History of the Kingdom of Greece. Part III. King Otto.

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Deposed, House of Wittelsbach, Infanta Maria de la Paz of Spain, Infante of Spain, King Otto of Greece, Kingdom of Greece, Prince Aldalbert of Bavaria, Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria, Queen Isabella II of Spain

The continued inability of the royal couple to have children also raised the thorny issue of succession: the 1844 constitution insisted that Otto’s successor had to be Orthodox, but as the king was childless, the only possible heirs were his younger brothers, Prince Luitpold and Prince Adalbert.

The staunch Catholicism of the Wittelsbachs complicated matters, as Prince Luitpold refused to convert to the Greek Orthodox Church and Prince Adalbert married Infanta Amalia of Spain, the eleventh child and sixth daughter of Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain, younger brother of King Fernando VII of Spain, and his wife, Princess Luisa Carlota of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Otto, King of Greece

The sons of Prince Adalbert, and especially the eldest, Prince Ludwig Ferdinand, were now considered the most likely candidates, but due to the issue of religion, no definite arrangements were ever made.

Following his marriage to Infanta María de la Paz of Spain, Prince Ludwig Ferdinand was also created an Infante of Spain. Infanta María de la Paz of Spain was the third surviving daughter of Queen Isabella II and her husband Infante Francisco of Spain.

According to historians, the true biological father of Infanta Paz was the diplomat and politician Miguel Tenorio de Castilla (1818–1916), who was secretary of Queen Isabella II for several years.

It has been suggested that had Otto and Amalia borne an heir, the king would not have been overthrown, as succession was also a major unresolved question at the time. However, the Constitution of 1844 made provision for his succession by his two younger brothers and their descendants.

While Otto was visiting the Peloponnese in 1862 a new coup was launched and this time a Provisional Government was set up and summoned a National Convention.

King Otto of Greece

Ambassadors of the Great Powers urged King Otto not to resist, and the king and queen took refuge on a British warship and returned to Bavaria aboard (the same way they had come to Greece), taking with them the Greek regalia which they had brought from Bavaria in 1832.

In 1861, a student named Aristeidis Dosios (son of politician Konstantinos Dosios) attempted to murder Queen Amalia and was openly hailed as a hero. His attempt, however, also prompted spontaneous feelings of monarchism and sympathy towards the royal couple among the Greek population

Otto died in the palace of the former bishops of Bamberg, Germany, and was buried in the Theatiner Church in Munich. During his retirement, he would still wear the Greek traditional uniform, nowadays worn only by the evzones (Presidential Guards).

November 28, 1857: Birth of Alfonso XII, King of Spain. Part I.

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Carlist War, Duke Carlo Emmanuel I of Savoy, Infanta Catherine Michaela of Spain, King Alfonso XII of Spain, King Amadeo I of Spain, King Carlos III of Spain, King Felipe II of Spain, Queen Isabella II of Spain

Alfonso XII (November 28, 1857 – November 25, 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from December 29, 1874 to his death in 1885.

Infante Alfonso was born in Madrid as the eldest son of Queen Isabella II on November 28, 1857. His official father, Isabella’s husband Francisco de Asís, has been generally viewed as effeminate, impotent or homosexual, leading historians to question his biological paternity.

There is speculation that Alfonso’s biological father may have been Enrique Puigmoltó y Mayans, a captain of the guard. The relationship of the queen with Puigmoltó was so much of a public hearsay at the time that Francisco de Asís initially refused to attend the baptism ceremony of Alfonso (the heir apparent) even if he was eventually forced to do so.

These rumours were used as political propaganda against Alfonso by the Carlists, and he came to be widely nicknamed “Puigmoltejo” in reference to his supposed father. Others have assigned the fatherhood to Federico Puig Romero, a colonel who was murdered under unclear circumstances in 1866.

His mother’s accession to the Spanish throne created the second cause of instability, the Carlist Wars.

The Carlist Wars were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed.

When King Fernando VII of Spain died in 1833, his widow, Queen Maria Cristina, became regent on behalf of their two-year-old daughter Queen Isabella II. The country splintered into two factions known as the Cristinos (or Isabelinos) and the Carlists. The Cristinos supported Queen Maria Cristina and her government, and were the party of the Liberals.

The Carlists advocated for Infante Carlos of Spain, Count of Molina, a pretender to the throne and brother of the deceased Fernando VII. Carlos denied the validity of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1830 that abolished the semi Salic Law (he was born before 1830). The Carlists wanted a return to autocratic monarchy.

