King Alfonso XIII of Spain

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Today marks the 80th Anniversary of the Death of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, who died on this day in 1941! The monarch from birth as the posthumous son of King Alfonso XII of Spain and Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, the Queen Mother served as the Spanish Regent until his sixteenth birthday in 1902. In 1906, the King married Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and were the victims of a failed assassination attempt on their wedding day. The King and Queen had seven children, but two of their four sons had hemophilia, which she inherited from Queen Victoria, which, coupled with his various mistresses and illegitimate children, led to the breakup of their marriage. The King’s reign was marked by a variety of political and societal upheavals, that began with the Spanish–American War and the loss of the last Spanish Colonial Possessions in Cuba and the Phillipines, and included the lack of political representation, the poor situation of the working classes, the Rif War, and Catalan nationalism, though he was more successfully responsible for promoting Spanish tourism and establishing the various ‘Real’ (Royal) football clubs. During the First World War, the King established the European War Office, to help the victims regardless of their allegiance, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. After the King’s unpopular support of the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, the Spanish monarchy was abolished in 1931, and though he didn’t abdicate, the King left Spain for exile, settling in Rome, where he passed away on this day in 1941. The Spanish Monarchy was restored under his grandson, King Juan Carlos, in 1975.

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