Editing Spanish match (section)

==Charles in Spain==
[[File:Segovia_Alcazar_July_2013.jpg|thumb|right|Prince Charles was entertained at the [[Alcázar of Segovia]] on his journey from Madrid to Santander.]]
Denied the military option, James ignored public opinion and returned to the Spanish match as his only hope of restoring the possessions of Elizabeth and Frederick. The position was altered, however, by the death of [[Philip III of Spain]], in 1621. With the accession of [[Philip IV of Spain]] the Spanish proponent of the marriage, Gondomar, lost influence to [[Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Jonathan Clark|title=A World by Itself: A History of the British Isles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UN8CAR5EEmgC&pg=PA309|year=2011|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-7126-6496-7|page=309}}</ref>

When negotiations began to drag, Prince Charles, now 22, and Buckingham decided to seize the initiative and travel to [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] incognito, to win the Infanta directly.<ref>Croft, p 118.</ref> Travelling under the names Thomas and John Smith, they arrived at the residence of the English ambassador in Madrid, the "House of the Seven Chimneys" on the Plaza de Rey, on 7 March 1623 ([[Old Style and New Style dates|OS]]).<ref>[[Clare Jackson]], ''Devil-Land: England under Siege, 1588–1688'' (Penguin, 2022), p. 170.</ref> The ambassador, [[John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol]], had been given no warning of the Prince's intentions, and Philip IV was astonished. Charles and Buckingham were ignorant of the key facts, that Maria Anna was strongly averse to marrying a non-Catholic, and that the Spanish, who had been protracting the marriage negotiations to keep English troops out of the war, would never agree to such a match unless James and Charles pledged to repeal the anti-Catholic [[Penal Laws against Irish Catholics|Penal Laws]].<ref>Croft, pp 118–119.</ref>

They were welcomed at the [[Royal Alcázar of Madrid]]. The reception at court and the journey was described by the author Andrés de Almansa y Mendoza.<ref>Henry Ettinghausen, 'Greatest News Story', in Alexander Samson, ''The Spanish Match: Prince Charles's Journey to Madrid, 1623'' (Ashgate, 2006), pp. 77-89.</ref> [[Sir Richard Wynn, 2nd Baronet|Richard Wynn]], a [[Lords and Gentlemen of the Bedchamber|Gentleman of the Bedchamber]], sailed with other members of the royal household in the ''Adventure'' from Portsmouth to join the Prince. Wynn's account of the journey describes the costumes of Spanish country people and aristocrats, and the difficulties and uncertainties of the journey.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZxpexAEACAAJ&pg=PA297 ''Historia vitae et regni Ricardi II'' (Oxford, 1729), pp. 297-241]</ref>

During the visit, Spanish [[national poet]] [[Pedro Calderón de la Barca]] made his debut as a [[playwright]] with ''Amor, honor y poder'' ("Love, honor, and power"), a [[verse drama]] about the life of King [[Edward III of England]], which was performed before the Prince at the [[Royal Alcázar of Madrid]] on 29 June 1623.<ref>[https://fundacionhispanobritanica.org/en/with-the-search-for-the-remains-of-calderon-we-remember-a-figure-that-united-all-those-who-were-different-2/ “WITH THE SEARCH FOR THE REMAINS OF CALDERÓN WE REMEMBER A FIGURE THAT UNITED ALL THOSE WHO WERE DIFFERENT”], [[Fundación Hispano Británica]], March 2021.</ref>

[[Francis Stuart (sailor)|Francis Stuart]] sailed to Castile in the ''[[English ship St George (1622)|St George]]'' bringing the patent creating the titles [[Duke of Buckingham]] and [[Earl of Coventry]].<ref>Norman Egbert McClure, ''Letters of John Chamberlain'', vol.2 (Philadelphia, 1932), pp. 491, 497: John Nichols, ''Progresses of James the First'', vol. 4 (London, 1828), p. 924: Frederick Devon, ''Issues of the Exchequer during the Reign of James I'' (London, 1836), p. 269.</ref> He also brought a parcel of jewels for Prince Charles, many of which had belonged to [[jewels of Anne of Denmark|Anne of Denmark]].<ref>Roy Strong, 'Three Royal Jewels: The Three Brothers, the Mirror of Great Britain and the Feather', ''The Burlington Magazine'', 108:760 (July 1966), pp. 350-353: ''HMC Mar & Kellie'', 2 (London, 1930), pp. 162, 167, 171.</ref> These included; the jewelled sword given to [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales]] during the masque ''[[Tethys' Festival]]''; the "Portugal diamond"; the "Cobham pearl"; jewelled head attires; and a ring with a diamond frog and a ruby set in its head.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/fderaconventione07ryme/page/74 Thomas Rymer, ''Foedera'', vol. 7 part 4 (Hague, 1739), pp. 75-6]</ref><ref>Robert Lemon, [https://archive.org/details/s2id13276800/page/148/mode/2up 'Warrant of Indemnity and Discharge to Lionel Earl of Middlesex, Lord High Treasurer, and to the other Commissioners of the Jewels, for having delivered certain Jewels to King James the First, which were sent by his Majesty into Spain', ''Archaeologia'', XXI (1827), pp. 148-57]</ref><ref>[[Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke]], ''Miscellaneous State Papers'', vol. 1 (London, 1778), pp. 406-8.</ref>

Though a secret treaty was signed, the Prince and Duke returned to England in October without the Infanta. On their way to [[Santander, Spain|Santander]] they visited [[El Escorial]], the [[Palace of Valsain]], the [[Alcázar of Segovia]], [[Valladolid]], [[Palencia]], and [[Frómista]].<ref>John Nichols, ''Progresses of James the First'', vol. 4 (London, 1828), pp. 913-19 quoting ''The Joyfull Returne of Charles, Prince of Great Brittaine'' (London, 1623), a translation of one of Almansa's works.</ref> There was open delight shown by sections of the British people.<ref>"There was an immense outbreak of popular joy, with fireworks, bell ringing and street parties." Croft, p 120.</ref>