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Charles IV 1784-1819
King of Spain

Born in Portici, Naples, the son and successor of Charles III, he was an ineffectual ruler (1788-1808), dominated by his wife Maria Louisa of Parma and her lover, Manuel de Godoy, whom he appointed Prime Minister (1792). During the Napoleonic wars the Spanish fleet was destroyed by Admiral Nelson off Cape Trafalgar (1805), France was invaded (1807) and Charles was forced to abdicate (1808) in favour of Napoleon I's brother, Joseph Bonaparte. He died in exile in Rome.