THE POLITICAL ACTIVITY OF THE DUKE OF RIANSARES DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY SIX-YEAR PERIOD

Abstract

The political activity of Fernando Muiloz, Duke of Riansares, during the second half of the reign of Isabel II is little studied and has hardly been given relevance. Since 1854, when he had to go into exile in France, along with his wife, Maria Cristina de Borbon, Munoz did not intervene directly in politics. However, that does not mean that he remained on the sidelines, on the contrary, he participated in the main and important political events that the Spanish State went through and he did it as he knew how, through client networks and personal relationships. To do this, he built a new power group through which he distributed his messages and ordered his actions, which he called «The Three Musketeers». Both the group and its activity accelerated after the Revolution of 1868, when the Bourbons were expelled from the throne and Fernando Munoz, from the beginning, tried to restore them.