The historian Angelantonio Spagnoletti writes: “When in 1734 Don Carlos of Bourbon, son of Philip V, King of Spain, and Elisabeth Farnese, succeeded in establishing himself in Naples by driving out the Austrians who had governed it since 1707, it was immediately clear to everyone that this conquest did not at all foreshadow a resumption of Spanish rule over Southern Italy. In fact, while maintaining—especially in the early years—strong ties with the court of Madrid, what emerged then was an independent political entity which, as such, was recognized by the Treaty of Vienna in 1738 (…) After more than two centuries of subjection to foreign powers (first Spain and then, for nearly twenty-seven years, Austria), a new independent state appeared on the Italian political landscape” [A. SPAGNOLETTI, History of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Il Mulino, Bologna 1997, pp. 17-18].

Charles was born the first son of a second marriage on January 20, 1716. From birth, he was a claimant through his mother—Elisabeth Farnese’s father was the son of a Medici—to a principality in Italy, which included the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza and potentially also the Medici domains, in the event of the extinction (as was beginning to appear) of the direct line.

Only by overcoming a long series of obstacles did Elisabeth skillfully manage to secure the Duchy for her young son in 1732 under the guardianship of his grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Parma; meanwhile, the previous year, Charles had declared himself “Grand Hereditary Prince” of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, as the extinction of the House of Medici was by then certain, and Gian Gastone, the last living Grand Duke, was appointed his co-guardian. Charles’s story changed due to the start of the War of the Polish Succession: in fact, Elisabeth placed her son at the head of an army in Italy and sent him to conquer the Kingdom of Naples, which had been in Habsburg hands since 1707, as previously seen.

On January 20, 1734, Charles declared himself of age—and thus no longer under guardianship—and began his march toward Naples. From Monterotondo, he issued a proclamation from Philip V to the Neapolitans, explaining the reasons for the enterprise: on May 10, he entered Naples in triumph. Five days later, the act from Philip V arrived from Madrid, by which he ceded all royal rights over the conquered Kingdom to his son.

Strengthened by this, Charles definitively defeated the Austrians at Bitonto, conquered Sicily, and on January 2, 1735, assumed the title of King without a specific numeral: in July, he was crowned King of Sicily in Palermo, and on the 12th, he returned to Naples.

However, we are in a phase of his life where the young sovereign was still influenced by the politics of his august and powerful parents, who chose Maria Amalia, daughter of the King of Poland, as his wife in 1737 [Franco Valsecchi describes the Queen thus: “The young bride was no ordinary woman: her fresh youth had won over even the most prejudiced upon her appearance in Naples: of a sweet and pleasant nature, not lacking in wit, and far from uncultured—she spoke, besides her mother tongue, French, Italian, and Latin—she immediately gained great influence over her husband. But she did not use it, at least in the early years, to exercise political influence…”. Only in the final phase of her life, when she was already Queen of Spain, did she begin to assist her husband politically as well. Cf. F. VALSECCHI, Bourbon Reformism in Italy, Bonacci, Rome 1990, p. 81.].

The end of the War of the Polish Succession in 1738 resulted, despite his wishes, in the Habsburg conquest of the Farnese Duchies and Tuscany (the Grand Duchy passed definitively to the Habsburg-Lorraine), while the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza would be entrusted, with the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, to Charles’s younger brother, Philip, who founded the House of Bourbon-Parma.

In Naples, Charles governed through a Council of State composed of ministers chosen by his parents, and therefore influenced by Madrid (we recall the figure of the Count of Santostefano, assisted by the Marquis of Montealegre, Tanucci, and Brancaccio).

During the War of the Austrian Succession, Charles sent an army corps to Lombardy in 1742 to aid the Franco-Spanish forces (all branches of the House of Bourbon were allies); however, an English fleet appeared in the Gulf of Naples and threatened to bombard the city; Charles then decided to withdraw the corps, sparking the ire of Paris and Madrid. But he redeemed himself well in 1744, when he fully defeated an Austrian army at Velletri, thus ending Habsburg claims to Naples forever and effectively managing to free himself from Madrid’s tutelage. With this victory, Charles truly began to be the King of Naples, and the Kingdom became independent in every respect. This became even clearer in 1746, with the death of Philip V of Spain and the sidelining of Elisabeth: in fact, Charles dismissed Montealegre, replacing him with Fogliani. Valsecchi comments: “Charles’s reign had been, until then, a Hispanic-Italian monarchy: from this moment, it began to become an Italian monarchy” [Ibid., p. 88.].

Indeed, from this moment, Charles became a true “King of Naples,” entering into perfect harmony with his people and their needs. As the years passed, he overcame the influence of his ministers, becoming a great sovereign and the true architect of his policy, centralizing power in his hands: “Squillace and Tanucci, who occupied the most important positions, were his creatures; and, while enjoying his full confidence, they were confined to their duties, subject to his direct supervision” [Ibid., p. 91.].

After five daughters, Maria Amalia gave Charles his first son, who was unfortunately mentally incapacitated; but then came four more sons (Charles Anthony, Ferdinand, Gabriel, and Francis Xavier), and in this way, the succession was secured. The problem, however, was that “dynastic” threats weighed on the Kingdom. In fact, Charles was destined to succeed his half-brother Ferdinand VI on the Spanish Throne, as the latter was without male heirs, and the great powers, with the League of Aranjuez and the Treaty of Vienna, had established that the Kingdom should pass to the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Philip of Bourbon, and the two Duchies respectively to Austria and the Savoy. In practice, Charles risked losing the kingdom he had conquered in order to ascend the Throne of Madrid.