In the 1850s Alfonso spent his early childhood with his mother and older brother in the Duchy of Modena; it is there he received his early homeschooling. Due to the revolutionary turmoil of 1859 the family left for Austria, hosted by the ex-emperor, Ferdinand I; they settled in Prague, which remained their key residence until 1864. Their attempt to settle in Venice, resulting from health concerns, was aborted due to the Italo-Austrian war; they spent the years of 1864-1867 shuttling between Innsbruck, Vienna and Graz. Both teenagers were raised in very pious ambience; their religious mother and equally devout but more strong-willed step-grandmother, María Teresa de Braganza, made sure the boys received a profoundly Catholic, Carlist and anti-liberal education. In 1868 Alfonso embarked on a long pilgrimage to Palestine; the same year his 21-year-old brother Carlos assumed the Carlist claim to the throne of Spain. When back in Europe Alfonso decided to join Papal Zouaves.