Palacio de la Zarzuela

Palacio de la Zarzuela

Palacio de la Zarzuela, the 17th century palace or rather a hunting lodge, built by King Felipe IV, is the residence of King Juan Carlos of Spain, Queen Sophia and the Crown Prince Felipe de Boron and his family. Though lately, in summer 2002 Crown Prince Felipe had moved into a new residence. The palace is situated in the outskirts of Madrid, northwest of the center. This palace is administered by the Patrimonio Nacional agency and it’s owned by the Spanish state.

Since their marriage in 1962, the King and the Queen of Spain have been living in Palacio de la Zarzuela. After the death of Francisco Franco in 1975 the King and the Queen refused to live in their El Pardo Palace and decided to stay back in Palacio de la Zarzuela. The El Pardo Palace was left for their foreign state guests, and the President of the Government of Spain was allotted the Monclova Palace as residence. On the other hand the Royal Palace, the former residence of the Spanish Kings is now only used for State occasions.

“Zarzuela”, derived from “zarzas” which means brambles, for its function as a hunting lodge, since its situated in the brambles of the King’s Hunting Grounds. The Spanish operetta style emerged from this palace theater.

The palace is a rectangular slate-roofed building with two lateral arcades; later Carlos IV made alterations in order to adapt it to the 18th century taste. He adorned it with tapestries, porcelain, furniture along with his favorite clocks.

The atmosphere there in Palacio de la Zarzuela is that of ultimate family comfort.

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