The Washington herald., 1907-05-19

D
son. last week, King Alfonso affixed his
/ signature TO a decree transferring the
/ title Of Prince Of the Asturias from his
/ brother-in-law, Don Carlos, Of Bourbon,
/ TO the baby. BY the same edict the lat
/ ter was invested with all the honors and
! prerogatiyes Of the heir apparent TO the
/ throne Of Spain which for the past three
/ years. have been enjoyed by little Prince
/ Alfonso. now aged six This youngster
| is the eldest child of the Kings sister,
Mercedes, who died I'm 1894 At the time
/ Of her demise the King was still unmar-
! ried. and therefore as next heir in the
! line Of succession % the crown, she en-
/ loved the title Of Princess Of the Astur-
/ las which she had already borne once
/ before during the lifetime Of her father
! Alfonso XII Hers. indeed. was strange
| lot. Her brother, the King. is postbu-
| nous child. and was only born six months
after his fathers sudden end. During
/ that brief interval the then five-year-old
/ princess was Queen of Spain. al official
/ documents and laws being signed in her
name as such. But when her brother
made his appearance in the world, she
was compelled TO step down from the
throne, and % resume her status as
/ Princess Of the Asturias. In accordance
with that medieval custom which for
merly prevailed in England, and which
still survives in Spain, whereby husbands
Of inferior rank share the honors and
titles enjoyed by their wives, Prince
/ Charles Of Bourbon-Naples. on marry
ing the Princess Of the AsturiIs. became
ipsa fact0 himself Prince Of the Asturias
When his wife died that dignity should
. strictly speaking have gone 10 his boy
Don Alfonso, who had through his mo-
. theirs demise become their apparent. But
/ as the Kings marriage was already
I on the cards, il was considered IN
| advisable 10 deprive the Infant Carlos
Of his honorary status as Prince
Of the Asturas until II was seen
whether or not the monarch.s projected
union should be blessed with issue Iet
me add ,hat the Kings aunt. the Infanta
Isabella. celebrated as the most skillfui
four-in-haud whip Of the peninsula. has
on two occasions been subjected 20 an eX-
poriance very similar 20 that which has
now fallen 90 the share Of Don Carlos.
She was Princess Of Austuri7s and heir
|apparent during the six years that inter-
vcned between her own birth In lN5l. as
the eldest child Of Queen Isabella, and the
appearance on the scene Of her only
brother. Alfonso XII in 1857. Again. after
his establishment on the throne in 1874.
she ranked as Princess OF the Asturias.
until the birth of his eldest child in 1850
compelled her 10 surrender the dignity %
her little niece. the late Dona Mercedes.
The title Of Prince or Princess OF the
Asturias has for six centuries been tho
Spanish counterpart Of the dignity Of
Prince o. Wales I'm England. OF the
- Prince % Orange iu the Netherlands OF
the Czar0witch I'm Russia, Of the Diadokos
In Greece. and also Of the Dauphin in
France. I'm the DAYS when that country
, Was s.ul subject to the sway Of tht
house OF Bourbon The principalty Of
Asturias may be sought in vain on the
b maps Of modern Spain. since the province
now figures under the name Of Oviedo
Il forms part of the Pyrennean system
. has often been described as the Switzer-
land Of the peninsula and its people
possess an the sturdy virtues of the
, hardy mountaiueers- It may be de.
scrlbed as the cradle ~ the Spanish mon
archy for It was in the fastuesses ot
? the Asturlau Mountains that the native:
sought refuge from the Roman invasion
f and were able 20 escape the thraldom o.
the Caesars. And again. when later or
. the Moor= secured possession Of the re-
b msinder Of the peninsula, ;ue AstUria|
not only managed to retain their inde
D pendence. but likewise served as the sol
remaining stronghold Of Christianity
/ whence the successful recUnquest o.
, Spain and the expulsion Of the Muslem
was eventually undertaken. II was, in
deed, at the beginning Of the eighth cen
p tury that Pelayo. the national hero O
, Spain, and whose fame. is kept alive q
this day By war ships bearing his name
, was proclaimed King. and laid IN
= foundations ~ Spanish monarchy afte
: his great victory over the Cdiiph AHA
, kan. az the battle of Deba At the tim
, when the fortunes of Pelayo were a
their lowest ebb ne was wont 70 max
To- his headquarters in the cave Of Cova
donga. situated In one Of the most mac
o. cessible portions of the mountains %
= the Asturias. where on more than one oc
- casion he was besteged by the Moors. In
A deed. so great "a role did this cave pla,
IN the struggle Of the cross against IN
- crescent that when PelayO died. he in
p sisted on being entombed in the cave
King Alfonso. the Catholic, is also burie
! there. and the little chapel and sane
. tuary in the cave have been for hundred
, Of years the bourne Of many pious pil
h grimaEes. while the rulers Of Spain re
+ tain among their proudest titles that o
/ Count of Covadonga which they in
variably use when abroad by way of in
/ COguitO.
g Grand Duke Michael, the only survivin
S brother Of the present Emperor Of Rus