… 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 siblings – all except brother Don Juan who was away with the Spanish navy, were left behind in Madrid. Their supporters recommend they too should leave, so they drove a car from the Royal Palace, and then took a train to France.
They lived in exile in Paris, and eventually the Savoy Hotel in Fontainebeau. Maria Cristina and Beatriz took trips to Paris twice a week by car, or on a train with a lady in waiting in attendance.
They girls spent time riding horses and playing tennis. Eventually their mother and father separated, and Ena moved to London and then Switzerland. The girls went with her.
Being too isolated, they eventually moved to Rome to be with their father, where they adapted quickly and well to life in Italy.
(Photo: Beatriz, her mother Ena, and Maria Cristina)