what manner of man is the young king whom the island princess married?
don alfonso xiii is unique among the kings of the earth, inasmuch as he was practically born a king. his father, alfonso xii, died five months before he was born. the widowed queen, his mother, became the regent of the throne, but the little alfonso xiii knew, from the time he knew anything, that he was a ruler already, where most kings have spent years of preparation for kingship while heirs-apparent.
he was born may 17, 1886. he received the tenderest care and attention from his mother; her favourite pet name for him while he was a baby was “puby.” from the time of his birth he appeared delicate, which occasioned the greatest solicitude for his physical well-being.
he has always manifested the greatest love for his mother. from earliest childhood he entertained for her a supreme regard and affection, and frequently when he was inclined to be headstrong and oppose the wishes of his governesses the queen regent—as she was called until alfonso reached the age of sixteen—would be called to{50} make him obey. her methods were all her own, her coercion only that of love.
one winter morning alfonso was reluctant to take his usual cold bath and stubbornly remained in bed. his nurses made appeal after appeal to him, but his majesty remained obdurate. finally, in despair, the nurse went to his mother the queen regent.
“you must take your bath, baby,” said the queen, coming to his bedside.
the baby king gave no answer.
“if i tell you to do it, you will—won’t you?”
again no response.
“very well, then,” continued the queen, “i will not ask you again, but i shall go to my room and cry because you will not obey me. do you wish that?”
“no, no, mamma,” cried the young alfonso, and flinging aside the bed clothes he sprang from the bed and took his cold plunge.
king alfonso was brought up in this atmosphere of love and affection and it is doubtless owing to this that his own nature is so warm and lovable to-day.
when he was four years old, he fell very ill. his anxious mother watched constantly by his bedside. one day, he turned his little face toward where she was sitting and said: “are you not very tired, mother mine? do you love me so very much? do go to bed. you must be so tired. i think i ought to send you away.{51}”
not until he was seven years of age did he begin any regular course of studies and then he began with only one hour a day. in a short time, however, he had learned to read and write easily. much of his boyhood was spent at the beautiful miramar palace. after he had learned to read and write, the study of geography and history came next and a little later french and latin. from all accounts, the boy alfonso was quite as full of mischief and capers as are most small boys.
one of his chamberlains relates the story that, when he was eight years old, streams of water were one day seen running down the corridor from the bathroom of the royal palace. the door of the apartment was securely fastened and the little fellow refused admission to any one until finally the queen herself was sent for, and, when she demanded admittance, found her royal son enjoying what he called “a naval battle in high seas,” the ships being logs which he had collected from various wood baskets and his high seas, the overflowing bathtub.
queen cristina found alfonso a little backward in acquiring german, and as none of the text-books then used in spain seemed adapted to his use, she went to the trouble of preparing a grammar for him, which enabled him to become familiar with the rules of the language in a simple and amusing form. alfonso has always been of an inquiring turn of mind, and the interest he has recently displayed in aeroplanes and automobiles{52} is the natural outcome of the interest he displayed in all mechanics when a mere boy.
mr. frederic courtland penfield has related as one of his experiences in spain the breaking down of his motor car near la granja which necessitated sending to madrid for new parts to replace the damaged mechanism. while the men were at work upon the machine, the king happened along, and, not content with watching the progress of the repairs, he proceeded to direct the men himself, getting down under the car and examining minutely each of its parts and aiding the men by constant suggestion. he took apparently all the interest in the work of a boy who has removed the back of his first watch to see the wheels go round. not until the car was ready to proceed did the king leave the spot.
as a matter of fact, don alfonso is the most ardent motorist in spain and the most skilful if not the most reckless driver. he has several 70 h.p. machines and when he drives these machines in the country, he sometimes goes at the rate of seventy-five and eighty miles an hour. during the spring months, when the court is at la granja, the king comes to madrid several times a week. the distance is ninety kilometres and he allows one hour and a quarter for the journey. the road lies right across the guadarrama mountains which rise to a height of six thousand feet. the ascent and descent of these mountains is tremendously steep, being made by a series of loops like the{53} roads which cross the alps in switzerland. only the most skilled chauffeurs can go over this road at even a moderate rate of speed, but the king goes all the way at high speed, averaging for the entire distance nearly a mile a minute.
