Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh
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Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria), (20 April 1884 - 13 July 1966), was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She later married into the Spanish Royal Family, and was the wife of Alfonso d'Orleans-Bourbon, Infante of Spain.
Early life
Princess Beatrice was born on April 20, 1884 at Eastwell Park, Kent. Her father was Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Her mother was The Duchess of Edinburgh (née Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia), the only daughter of Alexander II of Russia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine.
As a granddaughter of the British monarch in the male line, Beatrice held the title of Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with the style Her Royal Highness.
Beatrice spent much of her early years in Malta, where her father was serving in the Royal Navy. On the death of Prince Alfred's uncle, Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, on August 22, 1893, the vacant duchy fell to the Duke of Edinburgh, since HRH Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the Duke's elder brother had renounced his right to the succession.
The Duke and Duchess and their five children travelled to Coburg to take up residence shortly afterwards.
Marriage
In 1902, Princess Beatrice had a romance with Grand Duke Michael of Russia, the younger brother of Nicholas II of Russia, then the heir presumptive to the Imperial throne. However she was prevented from marrying the Grand Duke as the Russian Orthodox Church forbade the marriage of first cousins.
Beatrice was then rumoured to marry King Alfonso XIII of Spain, this proved to be a false rumour also as he married her cousin Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg in 1906. It was at their wedding that Beatrice met Alfonso d'Orleans-Bourbon, Infante of Spain, 5th Duke of Galliera, a cousin of the King Alfonso. The Spanish royal family were unhappy about the proposed match, and it was made clear that should it take place the couple would have to live in exile.
Scandal and Exile
Beatrice and Alfonso married in a Roman Catholic and Lutheran ceremony at Coburg on July 15, 1909. The couple first settled in Coburg, their first child Alvaro was born on April 20, 1910. In 1912 Alfonso and Beatrice were allowed to return to Spain. Here their two sons Alfonso and Ataulfo were born.
During King Alfonso XIII's unhappy marriage, he had numerous affairs and dalliances, some of which produced illegitimate children. It remains an unproven rumour that he had an affair with Beatrice. They were certainly close friends, but in the stifling etiquette of the Spanish Court, such a close relationship would have been difficult to conceal.
Queen Maria Christina (1858 - 1929, Spain's Queen Dowager) was said to be outraged by the rumours, and met up with Beatrice in San Sebastian and asked her to leave Spain, as she refused to do so King Alfonso had no choice but to exile her.
Civil War
The family moved to England, where the three sons were educated at Winchester College. The Spanish Royal Family eventually relented, and Beatrice and her family were allowed to return to Spain where they established their home at an estate in Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
The 1930s were an unhappy time for the family, as the collapse of the Spanish monarchy and the subsequent civil war led to the loss of much of the family's wealth. After the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, King Alfonso and his family fled into exile in Italy. In the years that followed, the political situation in Spain worsened as various groups wrestled for power. By the late-1930s, the conflicts had erupted into all-out civil war. Beatrice and Alfonso lost their estate during the war, and the couple's eldest son, Alfonso, was killed fighting the Communists.
Later life
Beatrice died at her estate Sanlúcar de Barrameda on July 13, 1966. Her husband survived her by nine years. Their son Ataulfo died in 1974 unmarried. Their only grandchildren are the children of Prince Alvaro.
