Page 33 - They Also Served

9King Alfonso XII 1874.
Alfonso, the eldest son of Queen Isabella II of Spain, was born in Madrid in 1857 and educated in Paris and Vienna. In the 1860s, the Queen’s attempts to appease both conservatives and liberals resulted in civil unrest and a failed rebellion in 1866. In 1868, the Glorious Revolution started with a naval mutiny and led to mass army defections, resulting in Isabella going into exile in France and, in 1873, the declaration of the First Spanish Republic.
In 1870, the exiled teenager became King Alfonso XII after his mother abdicated in his favour. However, all was not well with the fledgling republic, dealing with a war in Cuba and a Muslim uprising in Morocco, as well as the third Carlist War – a civil war between the republicans and backers of the royal pretender Carlos VII. In an echo of modern times, the Carlists were supported by rebellions in Catalonia and the Basque regions. A group of Spanish nobles, led by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, aligned themselves with the young king in exile, and Cánovas del Castillo became responsible for Alfonso’s education.
In 1874, Alfonso entered the Royal Military College Sandhurst, where he was known as the Marquis de Covadonga (Prince of Asturia) and, for the first time in his life, rubbed shoulders with people outside the strict circle of Spanish courtiers. Nevertheless, he did not live with the cadets in Old College but in one of the houses on The Terrace, where there is now a plaque commemorating his residence. On 1st December 1874, Alfonso issued the ‘Sandhurst Manifesto’ laying down the conditions for the restoration of the monarchy – this inspired a military coup on 29th December, the installation of Cánovas del Castillo as premier, and the return of King Alfonso XII.
Alfonso’s military training came to the fore when he insisted on taking part in the 1876 campaign against the Carlists, which resulted in the defeated Carlos VII renouncing his claim to the throne. This enhanced Alfonso’s popularity, as did his policy of
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