As his predecessors, Don Juan Francisco was a loyal servant of the Spanish Crown, and after the death of John of Austria, he became the Valido of King Charles II.
In 1608 he arranged the marriage of his son, Juan, with the daughter of Cristóbal de Sandoval, Duke of Uceda, the son and assistant of Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma, the Prime Minister and Valido of king Philip III of Spain.
In fact, the Validos of the Habsburg Kings were always their “Sumilleres de Corps” as it happened with the Duke of Lerma and the Duke of Uceda with King Philip III or the Count-Duke of Olivares with King Philip IV.
Valido |
Cristóbal Gómez de Sandoval-Rojas y de la Cerda, known as the duque de Uceda (Duke of Uceda), but also titled second marquis of Cea, fifth marquis of Denia, and knight of the order of Santiago (1581 – Alcalá de Henares, 31 May 1624) was the official minister of state, also known as the valido or valued one, for King Philip III of Spain.