Palace matters take time. That is why two decades – practically the same as Philip II with his Escorial – have been necessary to complete the great center called to collect the treasures of the Spanish crown. The project was already considered during the Second Republic, but did not start to take shape until the change of century with a controversial call for ideas that heralded a complicated development. Over these years, the colossal construction works and the organization of the vast royal collections have had to adapt to the already slow ceremonial pace of the Administration, delayed on top of it all by a tough recession, a pandemic, and multiple political ups and downs. A witness of this hectic process from the beginning, Arquitectura Viva now celebrates the inauguration and wraps up the story in the voice of three of its protagonists: Pedro Moleón, director of Architecture at Patrimonio Nacional during the competition and member of its jury; Emilio Tuñón, author of the building with Luis Moreno Mansilla; and Manuel Blanco, in charge of museography.