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Alfonso XIII of Spain

 
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Alfonso XIII of Spain

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Alfonso XIII
(born May 17, 1886, Madrid, Spain — died Feb. 28, 1941, Rome, Italy) Spanish king (1886 – 1931). The posthumous son of Alfonso XII, he was immediately proclaimed king under his mother's regency and assumed full authority at 16. He relished power, and after World War I he moved toward a system of more personal rule, even seeking to rid himself of the Cortes (parliament). He associated himself with the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923 – 30), but after the latter's fall the freely elected Republicans demanded Alfonso's abdication, and he was forced to leave Spain. His grandson became Spain's sovereign as Juan Carlos I in 1975.

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Biography:

Alfonso XIII

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Alfonso XIII (1886-1941) was king of Spain from 1886 to 1931. His troubled reign was characterized by violent class conflict, political instability, and dictatorship.

Alfonso was born in Madrid on May 17, 1886, 6 months after the death of his father, King Alfonso XII. His mother, Maria Cristina of Hapsburg, served as regent during Alfonso's minority. She was very anxious to build up his physical strength, and he was encouraged to spend much time swimming, sailing, and riding. This Spartan open-air regime gradually changed the delicate child into a strong and energetic young man. His education was carefully supervised, and not for generations had a Spanish sovereign received as thorough an education. He was very fond of history and became an excellent linguist, but his chief joy was military instruction. The love of soldiering evident in his early boyhood was something he never outgrew.

On May 17, 1902, at the age of 16, Alfonso was crowned king of Spain. These were troubled times for his country. In 1898 Spain had suffered a humiliating defeat in the Spanish-American War and had lost Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines to the United States. The Catalan and Basque peoples in Spain were demanding autonomy, and in the cities socialist and anarchist labor groups were becoming increasingly violent. Political life was very unstable, and between 1902 and 1906 the young Alfonso had to deal with 14 ministerial crises and 8 different prime ministers.

In May 1921 Alfonso delivered a speech denouncing the parliamentary system in Spain, and in July a Spanish force of 10,000 men was annihilated by rebellious tribes in Spanish Morocco. The army and the monarchy came under increasing criticism. The situation became so critical that in September 1923 Gen. Miguel Primo de Rivera took over the government and set up a military dictatorship. Alfonso supported the dictator, and during a visit to Italy he introduced Primo as "my Mussolini."

In early 1930 the dictatorship came to an end; it had become so unpopular that even the army refused to support it. Alfonso's association with the dictatorship had disgraced him and the monarchy, and in the municipal elections of April 1931 the republicans won in Spain's main urban centers. Rather than risk civil war, Alfonso left the country. After traveling to Austria, Switzerland, England, and Egypt, he finally settled in Rome.

In 1931 Spain became a republic. The republicans, however, proved unable to bring political stability and social order to the country. In July 1936 the army rebelled, and the Spanish Civil War began. The war lasted until 1939 and was followed by the long dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco.

Alfonso remained abroad during the civil war, since Gen. Franco would not allow him to return. Early in 1941 Alfonso abdicated in favor of his son Don Juan, and on February 28 he died and was buried in Rome.

Further Reading

Good biographies of Alfonso XIII in English are Robert Sencourt, King Alfonso (1942); Sir Charles Petrie, King Alfonso XIII and His Age (1963); and Vincente R. Pilapil, Alfonso XIII (1969). For the social, political, and economic situation in Spain during Alfonso's reign, Raymond Carr, Spain: 1808-1939 (1966), is highly recommended.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia:

Alfonso XIII

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Alfonso XIII, 1886-1941, king of Spain (1886-1931), posthumous son and successor of Alfonso XII. His mother, Maria Christina (1858-1929), was regent until 1902. In 1906, Alfonso married Princess Victoria Eugénie of Battenberg, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain. An attempt was made to kill the couple on their wedding day, the first of several assassination attempts. Although Alfonso enjoyed some personal popularity, the monarchy was threatened by social unrest in the newly industrialized areas, by Catalan agitation for autonomy, by dissatisfaction with the constant fighting in Morocco, and by the rise of socialism and anarchism. In 1909 the government was widely attacked for the execution of the radical publicist Francisco Ferrer Guardia, following an uprising in Barcelona. After keeping Spain out of World War I, Alfonso, dissatisfied with the functioning of parliamentary government, supported Gen. Miguel Primo de Rivera in establishing (1923) a military dictatorship. At the fall (1930) of Primo de Rivera, discontent was running high. After the municipal elections of 1931 showed an overwhelming republican majority, Alfonso "suspended the exercise of royal power" and went into exile (Apr. 14, 1931). A few weeks before his death in Rome he renounced his claim to the throne in favor of his third son, Juan (see Bourbon, family).
Wikipedia:

