Alfonso of Spain, Prince of Asturias
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The Infante Don Alfonso of Spain, Prince of Asturias (Alfonso Pio Cristino Eduardo Francisco Guillermo Carlos Enrique Fernando Antonio Venancio Borbón y Battenberg (10 May 1907 - 6 September 1938), was the heir-apparent of the throne of Spain 1907-31.
Infante Alfonso was the eldest child of the then-reigning king Alfonso XIII of Spain and his wife Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg. He inherited the genetic disorder hemophilia from his maternal line. He was a matrilineal great-grandson of Victoria of the United Kingdom. He and his youngest brother, Gonzalo were kept in specially-tailored jackets to prevent bloody accidents.
His father, Alfonso XIII faced increasing political problems that led Spain become republic in 1931 and the monarch was deposed. They moved into exile.
There had been plans of young Alfonso's deposition from succession, but ultimately he himself renounced his rights to the then-defunct throne in 1933 to marry a commoner, Edelmira Sampedro Ocejo y Robato, after which Alfonso took the courtesy title Count of Covadonga. (This was required by the regulations for the succession set by the Pragmatic Sanction of Carlos III.) They divorced 8 May 1937. He married Marta Esther Rocafort y Altazarra 3 July 1937. They divorced 8 January 1938. He had no issue by either of them. A car accident led to his early death in 1938, at the age of 31. He crashed into a telephone booth and appeared to have minor injuries but his hemophilia led to fatal internal bleeding.
His predecessor was his late aunt Mercedes, Princess of Asturias who deceased 3 years before Alfonso's birth; in practice, Alfonso's predecessor as first heir to Spain was his first cousin, Mercedes' son, the Infante Alfonso of the Two Sicilies.
His successor technically was his next brother, Jaime, Duke of Segovia who did not receive the Asturias title. Jaime's own renunciation took place soon. In practice (but not titularly) the next heir-apparent of claims to Spanish throne was Alfonso's younger brother don Juan de Borbon, Count of Barcelona. Alfonso's nephew, the Infante Juan Carlos of Spain (the King Juan Carlos) was granted the official title Prince of Spain, not that of Asturias in 1969 by Francisco Franco.
The next member of the Spanish royal family to be officially invested with the title Principe de Asturias was Felipe, Prince of Asturias, Alfonso's grand-nephew, in 1977.
| House of Bourbon Born: 1907 Died: 1938 |
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|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alfonso |
Prince of Asturias 1907-1931 |
Vacant Title next held by Felipe |
Categories: Articles lacking sources from June 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Cleanup from August 2006 | All pages needing cleanup | House of Bourbon | Spanish royalty | Spanish princes | 1907 births | 1938 deaths | Princes of Asturias | Heirs apparent who never acceded | Knights of the Golden Fleece
