'Oh, ever living God, through Jesus Christ, receive the humble thanks of thy servant for thy great mercy to us in our son, whom I humbly desire thee, O Jesus, to protect; and to make him an instrument of thy glory. Give him thy Holy Spirit, O God, to be with him all the days of his life; direct him through the narrow paths of righteousness, in faith, patience, charity, temperance, chastity, and a love and liking of thy blessed will, in all the various accidents of this life: this with what outward blessings thou, O Heavenly Father, knowest needful for him, I beg of thee, not remembering his sins nor the sins of us his parents, nor of our forefathers, but thy tender mercy, which thou hast promised shall be all over thy works, and for the blessed merits of our only Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; to whom with thee and the blessed Spirit be all honour and glory, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.'
On Thursday the 17th of September, died Philip the Fourth of Spain having been sick but four days, of a flux and fever. The day before his death he made his will, and left the government of the King and kingdom in the hands of his Queen, Donna Ana of Austria; and to assist her Majesty, he recommended for her council therein, the President of Castile, Conde de Castilla, the Cardinal of Toledo, the Inquisitor General, the Marquis of Aytona, the Vice-Chancellor of Aragon, and the Conde de Penaranda. He declared for his successor, Charles Second, who now reigns; and in case that he should die without issue, the Emperor, if he marries the Infanta, now called the Empress, to whom he is affianced; but if not, the Infanta before himself; after the Emperor, the Duke of Savoy; the Queen of France to inherit next to the Infanta, in case she be a widow, and all her children successively by any other husband; but neither she can inherit nor any child of France.
The body of Philip the Fourth lay exposed from the 18th of September till Saturday night the 19th, in a great room in his palace at Madrid, where he died; in which room they used to act plays. The room was hung with fourteen pieces of the King's best hangings, and over them rich pictures round about, all of one size, placed close together. At the upper end of the room was raised a throne of three steps, upon which there was placed a bedstead, boarded at the bottom, and raised at the head: the throne was covered with a rich Persia carpet; the bottom of the bedstead was of silver, the valance and head-cloth, for there were no curtains, were cloth of gold, wrought in flowers with crimson silk. Over the bedstead was placed a cloth of state, of the same with the valance and head-cloth of the bedstead; upon which stood a silver-gilt coffin, raised about a foot or more higher at the head than at the feet, in which was laid a pillow, and in the coffin lay Philip the Fourth, with his head on the pillow, upon it a white beaver hat, his head combed, his beard trimmed, his face and hands painted. He was clothed in a musk colour silk suit, embroidered with gold, a golilla (or ruff) about his neck, cuffs on his hands, which were clasped on his breast, holding a globe and a cross on it therein; his cloak was of the same, with his sword by his side; stockings, garters, and shoe- strings of the same, and a pair of white shoes on his feet. In the room were erected six altars for the time, upon which stood six candlesticks, with six wax candles lighted, and in the middle of each altar a crucifix; the forepart of each altar was covered with black velvet, embroidered with silver. Before the throne a rail went across from one side of the room to the other. At the two lower corners of the throne, at each side, stood a nobleman, the one holding an imperial crown, the other the sceptre; and on each side of the throne six high candlesticks with six tapers in them. The doors of that room were kept by the Mayor-domo of the King and Queen then in waiting, and the outward by the Italian guard.
On the Saturday night, he was carried upon a bier, hung betwixt two mules, upon which the coffin with the King's body was laid, covered with a covering of cloth of gold, and at every corner of the bier was placed a high crystal lanthorn with lighted tapers in it. He was attended by some grandees, who rode next after him, and other noblemen in coaches, with between two and three hundred on horseback, of whom a great part carried tapers lighted in their hands: this was the company, besides footmen. When the King's body came to the Convent of the Escurial, the friars of that convent stood at the gate, and there, according to the institution of the place, performed the ceremonies as follow. The priors asked the grandees, who carried the King on their shoulders, for none other must touch him, 'Who is in that coffin, and what do they there demand?' Upon which the Sumiller de Corps, [Footnote: Properly, the Groom of the Stole; "a cuyo cargo esta la asistencia al Rey en su retrete."—Dic. de la Acad.] who is the Duke de Medina de las Torres, answered, 'It is the body of Philip the Fourth of Spain, whom we here bring for you to lay in his own tomb.' Upon which the Duke delivered the Queen's letter, as Regent of the kingdom, to testify that it was her Majesty's command that the King's body should be there buried. Then the Prior read the letter, and accompanied the body before the high altar, where it was for some time placed, till they had performed the usual ceremonies for that time appropriated. After which the grandees took up the corpse again, and carried it down into the Pantheon, into which as soon as they were entered, the Prior demanded of the Duke the covering of the King's body as his fee.
Then demanded he the keys, upon which the Duke delivered him his, as Sumiller de Corps, and then the Prior's own sent him by the Queen, and the Mayor-domo then in waiting delivered him his. The Prior having received these three keys, demanded franca [Footnote: i.e., puerta franca; admittance.] of the Duke and Mayor-domo, that in that coffin was the body of Philip the Fourth; and when they had done, they there left the body with the Prior, who after the body's lying some time in the place where the infants are buried, placed it in his own tomb.
My husband with all his family and coaches were put into mourning for
Philip the Fourth of Spain.
October the 4th following, I waited upon the Queen to give her Majesty pesame [Footnote: Compliments of condolence.] of the King's death, who received me with great grace and favour, as likewise did the King and the Empress, who were both present.
On the 8th of October my husband and I, with all our family and son, being the first time he went out of doors, went to the Placa Mayor, to hear and see King Charles the Second proclaimed by the Duke de Medina de las Torres, who was very richly apparelled in a silk suit, embroidered with silver and gold, set with diamond buttons: he was accompanied by most of the nobles in the town on horseback, as he himself was. In his right hand he carried the King's royal standard, and by his left side rode the Mayor of the town. The Heralds that rode before went first upon the scaffold, which was there made for that purpose before the King's balcony, where he was wont to see the juego de toros. The scaffold was covered with carpets. On each side of the Duke stood the Heralds, and on his left hand stood the Mayor, and by the Heralds two Notaries. The King was proclaimed in five places; at the Court above named, at the Descalcas Reale, at the Town House, at the Gate of Guadajara, and at the Palace.
November the 9th, I went to give the Queen the parabien of the King's birth-day, who, the 6th of this month, completed four years of age. Her Majesty received me with great grace and favour, causing the King to come in and receive of me the parabien of his anos likewise.
The 14th of this month I went to wait on the Camerara Mayor and the Marquis de los Velez, the King's Aya, [Footnote: Governor or tutor.] from both of whom I received great kindnesses.