Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 624 Royal Prosperity
As we all know, time always flies when you're busy.

For Carlo now, the most important thing is not dealing with government affairs, but spending quality time with his grandchildren.

It was now 1920, and even Carlo's youngest daughter, Princess Christina, was almost past her prime childbearing years.

This also means that the third generation of the Spanish royal family is unlikely to have any new members. If the royal family wants to add to its ranks, they will have to wait until the third-generation princes and princesses come of age.

Among all of Carlo's grandchildren, the eldest is Anna, the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Juan Fernando.

Princess Anna was born in April 1901, and now she is nineteen years old, which is about the time to get married.

This era was indeed different from later generations. Because the average life expectancy was only around forty years, people got married at a relatively young age, and very few people waited until their twenties to get married.

Only princes from royal families delay marriage until their twenties or thirties because they need to find a princess who is of equal social standing and can help them.

For the third generation of the Spanish royal family, Carlos's requirements were even lower. Apart from Cristiano Ronaldo, who is second in line to the Spanish throne, the marriages of other princes were not subject to such restrictions.

Needless to say, as for the princesses, whether they were nobles or commoners, Carlo would accept them as long as his granddaughters liked them.

Of course, character and personality are still very important. The only thing Carlo didn't care about was family background; after all, in Europe and even the world today, there are practically no families that can surpass the Spanish royal family in terms of family background.

Even disregarding the prestigious status of the Spanish royal family, their vast wealth alone is enough to surpass that of most of the world's most famous entrepreneurs.

Spain follows the path of state capitalism, and the wealth controlled by the royal family is not much less than that controlled by the government.

The Spanish royal family earns more in revenue each year than many medium-sized countries have in their entire annual fiscal revenue. If it weren't for the enormous annual expenditures of the Spanish royal family, their savings would likely have reached tens of billions of pesetas, making them truly wealthy enough to rival a nation.

Of course, the Spanish royal family now controls a considerable amount of wealth. According to the financial reports of the various businesses and factories owned by the Spanish royal family last year, the total net income of all royal assets last year was approximately 6.7 million pesetas.

After deducting all royal expenses, the royal family still has a surplus of approximately 3 million pesetas. To date, the Spanish royal family's savings have exceeded ten figures and continue to increase.

Although the Spanish royal family is incredibly wealthy, Carlos has no intention of increasing the annual allowances received by its members.

Frankly speaking, the current annual allowance of 100 million pesetas is more than enough for all members of the Spanish royal family.

The Italian royal family, also belonging to the Savoy family, currently receives an annual pension of only around 30 pesetas per member, which is more than three times the difference.

Although the Spanish royal family could afford greater expenditures, Carlo did not want his children and descendants to develop a life of extravagance and debauchery from a young age.

Carlos's approach to raising his sons and daughters has now become a tradition in the Spanish royal family. Male members of the royal family are required to undergo military training after reaching adulthood, and then choose between military or political careers.

Entering politics does not mean running for prime minister, but rather joining the House of Lords and running for positions such as colonial governor and speaker of the House of Lords.

Joining the military is much simpler; you gain direct experience within the military system. Compared to entering politics, there are far fewer restrictions in the military.

Members of the royal family can also serve as generals and marshals, provided they have sufficient ability and are trusted by the soldiers.

Besides politics and the military, male members of the royal family have another path to take: business, managing royal assets.

The vast assets controlled by the royal family still need to be managed by their own people. Carlo also encourages his grandchildren who are not interested in politics or the military to strive for success in business and try to take over the management of the royal family's vast wealth as soon as possible. If any of his grandchildren have no desire to work hard and just want to live a life of luxury on their annual royal pensions, Carlo will not be disappointed.

After all, everyone has a different personality, and Carlo couldn't possibly force his grandchildren to do things he wasn't interested in.

But this also means that these princes and princesses who want to live a life of ease and comfort will lose their right to inherit the throne.

After all, you reap what you sow, and Carlos certainly doesn't want the Spanish throne to fall into the hands of these people, as that would not be good news for the country's development.

Excluding Alexander's family, who have already traveled to Finland, the Spanish royal family already has more than twenty members. If Alexander's family is included, the Spanish royal family has more than thirty members.

This shows that the Spanish royal family has indeed taken the lead in implementing the government's pro-natalist policies, and each royal couple has had several children.

Carlo's three sons, Crown Prince Juan Fernando, Prince Martin, and Grand Duke Alexander, each have five children.

The two daughters, on the other hand, have been a hindrance in this regard. Princess Sofia, who married King Albert I of Belgium, has only two sons and one daughter to this day.

Princess Cristina is in a better position, already having three sons and one daughter, just one more child away from reaching the average number of children per member of the Spanish royal family.

For Carlo, the more members of the Spanish royal family there are, the more prosperous the Spanish royal family is, which is definitely good news for the family's succession.

To encourage his children to have more children, Carlo once promised them a large bonus for each child they had.

Carlo has now fulfilled his promise. For each grandchild born, their parents receive a reward of at least a million pesetas, which is not a small sum for members of the royal family.

This regulation will continue to be in effect in the future. Carlo's grandchildren will also receive the reward after they get married and have children.

Before the Spanish royal family reaches one hundred members, the more members the better. Once the number exceeds one hundred, the rewards for having children will naturally be abolished.

After all, nothing is absolute. If the Spanish royal family really does have hundreds of members, then at an annual pension of 120 million pesetas per person, the expenditure on royal family pensions alone would amount to hundreds of millions of pesetas.

While the Spanish royal family could afford the expense, there was no need for such a waste. For Carlos, keeping the number of members in the Spanish royal family around several dozen, and ideally not exceeding one hundred, would be considered a reasonable range.

Until then, the royal family's incentive system for having children will continue. Carlo also hopes to have as many grandchildren as possible, and even more so, to see many great-grandchildren in the future.

Once the situation in Europe stabilizes, Carlo will have a lot of free time and will spend most of his time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Besides Princess Anna, who is the oldest, Prince Christian and Prince William have also turned 17 this year.

This also means that, if all goes well, Carlo may welcome his first great-grandchild in the next few years.

While anticipating his great-grandchildren, Carlo also placed great emphasis on their education. His eldest grandson, Prince Cristian, as second in line to the Spanish throne, received an elite aristocratic education meticulously prepared by Carlo from a young age and consistently achieved excellent grades.

Carlo was quite satisfied with his eldest grandson. At least under the rule of Prince Juan Fernando and Prince Cristian, Spain would enjoy a long period of prosperity, and the Savoy family's rule would be firmly established during this time, thus achieving the effect of the Savoy family coexisting with the Spanish Empire.

(End of this chapter)