Royal Apothecary

The Royal Apothecary was created by Philip II in 1594

The Royal Apothecary was created by Philip II in 1594 and installed in the old Alcázar of the Austrias, combining the experience of two important health facilities: the Hospital del Rey in Burgos, the Parisian apothecary's shop of which commissioned by Isabella II in 1867 is preserved in the Monastery of Las Huelgas, and the Hieronymite Escurialense Apothecary founded by Philip II in 1564 and lost in 1837, of which ten pieces remain today. There is no question that this foundation by "the Prudent" king sowed the seed for the healthcare system of the Spanish Royal House.

The fire in the Alcázar of Madrid in 1734 completely destroyed the medical facilities, so a new Pharmacy had to be built. The works were undertaken by Senior Apothecary, Juan Díaz, and began in 1791 under the direction of Sabatini. The new Office was inaugurated by Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma on 5 July, 1799. The Apothecary's office has changed its location on many occasions between 1594 and the present day, from the primitive Treasure House to the actual Apothecary's Pavilion, built in 1887 by Narciso Pascual Colomer in a wing of the Royal Palace in Madrid.

Besides the establishment in Madrid, there were first-aid travel kits that accompanied the Court on its travels and healthcare facilities at the various Royal Sites: San Ildefonso, El Pardo, Aranjuez and the aforementioned Las Huelgas and El Escorial. The Royal Apothecary brings together pieces that belonged to the Madrid Palace and sets from the apothecary at La Granja, such as the medicine jars with the arms of Felipe V and Elizabeth Farnese, and from the apothecary at Aranjuez, such as the Talavera jars and pots from the 17th and 18th centuries. The most relevant groups of pharmacy jars are those that were made in the Glass Factories of La Granja and the Porcelain Factory of Buen Retiro in 1794, decorated with the crowned royal coat of arms and with labels identifying the contents. The first order was made with Buen Retiro in 1794, for the manufacture of glasses according to instructions sent by the Senior Apothecary; the second was made a year later with La Granja for the manufacture of transparent glasses using the same model as the porcelain ones. The opaline cups, the blown glass flasks with conical neck and cap, the oval-shaped jars, and the prisms are also from La Granja and from this same period. In the 19th century, various French manufacturers were commissioned to produce jars and pots with engraved crowns for preserves, herbs and syrups, and a lot of laboratory equipment - retorts and flasks - was made by Spanish factories.

When it comes to historical facilities, the Art-Déco laboratory from the first third of the 20th century stands out as Patrimonio Nacional's only example of a scientific and technological space. There is also the equipment room and the pharmacist's office with its library, remodelled in 1891 by cabinetmaker Manuel Geuné. The Pharmacy Library is one of the most important of its kind as it houses two incunabula, plant encyclopaedias, pharmacopoeias, physics and chemistry works and medical works. The Royal Pharmacy was the origin of public pharmacy establishments, laboratories, and the faculties of pharmacy. The kind of medical activity available to the Spanish Court can be imagined from the presence of devices used in chemical, physiological and biological work such as stills, presses, microscopes, weight and measurement systems, pill boxes, inhalers and surgical instruments which include sets for trepanning, amputation, rhinology, resection, gynaecology and urology.