Omaha daily bee., 1909-07-24
KING HELPS AN ELOPEMENT
Alfonso Of Spain Advises Relative to
Defy Spanish Law.
CATHOLIC WEEDS PROTESTANT
Namesnke of King Forfeits His Royal
Position and Gives Up Army
Career for Loves
sake,

| PARIS. July 22-Details surrounding the
romantic marriage Of Prince Alfonso Of
observation-disclosures to Princess Beatrice Of
Saxe-Coburg. which cost him his position
as a prince of the royal house of Spain,
and his career in the Spanish army, have
come into the possession Of the Associated
Press.
They reveal the fact that King Alfonso,
instead Of refusing his consent to the mar
riage. as was reported by Madrid dis
patches, favored and actually advised the
prince to marry her secretly, gave him
leave OF absence for that purpose, and
personally interviewed by telegraph with
the Bamberg ecclesiastical authorities in
whose diocese the marriage took place to
procure a dispensation for It.
This story was obtained from the princes
own lips by friends a few days ago in
Munich, where the couple are spending
their honeymoon, and when it becomes
known in Europe it is likely to create a
greater sensation than the wedding and
the princes disgrace.
Met at Kings Marriage.
Prince Alfonso and Princess Beatrice
first met on the occasion Of King Alfonso's
marriage to Princess Eva of Battenberg
in 1906. The prince then was only 20 years
old. He fell desperately in love with the
princess and proposed marriage, but Bea-
trice refused HIM in most decided fashion,
even declining him permission to cores
pond with her.
Shortly after this the prince entered the
military school at Toledo and subsequently
in 1907, the couple met again at San Sc
bastian. Both the queen and the queen
mother, knowing of the princes ~infatua-
ton, espoused his cause and sought to in
duce Beatrice to relent.
The princess, however, declared that she
never would change her religion, but fl
nally, when she said she had no objection
to rearing her children as Catholics, the
queen mother replied:
Then there is not the slightest difficulty
to the union, l always said that if l had
had a second son he should have married
a Protestant" she said, and added that
she, herself, had Protestant ancestors.
Later, at La Granja, King Alfonso form
ally asked the hand Of Princess Beatrice
for his cousin and when Beatrice on that
occasion raised the question of her religion
his majesty said:
Il will give you my word Of honor
there will not be the slightest difficulty"
The prince then again proposed and was
accepted and the couple, who had not yet
appraised Beatrice's mother, the duchess
of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, with difficulty
prevented King Alfonso from officially an
nounclng the engagement.
Premier of Spain Objects.
When he returned to Madrid King AL
fonso asked Premier Maura VIVA he
though of the marriage and the premier
replied that the marriage of an infante Of
Spain TO a Protestant could not take place
on account of the difficulties it would
cause the government. King Alfonso was
absolutely furious.
Princess Beatrice, because of her friend
ship for Queen Victoria, said she would
give up the prince, and King Alfonso sum
moned the prince to Madrid and asked
what it was his intention to do in the
matter. The prince replied that he had
given his word to make Beatrice his wife,
and besides his personal feelings would
not permit him to retire from the proposed
union and that he intended to marry the
princess regardless Of consequences.
King Alfonso warmly congratulated the
prince on his attitude, saying that his re-
ply was just what he had expected, that
1t was worthy of a Bourbon and even IL
the constitution prevented him from CIV
ing official consent to the marriage with
out the approval Of his minister's, he, AL
fonso Of Bourbon, would do everything in
his power for the couple.
Princess Beatrice then departed from
Madrid, and Prince Alfonso, upon the sd-
vice of the king, went to see Pope Plus
and asked for a dispensation for a mixed
marriage. The Spanish government, mean
time, warned the Vatican of the proposed
union, and the dlspensation neither was
granted nor actual refused. After this the
couple waited patiently, considering them
selves affianced, as also did King Alfonso,
who visited Princess Beatrice at Munich
last summer
King Sanctions
When the prince graduated from the
military school at Toledo. July u, he volun-
teered to go to the front, as the war in
Morocco had broken out. King Alfonso
granted the prince a three days leave of
absence before going to Melilla and urged
him secretly to marry Princess Beatrice,
declaring that he would wire the bishop OF
Bamberg to grant a dispensation.
Prime Alfonso arrived In Coburg July
Is and the civil marriage took place that
morning. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon
the priest at Coburg received a Geographic
dispensation from the bishop Of Bamberg,
and at $3.50 p. m. the Catholic ceremony
was performed. 1t was not intended that
the news Of the marriage should be made
public, but it was printed in Spain and
the royal decree of the degradation of
Prince Alfonso followed.
The prince, in concluding his story. to his
friend. said:
"Maura, the head of the clerical party
in Spain, because he holds a majority in
Parliament, forced the king to kick his
own cousin out of the country and the
army, to strip him of title and honors, for
the Grim of marrying a Protestant, who
is a niece of King Edward and a first
cousin of the emperors of Germany and
Russia"
The prince again wired congratulations.
The Infanta Eulalie, the princes mother,
who is here, is almost Frustrated over the
ruin Of her sons career, as she knew that
both the Spanish and the British royal
families were in perfect sympathy with the
marriage.