Calle del Príncipe

Philip II was one year old when, in 1528, the Cortes of Castile swore him heir to the throne. From that child who would become the most powerful king of his age comes, in the most widespread account, the name of this street: the prince par excellence. Not everyone agreed. Some linked it to the birth of Philip IV in 1605, though the street already bore the name earlier, and some even looked to Muley Xeque, a converted Muslim noble who lived at the Habsburg court. The question remains unresolved. The street’s character, however, is above all theatrical. Here rose the Corral del Príncipe, from which the present Teatro Español was born. On that same plot theater has been staged almost without interruption for centuries, placing it among the oldest still-active stages in Europe.