A contested appointment: Juana de Vega and the education of Isabel II

On the evening of 7 October 1841 shots were fired at the Royal Palace of Madrid. Rebellious troops of the Madrid garrison attempted to force their way into the royal chambers to kidnap the young queen and her sister. Isabel and Luisa Fernanda, eleven and nine years old respectively, were terrified as bullets pierced their windows and the aggressors came ever closer. After an agonising and tense night of fighting, the courageous and vastly outnumbered Alabaderos who defended the entrance to the bedchamber, managed to repel the attack. Juana de Vega, Condesa de Espoz y Mina, was present at the side of the royal children, consoled them in their anxiety and afterwards documented the events in minute detail.