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This exhibition is due to the initiative of Spain’s Patrimonio Nacional, an institution that preserves the palaces used today by the royal family, several convents founded by the royal house and their respective archives. Placing particular emphasis on collecting and on the patronage practised by the monarchs and members of Spain’s royal family, this exhibition has a third underlying theme in that it evokes and illustrates the political and matrimonial relations between the two Iberian royal houses.‘Shared History’ covers 350 years, beginning in the era of Isabella I of Castile (1451-1504, r. 1474-1504), a key figure in establishing Spain as a European power following the unification of the Iberian kingdoms under her reign. Another Isabella, the Infanta Maria Isabel of Portugal (1797-1818), married Ferdinand VII of Spain and, unbeknownst to many Portuguese, founded the Prado Museum. The museum itself recalls this fact with enthusiasm and gratitude.