… because Alfonso XIII was the king at a time when the monarchy was very unpopular. The 2nd Spanish Republic was declared, throwing the family out of the country, although he did not abdicate the thrown in hopes he would be back. Beatriz, her mother Victoria Eugenie (“Ena”) and her …
… Victoria of England became the wife of Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi. She was the paternal aunt of King Juan Carlos. Infanta Beatriz spoke English, French, and Spanish. The children spoke English with their Mother (who was English), and Spanish with their father (who was Spanish. Beatriz and …
While Ena and her daughter developed the Red Cross of Spain in the early 1900’s, it was Florence Nightengale who introduced the concept of “medical tourism”; meaning traveling to remote situations to care for a given situation. Florence, born and raised in Italy, took part in the Crimean War of …
… of the Red Cross of Spain. She entered service alongside her mother, Victoria Eugenie Queen of Spain, and her older sister, Beatriz. (photo: Infanta Maria Cristina (same status as an English Princess)
Thanks to the queen’s efforts, the first Spanish Red Cross hospital was opened in 1918 in Madrid. Both of Victoria Eugenie’s daughters, Beatriz and Maria Cristina, would receive their nursing training there nearly a decade later. Victoria Eugenie received many awards for this. Some of these awards included the Silver …
…There was strife and unrest in Spain during the time of Victoria Eugenie’s and Alfonso’s reign. Ena’s records show she complained to her ladies in waiting that Alfonso took “bad political advice”. Between that and the populace’s general mistrust of her, that she had personal crises. To handle that, she …
.. which made her Spanish subjects very mistrustful of her. Many found her to be “too English”, despite her constant efforts to follow Spanish customs and adapt to the culture. Along with the constant threat of revolution with countercultures, bombing, and threats on her life, Ena had a lot to …
Alfonso in 1907 Jaime in 1908 Beatriz in 1909 Fernando in 1910 (who was stillborn) Maria Cristina in 1911 Juan in 1913 Gonzalo in 1914 (Photo: Victoria Eugenie and Alfonso with their Spanish royal children. Note by this time in the 1920’s, that only 1 of the 7 died, and …
.. unfortunately, when they found out their first son Alfonso was also a hemopheliac (genetic blood disease), their wedded bliss fell apart. Alfonso responded by having liasons and affairs with several women. He humiliated Victoria Eugenie (Ena) by having many illegitimate children. Some small videos from an Easter celebration in …
