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This article uses the largely neglected papers of Sir Henry Bulwer, British minister at Madrid between 1843 and 1848, as a prism through which to view the fourth Earl of Aberdeen's handling of Anglo-French relations, in general, and in Spain over the marriages of Queen Isabella and her younger sister the Infanta Luisa Fernanda, in particular, during a critical period. It highlights the fact that developments in the historiograhical context and the recent availability of important private papers have created an opportunity for a detailed and much-needed re-examination of Aberdeen's foreign policy, Conservative foreign policy, and British policy towards Spain in the 1840s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]