The peculiar story of the king of Patones
Patones de Arriba not only is one of the most beautiful towns in the Community of Madrid; its cobbled streets have also gone unnoticed throughout history, strategically hidden in the mountains. Out of Madrid’s eleven Villas, Patones de Arriba is the one whose location stands out the most. Its isolated nature made it possible to preserve ancestral traditions, to retain old customs which now are nearly legends. The best example of that is doubtlessly the story of the king of Patones.
There have been all kinds of kingdoms throughout history, but the one in Patones might be the strangest one yet. To start with, the fact that they felt the need to have a king of their own is certainly unheard of.
In order to find the legendary origin of the monarch, one must research both folklore and archives. The first mention of the crown of Patones dates back to the 17th century. In 1653, it was recorded that the cardinal of Moscoso met with the king of Patones. The aim of this meeting was to ask for a chapel. However, if we are to explore folklore, we will need to go way back in time in order to trace the origin of this peculiar monarchy, which seems to be hereditary.
A house in Patones. | Shutterstock
According to local beliefs, mostly spread in the 18th and 19th centuries thanks to literature and travelog, the kingdom of Patones de Arriba stems from the Visigothic period. Spanish historian Antonio Ponz writes about that in his book Viage de España, en el que se da noticia de las cosas apreciables y dignas de saberse que hay en ellas.
The isolated nature of this town allegedly protected it from the Arabs that conquered the Iberian Peninsula, who did not even find Patones de Arriba. This way, its inhabitants remained safely hidden from the turns of history. Al-Andalus, the conquest, the Reconquista… They did not participate in any of these events. There is probably fiction in the story they tell us, but its isolated condition could definitely have played a significant role in the presence of the elder ruling over the town. Why the called him a king still remains a mystery.
The outcome of this monarchy reigning over a little more than 10 families in Madrid’s Sierra Norte was to be expected. At the end of the day, the world kept spinning and reason prevailed. Times changed. To make matters worse, taxes became a problem. However, it was not all bad. In fact, the town came out stronger.
A memorial plaque of the king of Patones. | Wikimedia
The name of the last king of Patones was Juan Prieto, and King Carlos III was his nemesis. Juan Prieto sent a letter from his secluded kingdom to one of the most notorious kings of the House of Bourbon. In that letter, he made two simple yet ambitious requests: to gain independence from Uceda and pay less taxes. These were essentially his requests, although there are different rumors regarding the exact content of the message. Either way, it is certain that they felt abandoned by Uceda, the Villa Patones de Arriba used to belong to.
Carlos III responded with a two-edged proposition. On the one hand, he granted the town their own government, which created the need for a new leader to manage local affairs. On the other hand, this resulted in the position of the king of Patones to become obsolete, and the role just vanished. All this happened in the late 18th century, but the memory of the king of Patones is still alive in so many ways, and it became one with the legends of this extraordinarily peculiar town.
