I understand that he replaced his mother (the ill-fated Infanta Maria de las Mercedes) as heir-presumptive to the Spanish throne after her tragic death in childbirth, 1904. As it was, the regency period had ended two years previously, when his uncle and namesake (King Alfonso XIII) was declared of legal age.
But the said uncle had not yet married, as of his sister's death: that would happen two years later, when he wed Princess Victoria Eugenie ("Ena") of Battenberg. It's a well-known fact that an attempt was made on the lives of the bridal couple by some anarchists, who threw a bomb at their wedding coach. It literally missed by inches and seconds.
Otherwise, had the assassination attempt been successful, the nephew would have automatically succeeded to the throne on the occasion as king (and one presumes that his regnal name would have been Alfonso XIV). But since he was only a minor at the time, a regency obviously would have had to be declared.
Who exactly would the said regent have been? Would it have been his grandmother, Queen Maria Cristina, who had previously served as regent of the kingdom (1885-1902)? If so, it would have been a rare instance in royal history where a regency ended, only to be resumed -- because it was the same person.
Or would it have been his aunt, Infanta Maria Teresa (who was born in 1882 and would certainly have been of legal age)? Or possibly his widowed father, Infante Don Carlos, who as of then had not yet remarried?
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