confirm the reappointment of his father's household to assuage grandee opinion. Under the influence of de Zúñiga and Olivares, however, Philip was then quick to place de Lerma's estates — expanded considerably during his long period as favourite — under administration, and to remove from office Cristóbal de Sandoval, Duke of Uceda, de Lerma's son, who had initially helped de Zúñiga remove from office his own father to advance his own position. Philip's initial announcements reflected an intent to reform the monarchy to the sober, moral position it had been under his grandfather, including selecting ministers whose grandfathers had served under Philip II.

Philip has in the past been considered to be 'unimaginative' in his politics, but recent histories have stressed the more radical elements of his first two decades in power. The early 17th century saw a febrile atmosphere in Spain, with numerous arbitrista offering various advice on how to solve Spain's various ills; this advice could, and would, be given in person by those of the lower classes to the king on suitable occasions, provided it was presented with the aim of strengthening the crown. Those debates extended to the nature of the monarchy. It has been suggested that the writers of the period who best capture Philip's view of royal authority were Justus Lipsius and Giovanni Botero, who promoted religiously inspired, stoic self-sacrifice and a view of Habsburg family-led hegemony respectively. Whilst at one level conservative — harking back in foreign policy to the period of Phillip II, invoking traditional values at home — Philip's policies were also radical, rejecting the policy towards the rebellious Dutch that had held since 1609, entering into the Thirty Years' War, and introducing a system of junta, or small committee, government across Spain in competition to the traditional system of royal councils.

Following Olivares' fall from power amidst the crisis of 1640–43, the victim of failed policies and jealously from the nobles excluded from power, Philip initially announced that he would rule alone, becoming, in effect, his own first minister. The junta system of government began to be dismantled in favour of the older council system. In due course, however, this personal rule reverted to rule through a royal favourite, initially Luis de Haro, a nephew of Olivares and a childhood playmate of Philip's, and the counter-reform of the committee system halted. De Haro has not been highly regarded by historians; the comment of one, that de Haro was the 'embodiment of mediocrity', is not atypical. After de Haro's death in 1661, Olivares' son-in-law, the Duke of Medina de las Torres, became royal favourite in his place.