Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII ( Spanish : " Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburg - Lorena " ; English : " Alphonse Leon Ferdinand Mary James Isidor Pascal Anthony of Bourbon and Habsburg - Lorraine " ; 17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941 ) was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931 . Alfonso was monarch from birth , as his father Alfonso XII had died the previous year . Until his 16th birthday in 1902 , his mother , Maria Christina of Austria , served as his regent , in a period which saw Spain lose its Caribbean and Pacific colonies during the Spanish - American War . Due to family ties to both sides , Alfonso kept his kingdom neutral during the First World War ( 1914 – 1918 ) . From 1923 to 1930 , Alfonso gave dictatorial powers to his Prime Minister , Miguel Primo de Rivera . In 1931 the king was deposed by the Second Spanish Republic , but retained his claim to the throne in exile in Rome , Italy , until 1941 , when he abdicated in favour of his son Juan , Count of Barcelona . Alfonso died six weeks later and a period of mourning was observed in Francoist Spain . Reign . Birth and regency . Alfonso was born in Madrid , posthumously born son of Alfonso XII of Spain , and became King of Spain upon his birth . The French newspaper " Le Figaro " described the young king as " the happiest and best - loved of all the rulers of the earth " . His mother , Maria Christina of Austria , served as his regent until his 16th birthday . During the regency , in 1898 , Spain lost its colonial rule over Cuba , Puerto Rico , Guam and the Philippines as a result of the Spanish - American War . When he came of age in 1902 , the week of his majority was marked by festivities , bullfights , balls and receptions throughout Spain . Engagement and marriage . Alfonso met Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg while on a state visit to the United Kingdom in 1905 , where he was hosted at Buckingham Palace by her uncle , King Edward VII of the United Kingdom . Obstacles to the relationship included Alfonso ' s mother , who desired that he married a member of her royal house , the Habsburgs ; the presence of haemophilia in the genes of the British royal family ; and Victoria ' s Protestantism . However , Maria Christina was eventually convinced by January 1906 to write an official letter to Victoria ' s mother , Princess Beatrice . Victoria met Maria Christina and Alfonso in Biarritz , France , later that month , and converted to Catholicism in San Sebastián in March of that year . In May , diplomats of both kingdoms officially executed the agreement of marriage . Alfonso and Victoria were married at the Royal Monastery of San Jerónimo in Madrid on 31 May 1906 , with British royalty including Victoria ' s cousins the Prince and Princess of Wales ( later King George V and Queen Mary in attendance . The wedding was marred by an assassination attempt on Alfonso and Victoria by the Catalan anarchist Mateu Morral , whose bomb killed bystanders . On 10 May 1907 , the couple ' s first child , Alfonso , Prince of Asturias , was born . However , during his circumcision , the Prince bled continuously , because his mother was a haemophilia carrier and he had inherited the condition . Of the two daughters born to the King and Queen , none of them were haemophilia carriers , but another of their sons , Gonzalo , lived with the condition . Alfonso distanced himself from his Queen for transmitting the condition to their children . First World War . During the First World War , because of his family connections with both sides and the division of popular opinion , Spain remained neutral . The King ran an office for captives from the Royal Palace , which leveraged the Spanish diplomatic and military network abroad to intercede for thousands of prisoners - of - war , receiving and answering letters from Europe . However , he became gravely ill during the 1918 flu pandemic and , since Spain was neutral and thus under no wartime censorship restrictions , his illness and subsequent recovery were covered worldwide , giving the false impression ( in the absence of real news from anywhere else ) that Spain was the most - affected area . This ultimately led to the pandemic getting the nickname " the Spanish Flu . " Rif War and Primo de Rivera . Following the First World War , Spain entered the lengthy yet successful Rif War ( 1920 – 1926 ) to preserve its colonial rule over northern Morocco . Dissenters of the monarchy , who felt that the war caused an unforgivable loss of money and soldiers , nicknamed Alfonso " el Africano " ( the African ) . A military coup led by General Miguel Primo de Rivera in 1923 saw him become Alfonso ' s dictatorial Prime Minister until 1930 . The poetic Generation of ' 27 and Catalan and Basque nationalism grew in this era , which saw the eventual installation of the Second Spanish Republic . Second Republic and Civil War . When the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 , he fled and left Spain , but did not abdicate the throne . He settled eventually in Rome , where he lived in the Grand Hotel . Once the Spanish Civil War broke out , Alfonso made it clear he favoured the military uprising against the Popular Front government , but General Francisco Franco in September 1936 declared that the Nationalists would never accept Alfonso as King ( the supporters of the rival Carlist pretender made up an important part of the Franco Army ) . First , he went into exile in France . Nevertheless , he sent his son , Juan de Borbon , Count of Barcelona , to enter Spain in 1936 and participate in the uprising . However , near the French border , General Mola had him arrested and expelled from the country . On 29 September 1936 , upon the death of Infante Alfonso Carlos , Duke of San Jaime ( also the Carlist pretender , but known to French legitimists as Charles XII ) , Alfonso also became the senior heir of Hugh Capet and so was hailed by legitimists as King Alphonse I of France and Navarre . Abdication and death . On 15 January 1941 , Alfonso XIII abdicated his rights to the Spanish throne in favour of his third ( of four ) , but second - surviving , son Juan , father of the current King , Juan Carlos . He died in Rome on 28 February of that year . The Francoist Spanish Government ordered three days of national mourning . His funeral was held in Rome in the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri . He was buried in the Church of Santa Maria in Monserrato degli Spagnoli , the Spanish national church in Rome , immediately below the tombs of Pope Callixtus III and Pope Alexander VI . In January 1980 his remains were transferred to El Escorial in Spain . Interests . Alfonso was a promoter of tourism in Spain . The need for the lodging of his wedding guests prompted the construction of the luxury Hotel Palace in Madrid . He also supported the creation of a network of state - run lodges ( Parador ) in historic buildings of Spain . His fondness for the sport of football led to the patronage of several " Royal " ( " Real " in Spanish ) football clubs , the first being Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña in 1907 . Selected others include Real Madrid , Real Sociedad , Real Betis , Real Unión and Real Zaragoza . Marriage and children . On 31 May 1906 , at the Royal Monastery of San Geronimo in Madrid , Alfonso married Scottish - born Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg ( 1887 – 1969 ) , a niece of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom , and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom . A Serene Highness by birth , Ena , as she was known , was raised to Royal Highness status a month before her wedding to prevent the union from being viewed as unequal . As Alfonso XIII and Ena were returning from the wedding , they narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by Mateu Morral who threw a bomb from a high window ; instead , the explosion killed or injured many bystanders and members of the Royal procession . Alfonso and Ena had six children : Illegitimate issue . The King also had six illegitimate children : By French aristocrat Mélanie de Gaufridy de Dortan ( 1876 – 1937 ) married to Joseph - Marie - Philippe Lévêque de Vilmorin , he had By Spanish actress María del Carmen Ruíz y Moragas ( 1898 – 1936 ) : By Béatrice Noon , he had By Pauline of Saint Glen , he had By Marie Sousa , he had In Oaxaca City , Mexico a drink consisting of milk and creme de cafe is known as an " Alphonso 13 . " Media . Alfonso XIII appears as " King Buby " in Luis Coloma ' s story of Ratoncito Pérez ( 1894 ) , which was written for the King when he was 8 years old . The story of Ratoncito Pérez has been adapted into further literary works and movies since then , with the character of Alfonso XIII appearing in some . Alfonso XIII is also mentioned on the plaque to Ratoncito Pérez on the second floor of " la calle del Arenal " .