When Queen Isabella II and her husband were forced to leave Spain by the Revolution of 1868, Alfonso accompanied them to Paris. From there, he was sent to the Theresianum in Vienna to continue his studies.

On June 25, 1870, he was recalled to Paris, where his mother abdicated in his favour, in the presence of a number of Spanish nobles who had tied their fortunes to those of the exiled queen. Alfonso assumed the name Alfonso XII, although no king of a united Spain had borne the name “Alfonso.”

The Spanish monarchy was regarded as continuous with the more ancient monarchy of Asturias, León and Castile, which were represented by 11 kings also named Alfonso.

After the Revolution deposed Isabella II, it was the Spanish Nobles who recognized Alfonso as the new King of Spain. However, it was the new Cortes which decided to reinstate the monarchy under a new dynasty.

The Cortes chose Prince Amadeo of Savoy, the Duke of Aosta as the new King. Prince Amadeo was a paternal descendant of King Felipe II of Spain through Tommaso Francesco of Savoy, Prince of Carignanohis, who was the grandson of King Felipe II of Spain through his daughter Infanta Catherine Michaela of Spain who had married Duke Carlo Emmanuel I of Savoy.

Prince Amadeo was also a maternal descendant of King Carlos III of Spain through his daughter Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain who was the Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Archduchess of Austria as the spouse of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.

Thier son, Archduke Rainer of Austria, was Prince Amedeo’s grandfather as his daughter, Archduchess Adelaide of Austria was Queen of Sardinia by marriage to Vittorio Emmanuel II of Sardinia, future King of Italy. Archduchess Adelaide was the mother of Amedeo I of Spain but also the mother of Umberto I of Italy.

The Savoyard prince was elected king as Amadeo I on November 16, 1870 and swore to uphold the Constitution in Madrid on January 2, 1871.

During a tumultuous reign, Amadeo was targeted by assassination attempts and struggled with opposition from both Carlists and republicans while his own faction split. After the Carlists revolted and the Third Carlist War broke out, he abdicated and returned to Italy in early 1873.

Following Amadeo’s abandonment, the First Spanish Republic was established. The republicans had to contend with a war in Cuba and Muslim uprisings in Spanish Morocco.

In the midst of these crises, the Carlist War continued and the Carlist party made itself strong in areas with claims over such places as Catalonia and the Basque Country. This unrest led to the creation of a group in favour of the Bourbon Restoration, led by the moderate conservative Antonio Cánovas del Castillo.

The life of Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Queen Consort of Spain. Part II.

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El Escorial, Fernando VII of Spain, Kingdom of Spain, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Louis Philippe, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Queen Isabella II of Spain

Maria Christina as Regent

On December 28, 1833, three short months after the death of Fernando VII, Maria Christina had secretly married an ex-sergeant from the royal guard, Agustín Fernando Muñoz (1808–1873). Maria Christina and Muñoz had several children together while trying to keep their marriage a secret. This fact certainly proves that Maria Christina was carrying on an affair with Muñoz during her marriage with the king.

If Maria Christina had officially made the marriage public, she would have forfeited the regency; but her relations with Muñoz were perfectly well known within the Spanish court. When on 13 August 1836 the soldiers on duty at the summer palace La Granja mutinied and forced the regent to grant a constitution, it was generally, though wrongly, believed that they overcame her reluctance by seizing Muñoz, whom they called her guapo, or fancy man, and threatening to shoot him.

Agustín Fernando Muñoz

Eventually, news of Maria Christina’s marriage to this low-ranking soldier became public. That news made Maria Christina deeply unpopular. Her position was undermined by news of her remarriage and concerns that she was not actually supportive of her liberal ministers and their policies. Eventually, the army, which was the backbone of Isabella II’s support, and the liberal leadership in the Cortes combined to demand that Maria Christina stand aside from the regency. In 1840 Maria Christina found her position intolerable; she renounced the regency and left Spain with Muñoz. The army commander, General Baldomero Espartero, Count of Luchana, replaced her as regent.

Maria Christina Later in life.

In 1842 Maria Christina purchased the Château de Malmaison as their residence. In 1843, on the overthrow of General Baldomero Espartero they returned to Spain. In 1844, Muñoz’s stepdaughter Queen Isabella II was declared to be of age. On 23 June 1844 Isabella gave to Muñoz the title duque de Riánsares, to which was attached a Grandeza de España; the title came from the river Riánsares, near Muñoz’s birthplace in Tarancón. On October 12, 1844 Isabella gave official consent to the marriage between her mother and Muñoz, and it was publicly performed.

