Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907-1938)

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'Don Alfonso, Prince of Asturias, Count of Covadonga'
Count and Countess of Covadonga at their wedding in 1933
Born	10 May 1907 Madrid, Spain
Died	September 6, 1938 (aged 31) Miami, Florida, USA

Don Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (Alfonso Pio Cristino Eduardo Francisco Guillermo Carlos Enrique Fernando Antonio Venancio Borbón y Battenberg (10 May 1907 - 6 September 1938), was the heir-apparent of the throne of Spain 1907-31.

Alfonso was the eldest child of the then-reigning king Alfonso XIII of Spain and his wife Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg. He inherited the genetic disorder hemophilia from his maternal line. He was a matrilineal great-grandson of Victoria of the United Kingdom. He and his youngest brother, Gonzalo were kept in specially-tailored jackets to prevent bloody accidents.

His father, Alfonso XIII faced increasing political problems that led Spain become republic in 1931 and the monarch was deposed. They moved into exile.

There had been plans of young Alfonso's deposition from succession, but ultimately he himself renounced his rights to the then-defunct throne in 1933 to marry a commoner, Edelmira Ignacia Adriana Sampedro-Robato , 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 Carlos III.) They divorced 8 May 1937. He married Marta Esther Rocafort y Altazarra 3 July 1937. They divorced 8 January 1938. He had no issue by either of them. A car accident led to his early death in 1938, at the age of 31. He crashed into a telephone booth and appeared to have minor injuries but his hemophilia 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, Florida and was in 1985 re-entombed in the Pantheon of the Princes in El Escorial. His first wife was allowed to retain the title Countess of Covadonga and was present when he was re-entombed.

His predecessor was his late aunt Mercedes, Princess of Asturias who deceased 3 years before Alfonso's birth; in practice, Alfonso's predecessor as first heir to Spain was his first cousin, Mercedes' son, the Infante Alfonso of the Two Sicilies.

His successor technically was his next brother, Jaime, Duke of Segovia who did not receive the Asturias title. Jaime's own renunciation took place soon. In practice (but not titularly) the next heir-apparent of claims to Spanish throne was Alfonso's younger brother don Juan de Borbon, Count of Barcelona. Alfonso's nephew, the Infante Juan Carlos of Spain (the King Juan Carlos) was granted the official title Prince of Spain, not that of Asturias in 1969 by Francisco Franco.

The next member of the Spanish royal family to be officially invested with the title Principe de Asturias was Felipe, Prince of Asturias, Alfonso's grand-nephew, in 1977.

[edit] Ancestry

v • d • e Ancestors of Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907-1938)

16. Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain               8. Francis of Spain                       17. Princess Luisa Carlotta of the Two Sicilies               4. Alfonso XII of Spain                             18. Ferdinand VII of Spain               9. Isabella II of Spain                       19. Princess Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies               2. Alfonso XIII of Spain                                   20. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen               10. Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria                       21. Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg               5. Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria                             22. Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary               11. Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria                       23. Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg               1. Alfonso of Spain, Prince of Asturias                                         24. Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse               12. Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine                       25. Princess Wilhelmine of Baden               6. Prince Henry of Battenberg                             26. Count John Maurice von Hauke               13. Countess Julia von Hauke                       27. Sophie la Fontaine               3. Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg                                   28. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha               14. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha                       29. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg               7. Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom                             30. Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn               15. Victoria of the United Kingdom                       31. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

[edit] Sources

• http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_de_Borb%C3%B3n_y_Battenberg
• TIME, June 12, 1933
• EL NUEVO HERALD, May 23, 2004
• EL MUNDO, July 2, 1994

Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907-1938) House of Bourbon Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty Born: 10 May 1907 Died: 6 September 1938
Spanish royalty
Preceded by Infante Alfonso	Prince of Asturias 1907-1931	Vacant Second Spanish Republic declared Title next held by Infante Felipe
Spanish nobility
New creation	Count of Covadonga 1933 - 1938	Merged in the Crown
Titles in pretence
Loss of title	— TITULAR — Prince of Asturias 1931 – 1933 Reason for succession failure: Second Spanish Republic declared	Succeeded by Infante Juan