Alfonso XIII (Spanish: Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena; 17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941) was King of Spain from 1886 until the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931. Alfonso was monarch from birth as his father, Alfonso XII, had died the previous year. Alfonso's mother, Maria Christina of Austria, served as regent until he assumed full powers on his sixteenth birthday in 1902.

During Alfonso's reign Spain experienced four major problems that would end with the liberal monarchy: the lack of real political representation of broad social groups, the poor situation of the popular classes, especially peasants, problems arising from the Rif War and Catalan nationalism. This political and social turbulence that began with the Spanish–American War prevented the turnaround parties from establishing a true liberal democracy, which led to the establishment of the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. With the political failure of the dictatorship, Alfonso impelled a return to the democratic normality with the intention of regenerating the regime. Nevertheless, it was abandoned by all political classes, as they felt betrayed by the king's support of the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera.

He left Spain voluntarily after the municipal elections of April 1931, that was taken like a plebiscite between monarchy or republic. In exile, he retained his claim to the defunct throne until 1941, when he renounced his claim in favour of his third son Juan (whose eldest son, Juan Carlos, did eventually become king when the monarchy was restored) and died six weeks later. Buried in Rome, his remains were not transferred until 1980 to the Pantheon of the Kings in the monastery of El Escorial.

Alfonso was born in Madrid on 17 May 1886. He was the posthumous son of Alfonso XII of Spain, who had died in November 1885, and became King of Spain upon his birth. Just after he was born, he was carried naked to the Spanish prime minister on a silver tray. Five days later he was carried in a solemn court procession with a golden fleece round his neck and was baptized with water specially brought from the River Jordan in Palestine. The French newspaper Le Figaro described the young king in 1889 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 to the United States as a result of the Spanish–American War.

...
Wikipedia