In 1846 Isabella made Muñoz a Knight of the Golden Fleece. On May 30, 1846 she gave Muñoz a second title, marqués de San Agustín. Muñoz was made a Captain General, the highest rank in the Spanish Army. In 1847 Louis Philippe, King of the French, gave Muñoz the title duc de Montmorot; he also invested Muñoz with the Grand Cross of the Légion d’honneur. In 1854, Maria Christina left for France a second time. France remained her primary residence for the remainder of her life.

In 1846, by the express request of the former president Juan José Flores, the Queen participated in an attempt to restore the monarchy in Ecuador. This two-phase plan was first that her son Agustín Muñoz of Bourbon should become King of Ecuador, and later in restorer of the Spanish monarchy in Perú and Bolivia, converting the child in the monarch of the tentative United Kingdom of Ecuador, Perú and Bolivia, with herself and Flores as Regents. When everything was organized, the attempt was denounced by the press and Latin American diplomats, and plans collapsed.

Death and burial

Maria Christina’s illness returned and she suffered from serious coughing, fainting and fever. She died in Le Havre, France on August 22, 1878, aged 72. As the mother of Isabella II, Maria Christina was buried in the royal crypt of El Escorial.

Abdication: What To Call A Former Monarch, Part V.

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Abdication, Duke of Aosta, Edward VIII, House of Savoy, King Manuel II of Portugal, Kingdom of Spain, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Queen Isabella II of Spain, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

In the previous entries I examined how Richard II of England and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V still retained their title of King and Emperor respectively after their abdications. Here are other examples of monarchs who abdicated or were dethroned yet they kept their royal title.

King Wilhelm II of Württemberg 1891-1918

King James II-VII of England, Scotland and Ireland 1685-1688
King Louis Philippe of the French 1830-1848
King Miguel I of Portugal 1828-1834
King Manuel II of Portugal 1908-1910
Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany 1888-1918
Emperor Karl I-IV of Austria-Hungary 1916-1918
Queen Isabella II of Spain 1833-1868
King Alfonso XIII of Spain 1874-1885
King Mihail of Romania 1927-1930 and 1940-1947
King Simeon II of Bulgaria 1943-1946
King Peter II of Yugoslavia 1934-1954
King Constantine II of Greece 1964-1973
King Ludwig III of Bavaria 1913-1918
King Wilhelm II of Württemberg 1891-1918
King Friederich August III of Saxony 1904-1918
King Juan Carlos of Spain 1975-2014
King Albert II of the Belgians 1993-2013

By remaining kings, those who married after abdicating/being dethroned could even transmit their royal style to their wives – Anne of Bourbon-Parma who married King Mihail Romania and Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen wife of King Manuel II of Portugal all were wed and titled Queen long after their husbands ceased to reign.

Queen Isabella II of Spain 1833-1868

In one case a monarch who abdicated did grant himself a lesser title and yet also kept the title of King. King Willem I of the Netherlands, after his abdication in 1840, styled himself King Willem-Frederick, Count of Nassau. Speaking of the Kingdom of the Netherlands it was only with the abdications of Queens Wilhelmina, Juliana and Beatrix did they downgrade themselves to Royal Highnesses and Princesses.

Here is an example of a monarch that did downgrade his title after his abdication. After the abdication of Queen Isabella II of Spain the Spanish Cortes decided to continue as a monarchy. They chose as their king, Amadeo I (Italian: Amedeo, sometimes anglicized as Amadeus; May 30, 1845 – January 18, 1890) and he was the only King of Spain from the House of Savoy. He was the second son of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy and was known for most of his life as the Duke of Aosta, but he reigned briefly as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873.

Amadeo I of Spain 1870-1873

Amadeo’s reign was fraught with growing republicanism, Carlist rebellions in the north, and the Cuban independence movement. With the possibility of reigning without popular support, Amadeus issued an order against the artillery corps and then immediately abdicated from the Spanish throne on February 11, 1873. At ten o’clock that same night, Spain was proclaimed a republic, at which time Amadeo made an appearance before the Cortes, proclaiming the Spanish people ungovernable. Completely disgusted, the ex-monarch left Spain and returned to Italy, where he resumed the title of Duke of Aosta.

In the final entry I will show why it was deemed necessary to downgrade Edward VIII of the United Kingdom.