When Philip II decided to build the new Palace, he hired the architect Juan Bautista de Toledo, who was the designer of Monastery of El Escorial. The first stone was placed the first day of the year 1565. Unfortunately, Toledo was getting sick and had to assign his disciple, Juan de Herrera, to continue the project. During the XVII century the project was almost stopped, but during Ferdinand VI important progress was done, and Charles III continued with it. Important decorative advances were done during the centuries XVIII and XIX, with the addition of paintings and furniture. Between 1977 and 1983 it was used as a residence for visiting foreign heads of government.
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