Carlos II, the black legend of a "dignified" but extremely ugly king

Carlos II "the bewitched"

, has been the most reviled king in the history of

, which he passed as a "disastrous" monarch despite the fact that few like him demonstrated his "fortitude and dignity", says the author of historical novel

, who attributes this "black legend", above all, to his extreme ugliness.

"He was condemned to that black legend due to the injustice of appearance and his inability to procreate," Cosano assures Efe about

(Madrid, 1661-1700), the last of the Spanish

dynasty that gave way to the

.

This

writer dedicates his last novel,

Nobody

(Espasa), in which he exposes his suspicions about his poisoning.

At the age of 18,

married

first time, who died ten years later.

It was a marriage ordered by the bride's uncle, the

, something that at first horrified the young woman because her destiny was to marry possibly "the ugliest, most monstrous and deformed man in Europe," says the author.

But after years of marriage,

loved her husband, a "just and fair" man, although they have no offspring, says the author, who titles his book with the phrase that the queen addresses to her husband in bed death.

The strange death of Queen Maria Luisa

The presumed infertility of the queen had been the talk of the court ("if Paris, Paris to Spain, if not Paris, to Paris", they said about her at the time) and they put her in the crosshairs of the different factions that they do not stop conspiring until she falls ill, making her suspect that she has been poisoned.

Upon his death,

ordered an investigation of the playwright and confidant

, who is the common thread of the novel, a political "thriller" that portrays the political, national and international interests hidden behind the possible poisoning of queen Maria Luisa.

More than 300 years later, the death of María Luisa de Orleans is still surrounded by mystery and there is no conclusive evidence that she was poisoned, although the author maintains that as he has investigated, he has more and more suspicions that it was so.

In his book he paints a portrait of

away from the clichés of the time and perpetuated throughout history about this monarch who was called, in addition to

,

,

or directly

.

Juan Pedro Cosano

criticizes the "disastrous" perception of this king due to his physical appearance and health, which reflected the consequences of centuries of inbreeding.

He inherited a ruined country in full decline and had to deal with the

, but in his way of reigning he gave no reason to be condemned and reviled in that way, something that was due "to the injustice of physical appearance of the".

An unfairly treated legacy

Other kings did worse and were not mistreated as he was, says the writer, who explains how

imposed fiscal and administrative measures that Spain needed, even if they were unpopular, and maintained the empire.

And, above all, indicates Cosano, aware of his weakness, he knew how to surround himself with the best and a "really competent" government, something that demonstrates his dignity and humility, he maintains.

On the death of the queen, the novelist considers that everyone was interested: the Spanish nobles, who were concerned that

had no offspring;

to

, who held dynastic rights over the Spanish crown, and to the German Emperor Leopold, who was concerned about having the niece of his great French enemy on the throne of Spain.

Carlos II

also had no children in his second marriage, with the German

, giving rise to the succession problem that resulted in the end of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.

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