The Zarzuela Palace ( es, Palacio de la Zarzuela ) is the residence and working offices of the reigning

monarch of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

(

King Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and ...

), although the official residence of the

Spanish royal family The Spanish royal family consists of King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, their children (Leonor, Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofía of Spain), and Felipe's parents, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía. The royal family lives at Zarzuela Palace i ...

is the Royal Palace of Madrid. The Zarzuela Palace is on the outskirts of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, near the Royal Palace of El Pardo, which accommodates visiting heads of state. The palace is owned by the Spanish government and administered by a state agency named

Patrimonio Nacional Patrimonio Nacional ( en, National Heritage) is a Spanish autonomous agency, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Presidency, that administers the sites owned by the Spanish State and used by the Monarch and the Spanish Royal Fami ...

(National Heritage). The Zarzuela Palace was the home of

King Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

from May 1962 until his departure to live abroad, following allegations of financial impropriety, in August 2020. It has not been announced whether it will remain the home of his wife, Queen Sofía, who did not accompany Juan Carlos abroad. Although

has his office in the palace, he and his family live in the Pabellón del Príncipe on the grounds just east of the Zarzuela Palace.

History

During the 17th century, King Felipe IV of Spain ordered a country

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

or hunting lodge to be built at La Zarzuela near Madrid. The name "Zarzuela" is thought to be derived from the word "zarzas" meaning brambles, due to its function as a hunting lodge, meaning that it is situated amongst the brambles of the King's Hunting Grounds. It was a rectangular, slate-roofed building with two lateral arcades.

King Carlos IV , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father =Charles III of Spain , mother =Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples , death_date = , death_place =P ...

had the building altered to adapt it to 18th century fashion, and adorned it with tapestries and

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

, as well as

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

and his much-loved

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...

Royal residence

and his wife, Queen Sofía, lived in the palace from their marriage in May 1962 until Juan Carlos' move abroad alone in August 2020. Queen Sofía continued to live in Spain. After the death of the dictator

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

in November 1975, the King decided not to occupy his Palace of El Pardo, leaving it for foreign state guests, designating the Palacio de la Moncloa as the residence of the President of the Spanish Government, while they remained at the Zarzuela. The '' Palacio Real'' (Royal Palace) in the centre of Madrid, the former principal residence of the Spanish monarchs, is the

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

of the King, although it is now used only for state occasions. During the summer of 2002,

, then Prince of Asturias, moved into a new residence, a palace built within the grounds of the Palace of La Zarzuela.

Opera

The palace theatre was the place of origin of the Spanish genre of musical drama, ''

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

''.

References

External links

Official webpage of the Spanish Monarchy
{{Authority control Palaces in Madrid Royal residences in Spain Buildings and structures in Fuencarral-El Pardo District, Madrid El Pardo