Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (10 May 1907 – 6 September 1938), was

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the throne of Spain from birth until the abolition of the monarchy in 1931. He renounced his rights to the defunct throne in 1933. Alfonso was the eldest son of

King Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

and his wife

Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Republic was proclaimed. A Hessi ...

. Alfonso's renunciation of his rights as heir to the Spanish throne in order to marry Cuban commoner Edelmira Sampedro caused controversy at the time. A similar situation would take place three years later in Britain with his second cousin Edward VIII, who would abdicate as King of the United Kingdom to wed American divorcee Wallis Simpson. He died at the age of 31 as a result of a car crash. Though appearing to have sustained minor injuries, his haemophilia, inherited through his great-grandmother

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

, led to fatal

internal bleeding Internal bleeding (also called internal hemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body. Internal bleeding is usually not visible from the outside. It is a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity dep ...

Early life

Alfonso was the eldest child of the then-reigning King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

and his wife,

. He inherited the genetic disorder haemophilia from his maternal line, as did a number of his

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...

relatives. He and his youngest brother, Gonzalo, were kept in specially-tailored jackets to prevent injury from accidents. He was born on 10 May 1907 at the

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...

. As decreed by custom, he was registered by the Marquis of Figueroa, Minister of Justice, in the Civil Registry of the Royal Family as Alfonso Pío Cristino Eduardo Francisco Guillermo Carlos Enrique Eugenio Fernando Antonio Venancio. Eight days after his birth, Alfonso was christened in the royal chapel of the Royal Palace of Madrid by the

Archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

. His godparents were his

grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...

Queen Maria Cristina and Pope Pius X, who was represented by Cardinal Rinaldini. The Duke of Connaught,

Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia (german: Joachim Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Leopold; 14 November 1865 – 13 September 1931) was a son of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau, married in 1854. Family ...

, Archduke Eugen of Austria and Afonso, Duke of Porto, were also present. After the ceremony, his father conferred upon him the collars of the orders of the

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where ...

and

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

and the Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

. Alfonso's father faced increasing political problems that led Spain to become a republic in 1931 when the monarch was deposed. The family moved into exile.

Renunciation and marriages

There had been plans for young Alfonso's deposition from succession, but ultimately he himself renounced his rights to the then-defunct throne to marry a commoner, Edelmira Sampedro y Robato, religiously in Ouchy on 21 June 1933, after which Alfonso took the courtesy title Count of Covadonga. This was required by the regulations for the succession set by the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles III. The couple divorced 8 May 1937, with Edelmira keeping the title Countess of Covadonga. In a civil ceremony on 3 July 1937 Alfonso married another commoner, Marta Esther Rocafort-Altuzarra in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. They divorced on 8 January 1938. He had no children by either of his wives. However, Alfonso de Bourbon, a resident of California, later claimed to be an illegitimate son of Alfonso. In 1938 Alfonso, then resident in the United States, publicly stated his readiness to accept the Spanish crown if called on to do so. Spain was at this date in the midst of

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. This action reversed Alfonso's renunciation of 1933 and led to his being disavowed by his father King Alfonso.

Death

A car crash led to Alfonso's early death in 1938, at the age of 31. He was being driven at night through Miami by an entertainer, Miss Mildred Gaydon, who swerved to avoid a truck. The car crashed into a

telephone booth A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; usually the user steps into the booth and closes the booth ...

and Alfonso appeared to have only minor injuries but his haemophilia led to fatal

. He was entombed at Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (now Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum) in Miami, and was re-entombed in 1985 at the Pantheon of the Princes in

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

. His first wife, who had been allowed to retain the title Countess of Covadonga, was asked by the royal family to attend the re-entombment but she declined. Alfonso was the 1,120th

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain and Knight with Collar of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

, inducted as both shortly after his birth in 1907.''Alfonso, Prince of Asturias inducted knight of the Golden Flecee, knight with collar of the Order of Charles III and Grand Cross Knight of the Order of Isabella the Catholic''
Gazeta: Colección Histórica. BOE. Retrieved 2012-11-01. ]

Gallery

Queen Victoria Eugenie with King Alfonso XIII of Spain and their newly-born child.jpg, Queen Victoria and King Alfonso XIII with newly born Alfonso, 1908. Alfonso de Borbón explorador 1918.jpg, Alfonso aged 11 wearing the Boy scout, Scout uniform of the Explorers of Spain, 1918. Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg.jpg, Photograph of Alfonso, 1922. The Count of Covadonga by Laszlo.png, Portrait of Alfonso, portrayed in hunting outfit, holding a side-by-side " Sarasqueta" gun, by Philip de László, 1927.

Ancestry

Bibliography

* Pedersen, Jørgen. ''Riddere af Elefantordenen 1559–2009'', Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2009.

Sources

* ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'', 12 June 1933 * ''El Nuevo Herald'', 23 May 2004 * ''El Mundo'', 2 July 1994

References

External links

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alfonso of Asturas, Prince House of Bourbon (Spain) Spanish infantes 1907 births 1938 deaths Sons of kings Haemophilia in European royalty Princes of Asturias Heirs apparent who never acceded Road incident deaths in Florida Burials in the Pantheon of Infantes at El Escorial Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Knights of Santiago Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Spanish expatriates in Cuba Royal reburials