Caballerizo mayor

The Caballerizo mayor (Great Equerry) was an officer of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain. The position was responsible for overseeing royal journeys, the mews, and the king's hunts.

Regime during the 16th to 18th centuries

The office of Caballerizo mayor was one of the principal positions within the Royal Household, responsible for the royal stables and all matters related to the monarch's transportation. When the king departed from the royal palace, the Caballerizo mayor occupied the foremost position behind him and held higher rank than other court officials. The role also included oversight of the stables, carriages, and horses, with assistance from the Primeros Caballerizos (First Equerries), who were appointed by the Caballerizo mayor.

In addition, the Caballerizo mayor was in charge of the royal hunt in his capacity as Montero mayor (Great Hunter). In many cases, he also held the alcaldías (majorships) of the Spanish royal sites.

Regime during the 19th and 20th centuries

During the reigns of Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII, the Caballerizo mayor, who also assumed the functions of Montero mayor (Great Hunter)—an office created during the reign of Isabella II—was the second-ranking official after the Mayordomo mayor, holding sole authority once the monarch left the royal palace. Only a peer with the rank of Grandee of Spain could be appointed to this office. The annual salary was 15,000 pesetas, the same as that of the Mayordomo mayor, and the Caballerizo mayor was also entitled to a private office at the Royal Palace of Madrid.

Reporting to the Caballerizo mayor were the Primer Caballerizo (First Equerry) and the Primer Montero (First Hunter), each with an annual salary of 7,500 pesetas. Below them were the Caballerizos de campo (Equerries), who were typically army officers.

The Caballerizo mayor accompanied the king on all journeys, referred to as "days," and sat beside him in carriages, automobiles, trains, or ships both within Spain and abroad. Together with the Primer Caballerizo, he was head of the royal mews and also chief of the Armory of the Royal Palace of Madrid.

In his capacity as Montero mayor, and with the assistance of the Primer Montero, he managed the hunting lodges of the Crown's heritage and organised royal hunts in the hunting grounds of the Crown, such as the Royal forests of El Pardo, the Royal Hunting Lodge of La Encomienda de Mudela, and the royal forests of Valsaín. At hunts organised by others but attended by the king, the Montero mayor was also present in his official role. The uniform of the Montero mayor consisted of very dark green cloth decorated with oak-branch embroidery.

At public chapels and official ceremonies, the Caballerizo mayor normally stood directly behind the Mayordomo mayor. He was styled Excelentísimo señor Caballerizo y Montero mayor de Su Majestad.

The office was suppressed after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931 and was not reinstated following the restoration of the monarchy in 1975.

List of Caballerizos mayores (Great Equerries) to the King of Spain, 1515–1931

Caballerizos mayores under Emperor Charles V (1515–1556)

1515–1522: Charles de Lannoy, Grandee of Spain
1522–1526: Cesare Ferramosca
1526–1529: Adrien de Croy, Count of Roeulx
1529–1530: Guillermo de Monfort, Lord of Montfort
1530–1556: Jehan Lenin-Liéthard, Count of Bossu, Grandee of Spain
1556: Sieur de Dandelot

Caballerizos mayores under King Philip II (1556–1598)

1556–1579: Antonio de Toledo
1598: Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Lord of Armuña

Caballerizos mayores under King Philip III (1598–1621)

1598–1618: Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma, Grandee of Spain
1618–1621: Cristóbal Gómez de Sandoval y de la Cerda, Duke of Uceda, Grandee of Spain

Caballerizos mayores under King Philip IV (1621–1665)

1621–1624: Juan Hurtado de Mendoza, Consort-Duke of the Infantado, Grandee of Spain
1624–1643: Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, Grandee of Spain
1643–1648: Diego López de Haro Sotomayor y Guzmán, Marquess of Carpio, Grandee of Spain
1648–1661: Luis Méndez de Haro, Marquess of Carpio, Grandee of Spain
1661–1665: Fernando de Borja, Prince of Squillace and Count of Mayalde, Grandee of Spain

Caballerizos mayores under King Charles II (1665–1701)

1667–1669: Pedro Portocarrero de Córdoba y Aragón, Duke of Camiña, Grandee of Spain
1669–1675: Francisco de Moura Corte-Real y Melo, Marquess of Castel-Rodrigo, Grandee of Spain
1675–1683: Juan Gaspar Enríquez de Cabrera y Sandoval, Duke of Medina de Rioseco, Admiral of Castile, Grandee of Spain
1683–1687: Juan Francisco de la Cerda, Duke of Medinaceli, Grandee of Spain
1687–1688: Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, Duke of Sessa, Grandee of Spain
1693–1701: Juan Tomás Enriquez de Cabrera, Duke of Medina de Rioseco, Admiral of Castile, Grandee of Spain

Caballerizos mayores under King Philip V (1701–1724)

1701–1713: Juan Clarós Pérez de Guzmán y Fernández de Córdoba, Duke of Medina Sidonia, Grandee of Spain
1715–1721: Francesco Maria Pico, Duke of Mirandola, Grandee of Spain
1721–1724: Alonso Manrique de Lara, Duke of Arco, Grandee of Spain