Alfonso XIII of Spain

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Alfonso XIII
King of Spain
Reign 17 May 1886 – 14 April 1931
Predecessor Alfonso XII
Successor Juan Carlos I
Spouse Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
Issue
Alfonso, Prince of Asturias
Jaime, Duke of Segovia
Beatriz, Princess of Civitela-Cesi
Infanta Maria Christina, Countess of Marone
Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
Infante Gonzalo
House House of Bourbon
Father Alfonso XII of Spain
Mother Maria Christina of Austria
Born 17 May 1886(1886-05-17)
Madrid, Spain
Died 28 February 1941 (aged 54)
Rome, Italy

Alfonso XIII (Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Austria-Lorena; anglicised: Alphonse Leon Ferdinand Mary James Isidor Pascal Anthony of Bourbon and Austria-Lorraine) (Madrid, 17 May 1886 – Rome, 28 February 1941), King of Spain, posthumous son of Alfonso XII of Spain, was proclaimed King at his birth. He reigned from 1886-1931. His mother, Queen Maria Christina, was appointed regent during his minority. In 1902, on attaining his 16th year, the King assumed control of the state.

Contents

Reign

Alfonso XIII, 1901
Bust of Alfonso XIII

Alfonso's reign began well. The French newspaper Le Figaro described the young King as "the happiest and best-loved of all the rulers of the earth".[1]

When he came of age in 1902, the week of his majority was marked by festivities, bullfights, balls and receptions throughout Spain.[2]

During his reign, Spain lost its last colonies in the Americas (Cuba and Puerto Rico) and the Philippines; fought and, after several setbacks, won a war in Morocco; witnessed the start of the Spanish Generation of 1927, and endured the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, which ultimately cost him the throne.

During the First World War, because of his family connections with both sides and the division of popular opinion, Spain remained neutral. The King ran an office for captives from the Palacio de Oriente, which leveraged the Spanish diplomatic and military network abroad to intercede for thousands of prisoners-of-war, receiving and answering letters from Europe. However, he became gravely ill during the 1918 flu pandemic and, since Spain was neutral and thus under no wartime censorship restrictions, his illness and subsequent recovery were covered world-wide, giving the false impression (in the absence of real news from anywhere else) that somehow Spain was the most-affected area. This ultimately led to the pandemic getting the nickname "the Spanish Flu."[3]

Alfonso was a promoter of tourism in Spain. The problems with the lodging of his wedding guests prompted the construction of the luxury Hotel Palace in Madrid. He also supported the creation of a network of state-run lodges (Parador) in historic buildings of Spain. His fondness for the sport of football led to the patronage of several "Royal" ("Real" in Spanish) football clubs such as Real Sociedad, Real Madrid, Real Betis, and Real Unión.

When the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, he fled and left Spain, but did not abdicate the throne. He settled eventually in Rome where he lived in the Grand Hotel.

Once the Spanish Civil War broke out, Alfonso made it clear he favoured the military uprising against the Popular Front government, but General Francisco Franco in September 1936 declared that the Nationalists would never accept Alfonso as King (the supporters of the rival Carlist pretender made up an important part of the Franco Army). First, he went into exile in France. Nevertheless, he sent his son, Juan de Borbon, Count of Barcelona, to enter Spain in 1936 and participate in the uprising. However, near the French border, General Mola had him arrested and expelled from the country.

On 15 January 1941, Alfonso XIII abdicated his rights to the Spanish throne in favour of his third (of four), but second-surviving, son Juan, father of the current King, Juan Carlos. He died in Rome a month-and-a-half later.

The Spanish Government ordered three days of national mourning.[4] His funeral was held in Rome in the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. He was buried in the Church of Santa Maria in Monserrato, the Spanish national church in Rome, immediately below the tombs of Pope Calixtus III and Pope Alexander VI.[5] In January 1980 his remains were transferred to El Escorial in Spain.[6]

Marriage and children

Main article: Descendants of Alfonso XIII of Spain
1929 portrait of King Alfonso XIII
On 31 May 1906, at the Royal Monastery of San Geronimo in Madrid, Alfonso married Scottish-born Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1887-1969), a niece of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. A Serene Highness by birth, Ena, as she was known, was raised to Royal Highness status a month before her wedding to prevent the union from being viewed as unequal.

As Alfonso XIII and Ena were returning from the wedding, they narrowly escaped an assassination attempted by the anarchist Mateu Morral; instead, the bomb explosion killed or injured many bystanders and members of the Royal procession.

