Ferdinand VI, called the Learned and the Just, was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death. He was the third ruler of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He was the son of the previous monarch, Philip V, and his first wife Maria Luisa of Savoy.
Portrait by Louis Michel Van Loo, c. 1746-59
Ferdinand VI of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign is the longest in the history of the Spanish monarchy, surpassing Philip II. Philip V instigated many important reforms in Spain, most especially the centralization of power of the monarchy and the suppression of regional privileges, via the Nueva Planta decrees, and restructuring of the administration of the Spanish Empire on the Iberian Peninsula and its overseas regions.
Portrait by Louis-Michel van Loo, c. 1739
Louis of France, le Grand Dauphin, and his wife Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria with their three sons: Louis, le Petit Dauphin, Philippe, Duke of Anjou and Charles, Duke of Berry. Painting by Pierre Mignard, 1687.
Proclamation of Philip V as King of Spain in the Palace of Versailles on 16 November 1700
A young Maria Luisa of Savoy holding a miniature portrait of her husband, Felipe V
