Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907–1938)

Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (10 May 1907 – 6 September 1938), was heir apparent to the throne of Spain from birth until he renounced his rights in 1933. He was the eldest son of Alfonso XIII and his wife Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg.

Alfonso
Prince of Asturias Count of Covadonga
Formal photo portrait by Franzen
Born	10 May 1907 Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Died	6 September 1938 (aged 31) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Burial	El Escorial
Spouse	Edelmira Sampedro y Robato ​ ​ (m. 1933; div. 1937)​ Marta Esther Rocafort-Altuzarra ​ ​ (m. 1937; div. 1938)​
Full name Alfonso Pío Cristino Eduardo Francisco Guillermo Carlos Enrique Eugenio Fernando Antonio Venancio
House	Bourbon
Father	Alfonso XIII of Spain
Mother	Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
Religion	Roman Catholic

Alfonso's renunciation of his rights as heir to the throne of Spain 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.[1]

He died at the age of 31 as a result of a car accident. Though appearing to have sustained minor injuries, his haemophilia, inherited by him from his great-grandmother Queen Victoria, led to fatal internal bleeding.

Early life

Alfonso was the eldest child of the then-reigning King Alfonso XIII and his wife, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. He inherited the genetic disorder haemophilia from his maternal line, as did a number of his matrilineal relatives. He and his youngest brother, Gonzalo, were kept in specially-tailored jackets to prevent injury from accidents.

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. 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. This action reversed Alfonso's renunciation of 1933 and led to his being disavowed by his father King Alfonso.[2]

Death

A car accident 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.[3] The car crashed into a telephone booth and Alfonso appeared to have only minor injuries but his haemophilia led to fatal internal bleeding. 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. 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 of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain and Knight with Collar of the Order of Charles III, inducted as both shortly after his birth in 1907.[4]

Gallery

• 
  Queen Victoria and King Alfonso XIII with newly-born Alfonso, 1908.
• 
  Alfonso aged 11 wearing the Scout uniform of the Explorers of Spain, 1918.
• 
  Photograph of Alfonso, 1922.
• 
  Portrait of Alfonso, portrayed in hunting outfit, holding a side-by-side "Sarasqueta" gun, by Philip de László, 1927.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907–1938)

8. Infante Francisco de Asís of Spain 4. Alfonso XII of Spain 9. Isabella II of Spain 2. Alfonso XIII of Spain 10. Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria 5. Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria 11. Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria 1. Alfonso, Prince of Asturias 12. Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine 6. Prince Henry of Battenberg 13. Countess Julia Hauke 3. Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg 14. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 7. Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom 15. Victoria of the United Kingdom

Bibliography

• Pedersen, Jørgen. Riddere af Elefantordenen 1559–2009, Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2009. ISBN 8776744345

Sources

• Time, 12 June 1933
• El Nuevo Herald, 23 May 2004
• El Mundo, 2 July 1994

References

1. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Edward VIII
2. John D. Berganini, page 374 "The Spanish Bourbons", SBN 399-11365-7, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York 1974
3. John D. Berganini, page 374 "The Spanish Bourbons", SBN 399-11365-7, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York 1974
4. 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. Accessed 2012-11-01.

External links