Alfonso and Ena had seven children:

Illegitimate issue

The King also had four illegitimate children:

By French aristocrat Mélanie de Gaufridy de Dortan (Dompierre-les-Ormes, 31 August 1876 - Paris, 23 October 1937), daughter of Roger de Gaufridy de Dortan (1843 - 1905) and wife Adélaïde de Verdonnet (1853 - 1918), married on 7 July 1900 to Philippe Lévêque de Vilmorin (Verrières-le-Buisson, 21 May 1872 - Verrières-le-Buisson, 29 June 1917), by whom she had two daughters and two sons (Marie Lévêque de Vilmorin, married to Guy de Toulouse-Lautrec, Comte de Toulouse-Lautrec and a relative of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, without issue, Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin (Verrières-le-Buisson, 4 April 1902 – 26 December 1969), married firstly in Paris on 12 March 1925 to Henry Leigh-Hunt (Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, 17 October 1886 - Neuilly, 21 March 1972), and had issue, and married secondly in Bratislava on 27 January 1938 as his fifth of eight wives to Pál Gróf Erdödi Pálffy (Vienna, 12 February 1890 - Untergiesing-Harlaching, 11 October 1968), without issue; Olivier Lévêque de Vilmorin, and André Lévêque de Vilmorin; despite the resemblances of Louise with Alfonso XIII and even his also illegitimate half-sister Ana María Teresa, she was never claimed to be his daughter):

  • Roger Marie Vincent Philippe Lévêque de Vilmorin (Verrières-le-Buisson, 12 September 1905 - Paris, 20 July 1980), married in Nice on 16 January 1926 to Pauline Roissard de Bellet (Paris, 31 March 1892 - bef. 1945), daughter of Jean Baron Roissard de Bellet and wife Elizabeth Prodgers, and had issue, and married secondly in Paris on 12 February 1945 as her second husband Edith Alice Cecile Lowther (London, 2 August 1906 - ?), daughter of the 1st Baronets Lowther, and had issue:
    • Nicolas Lévêque de Vilmorin (b. 21 August 1928), married to Irène Thenard, without issue
    • Jean-Baptiste Lévêque de Vilmorin (b. Paris, 11 January 1930), married firstly and divorced as her second husband to Geneviève Fontenay (Oran, 21 November 1930 - Saint-Paul, 14 April 1987), already divorced from her first husband, daughter of Roger Fontenay and wife Germaine Martin, who married thirdly François Giscard d'Estaing uncle of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and later husband of ... Cazin d' Honincthun, without issue, and married secondly to Monique Latil, without issue
    • Elisabeth Lévêque de Vilmorin (b. Paris, 11 January 1930), married to Arnaud Baron de Lassus, without issue
    • Sophie Lévêque de Vilmorin (b. 22 January 1931), married to Robert Miles-Reincke, without issue
    • Claire Lévêque de Vilmorin (b. 20 August 1933), unmarried and without issue
    • Eleonore Lévêque de Vilmorin (b. Neuilly-sur-Seine, 28 February 1947), married firstly in Verrières-le-Buisson on 12 April 1972 and divorced Guy-Raoul Marie Jacques de Dampierre (b. Saint-Mandé, 5 January 1938), without issue (he later married Ismène de Saint-Anthost and had a son Matthias de Dampierre, b. 1982), and married secondly in Paris on 3 May 1980 her first husband's cousin Aymeric de Dampierre (b. Paris, 12 January 1947), without issue
    • Philippa Victoire Lévêque de Vilmorín (b. Boulogne-Billancourt, 11 November 1948), unmarried and without issue

By Spanish actress María del Carmen Ruíz y Moragas (1898 - Madrid, 11 June 1936), married in Granada on 18 November 1917 to Rodolfo Gaona y Jiménez (León de Las Aldamas, Guanajuato, 22 January 1888 - Mexico City, 20 May 1975), without issue, and daughter of Leandro Antolín Ruíz y Martínez, born in Almadén, and wife María de las Mercedes Moragas y Pareja, born in Málaga:

  • Ana María Teresa Ruíz y Moragas (Madrid, 9 October 1925 - Florence, 6 September 1965), married in Madrid on 26 October 1957 Arnoldo Bürgisser y Hufenus (Florence, 9 January 1927 - Florence, 21 December 1993), son of Louis Bürgisser and wife Agnèse Hufenus, and had issue:
    • Leandro Bürgisser (b. Florence, 25 September 1958), married to Teresa Sancristoforo (b. Genoa, 13 October 1961), and had issue:
      • Cristoforo Bürgisser (b. Florence, 29 October 1999)
      • Tea Bürgisser (b. Florence, 8 October 2001)
    • María del Carmen Bürgisser (b. 1959), unmarried and without issue
  • Leandro Alfonso Luis Ruíz y Moragas (b. Madrid, 26 April 1929), officially recognized by Spanish Courts on 21 May 2003 as Leandro Alfonso Luis de Borbón y Ruíz Moragas, married firstly in June 1952 to María del Rosario Vidal y de Barnola (- 1992), daughter of Eduardo Vidal y ... and wife ... de Barnola y ..., and had issue, and married secondly in 1982 to María de la Concepción de Mora y ..., daughter of Manuel de Mora y ... (- Madrid, 1971), and wife ..., and had issue:
    • María Cristina de Borbón y Vidal (b. 1953), married to ... Tejón y ..., and had issue:
      • Juan Tejón y de Borbón (b. 1977)
      • Javier Tejón y de Borbón (b. 1981)
      • Pilar Tejón y de Borbón (b. 1984)
    • Alfonso de Borbón y Vidal (Madrid, 1955 - 2000), married in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on 6 May 2000 to ..., without issue
    • María Blanca de Borbón y Vidal (b. Madrid, 1956), married to Jesús Mateos y Morillo, and had issue:
      • Pablo Mateos y de Borbón (b. 2000)
    • Eduardo de Borbón y Vidal (b. 1956), married to ... Garde y ..., and had issue:
      • Almudena de Borbón y Garde (b. 1985)
      • Eduardo de Borbón y Garde (b. 1992)
    • María Luisa de Borbón y Vidal (1957-1959 - 1961)
    • María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Vidal (b. Madrid, 1960), married to Luis de Sautú y Acha, without issue

