Infanta Pilar spent her early year in the formal atmosphere of the Spanish court. Until age four, she was raised by a wet nurse who had been carefully chosen. At the age of seven, her education was placed under the supervision of the Duchess of Berwick and Alba. By that time, the stability of Isabella's II reign was shaky. The queen lost, in quick succession, the two most prominent politician of her government. Leopold O'Donell died in November 1867 and Narvaez in April 1868, while still presiding the government. In the summer 1868, after spending some days in the Palace of la Granja, the Spanish royal family moved to the Cantabrian Coast. They went to Lekeitio to spend time sea bathing, which had been prescribed to the queen as she suffered from a skin condition. Pilar was then seven years old. Her constant companions were her sisters Paz, age six, and Eulalia age four. Their brother Alfonso, age ten, was educated separately as he was the heir to the throne. Pilar's eldest sister, Infanta Isabella had been married off to her cousin the Count of Girgenti in May and she was abroad on her wedding trip. While the royal family was in Lekeitio, a military upsiring broke out. On 28 September, the defeat of the royalist troops headed by general Novaliches in the battle of Alcolea sealed the end of the Queen's reign. Two days later, the Spanish royal family crossed the border by train to Biarritz.