Bernardino Fernández de Velasco-Pacheco y Benavides, 14th Duke of Frías, Grandee of Spain, KOGF (1783 in Madrid – 1851) was a Spanish noble, politician, diplomat and writer who served in 1838 as Prime Minister of Spain. He was one of the most important Spanish nobles of his time, and held, among other titles, the dukedoms of Frías, Escalona and Uceda, the Marquisates of Villena and Berlanga, and the Countships of Alba de Liste, Oropesa and Peñaranda de Bracamonte.
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Biography
Son of the Afrancesado (pro-French) XIII Duke of Frías, Diego Fernández de Velasco, who died in France in 1811, and his wife Francisca de Paula de Benavides de Córdoba. He joined the Walloon Guards around 1796 at the age of just thirteen, becoming a lieutenant at 19, circa 1802.
He first participated in the Invasion of Portugal (1807) alongside the French army, but then deserted to join the Spanish resistance during the War of Independence, unlike his father who took part in the commission that drafted the Bayonne Statute.
As Lieutenant Colonel, he participated between November 1808 and May 1812 in different campaigns and actions of the war, for which he received the Cross of San Fernando, the Cross of Talavera and other decorations.
Upon the return of King Ferdinand VII, in 1814 and already with the rank of Colonel, he advocated that the Monarch swear the oath of the Spanish Constitution of 1812. This was a position that excluded him from the following meetings which led to the return of the Absolute regime.
He returned to active political life in 1820 with the Liberal Triennium. He was a member of the moderate group of the Anilleros and became Spanish Ambassador in London (1820–21) and a State Councilor. With the restoration of absolutism in 1823, he had to go into exile in Montpellier, until he could return to Spain in 1828. He was a member of the Estamento de Próceres in the Cortes from 1834 to 1836.
Francisco Martínez de la Rosa sent him to Paris to obtain French support during the First Carlist War, intervening in the negotiations for the signing of the 1834 Quadruple Alliance and the dispatch of the French Foreign Legion.
In 1838 he was elected senator for León. On 6 September of that year he was named President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister), replacing Narciso Heredia, Count of Ofalia. He unsuccessfully tried to negotiate with the European Absolutist powers (Austria, Prussia and Russia) to withdraw their support for the Carlists, who were fighting in favor of Fernando VII's brother, Carlos María Isidro.
In domestic politics, his attempts at reconciliation immediately clashed with the interests of the various political factions and the army. He was overwhelmed by the struggle for power between Ramón María Narváez and Baldomero Espartero. Although he managed to control the insurrection of Luis Fernández de Córdova in Seville, he was unable to face the opposition in the Cortes and was forced to resign on 8 December 1838.
In 1845 he returned to political activity as a senator for life, although he devoted his time to literature, joining the Royal Spanish Academy in 1847. As a lyrical poet of moderate importance, he followed in the footsteps of Juan Nicasio Gallego, with whom he had a close friendship. The academy published his Poetic Works in 1857, with a prologue by the Duke of Rivas and a biographical and critical study by Mariano Roca de Togores.
Marriage and children
The Duke of Frías married three times:
in 1802 with María Ana de Silva Bazán y Waldstein (1787–1805), daughter of José Joaquín de Silva-Bazán, no issue
in 1811 with María de la Piedad Roca de Togores Valcárcel (1787–1830), daughter of the Count of Pinohermoso, one daughter :
Bernardina María Fernández de Velasco Pacheco Téllez-Girón y Roca de Togores (1815–1869), X Duchess of Uceda
in 1839 with Ana de Jaspe y Macías, after the birth of their 3 children :
Ana Valentina Fernández de Velasco (1833–1852), XI Countess of Peñaranda de Bracamonte
José María Fernández de Velasco y Jaspe (1836–1888), XV Duke of Frías
Mencia Fernández de Velasco.