By Béatrice Noon:

  • Juana Alfonsa Milán y Quiñones de León (Paris, 19 April 1916 - Madrid, 16 May 2005), and had issue by an unknown father, three sons and one daughter:
    • ... Milán y Quiñones de León
    • ... Milán y Quiñones de León
    • Pierre Milán y Quiñones de León
    • María de la Soledad Milán y Quiñones de León

Honours

Ancestors

References

  1. ^ [ "The Happiest Living Monarch,"] New York Times. 14 August 1889.
  2. ^ "Alfonso's Reign Begins on 17 May; He Will Take the Oath on That Day -- Festivities to Last a Week," New York Times, 29 March 1902.
  3. ^ Barry 171.
  4. ^ "Mourning in Spain", The Times (3 March 1941): 3.
  5. ^ "Italians to Mourn Death of Alfonso," The New York Times. 2 March 1941.
  6. ^ "21 Guns for Dead King's Homecoming", The Times (21 January 1980): 4.
  7. ^ Collier, William Miller. (1912). At the Court of His Catholic Majesty, pp.35-36; Order of the Golden Fleece.
  8. ^ Miller, pp. 37-38; Orden de Carlos III (in Spanish).
  9. ^ Miller, pp. 39-39; Order of Santiago.
  10. ^ Miller, pp. 39-39; Order of Calatrava.
  11. ^ Miller, pp. 39-39; Order of Alcántara.
  12. ^ Miller, pp. 39-39; Order of Montesa.
  13. ^ "Japan to Decorate King Alfonso Today; Emperor's Brother Nears Madrid With Collar of the Chrysanthemum for Spanish King," New York Times, 3 November 1930; see also Nutail, Zelia. (1906). The Earliest Historical Relations Between Mexico and Japan, p. 2.

Bibliography

  • Churchill, Winston. Great Contemporaries. London: T. Butterworth, 1937. Contains the most famous single account of Alfonso in the English language. The author, writing shortly after the Spanish Civil War began, retained considerable fondness for the ex-sovereign.
  • Noel, Gerard. Ena: Spain's English Queen. London: Constable, 1985. Considerably more candid than Petrie about Alfonso the private man, and about the miseries the royal family experienced because of their hemophiliac children.
  • Petrie, Charles. King Alfonso XIII and His Age. London: Chapman & Hall, 1963. Written as it was during Queen Ena's lifetime, this book necessarily omits the King's extramarital affairs; but it remains a useful biography, not least because the author knew Alfonso quite well, interviewed him at considerable length, and relates him to the Spanish culture of his time.
  • Pilapil, Vicente R. Alfonso XIII. Twayne's rulers and statesmen of the world series 12. New York: Twayne, 1969.
  • Sencourt, Robert. King Alfonso: A Biography. London: Faber, 1942.

External links

Alfonso XIII of Spain
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 17 May 1886 Died: 28 February 1941
Regnal titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Alfonso XII		 King of Spain
17 May 1886 – 14 April 1931 (17 May 1886 – 1902)		 Vacant
Title next held by
Juan Carlos I
Political offices
Preceded by
Alfonso XII
as King of Spain		 Head of State of Spain
as King of Spain
17 May 1886 – 14 April 1931		 Succeeded by
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora
as President of Spain
Titles in pretence
Vacant
Title last held by
Alfonso XII		 — TITULAR —
King of Spain
14 April 1931 – 15 January 1941		 Succeeded by
Juan III
Preceded by
Alphonse II		 — TITULAR —
King of France and Navarre
29 September 1936 – 28 February 1941
Reason for succession failure:
Bourbon monarchy deposed in 1830		 Succeeded by
Jacques II
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22 December 1924		 Succeeded by
Charles Evans Hughes
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*also a Prince or Princess of the Two Sicilies
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