Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907–1938)

Alfonso, Prince of Asturias, RE (Alfonso Pío Cristino Eduardo Francisco Guillermo Carlos Enrique Eugenio Fernando Antonio Venancio de Borbón y Battenberg; 10 May 1907 – 6 September 1938), was heir apparent to the throne of Spain from birth until he renounced his rights in 1931. He was the eldest son of Alfonso XIII and his wife Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. He died at the age of 31 as a result from a car accident. Though appearing to have sustained minor injuries, his haemophilia 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 of 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, 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.

Alfonso married Marta Esther Rocafort-Altuzarra in Havana on 3 July 1937. 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.

Death

A car accident led to Alfonso's early death in 1938, at the age of 31. He crashed into a telephone booth and appeared to have minor injuries but his haemophilia led to fatal internal bleeding. He was initially entombed at Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (now Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum) in Miami but in 1985 he was re-entombed in 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 but declined and was not present when he was re-entombed.

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 both in 1907.^[1]

Ancestry

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907–1938).

• Royal House of Spain

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