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Alfonso XIII was born
Alfonso XIII was or the 17th of May, 1886, 6 months after the death of his father, King Alfonso XII. He was proclaimed king the day he was born but it was his mother, Maria Cristina of Hapsburg ruled the kingdom until he was 16 years old -
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He had to deal with a lot of things since he was young
The young Alfonso had to deal with 14 ministerial crises and 8 different prime ministers. This is because in 1989 Spain had suffered a humiliating defeat in the Spanish-American War and had lost Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines to the United States. Beside the government and political system wasn't at it's best times. -
He acceded to the throne
At the age of 16 he was finally crowned King of Spain, because he was the considerate old enough for the charge. -
European War Office (In Spanish: Oficina de la Guerra Europea or Oficina Pro Cautivos)
The King Alfonso XIII created an humanitarian office in 1915 called in spanish "Oficina Pro cautivos". The purpose of it was to find soldier, brothers, husband's...missing people during the First World War and report it to their family. This organization was personally directed by the King's secretary, and the King some time even wrote the letter to inform the family of their discoveries.
It started when a French woman wrote him a letter desperate for answers of his man, and Alfonso found him. -
Nobel prize
Alfonso XIII was nominated to the Nobel Prize of Peace due to his great job with "Las oficinas Pro cautivos". However he didn't actually win the prize. -
Alfonso's speech
In May 1921 Alfonso delivered a speech denouncing the parliamentary system in Spain, and in July a Spanish force of 10,000 men was annihilated by rebellious tribes in Spanish Morocco -
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Spain situation was critical due to many things, the war with Morocco, the crisis of 1917...among others. That's why Miguel Primo de Rivera took over the government and set up a military dictatorship. Alfonso supported the dictator, and during a visit to Italy he introduced Primo as "my Mussolini." -
Dictatorship's ends
In early 1930 the dictatorship came to an end; it had become so unpopular that even the army refused to support it. Alfonso XIII tried to recover his power but due to his relationship with the dictatorship grow him unpopular among the population. At the end in the municipal elections in April of 1931 the republicans won and he went on exile. -
His exile
After the municipal elections and the triumph of the socialist ad republicans, the king though the best he could do to avoid a Civil War was to leave the country, and he did so. However before leaving he said a quote from which he become famous "I hope that I will not have to return, because that would only mean that the Spanish people are neither prosperous nor happy.". He stayed in the exile until the day he died in 1941. -
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His exile
After traveling to Austria, Switzerland, England, and Egypt, he finally settled in Rome. He stood in the exile for 10 years until the day he died... -
Nobel prize 2
Even though he wasn't the King anymore and that he was on exile, Alfonso XIII was nominated again for the Nobel Prize of Peace and again he didn't win it. -
His Death
Alfonso XIII died from natural causes in Rome, the 14th of april 1941. 14 days later he was buried, although his remains were transferred in 1980 to the Pantheon of the Kings of the Monastery of El Escorial (Madrid).