Maria de las Mercedes of Spain

María de las Mercedes d'Orléans y Borbón (24 June 1860 - 26 June 1878) was Queen consort of Spain, wife of Alfonso XII. She was born in Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Antoine d'Orléans, duke of Montpensier and of Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain.

Related Topics:
24 June - 1860 - 26 June - 1878 - Alfonso XII - Antoine d'Orléans, duke of Montpensier - Luisa Fernanda of Spain

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Through her father, Mercedes was the granddaughter of King Louis Philippe I, King of the French (1830-1848) and of Princess Maria Amelia of Bourbon, Princess of the Two Sicilies. Through her mother, Mercedes was the granddaughter of King Fernando VII of Spain by his niece and fourth wife, María Cristina of Bourbon, Princess of the Two Sicilies. Thus, Mercedes descended from Hugh Capet via her four grandparents, since his descendants reigned in Spain, France, Parma and Naples (later Kingdom of the Two Sicilies).

Related Topics:
Louis Philippe I, King of the French - Maria Amelia of Bourbon - Fernando VII of Spain

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Isabella II and her husband Francisco were Mercedes's godparents at her christening, when she was given the names: María de las Mercedes Isabel Francisca de Asís Antonia Luisa Fernanda Felipa Amalia Cristina Francisca de Paula Ramona Rita Cayetana Manuela Juana Josefa Joaquina Ana Rafaela Filomena Teresa Santísima Trinidad Gaspara Melchora Baltasara et omni sancti.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although Mercedes was patrilineally a French princess, she was officially also a Spanish infanta, being the niece of the Spanish Queen Isabella II, her father Antoine having been created Infante Antonio of Spain at his marriage. Her entire childhood was spent mostly between Madrid, where her father tried to gain the throne for himself, and their Palace of San Telmo, in Andalucía (southern Spain). She was especially close to all her siblings, and most especially to her brother Fernando, who died when she was just 13 years old. She was also close to her eldest sisters, the Princesses Isabel (who married her cousin the Comte de Paris in 1864), Maria Amelia (who died at the age of 19 in 1870) and María Cristina (1862-1879), who died shortly after Mercedes's own death in 1878.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mercedes was still a teenager when she fell in love with her cousin, Alfonso, the dispossessed Prince of Asturias, who had been sent to exile earlier in his life following the 1868 revolution which dethroned his mother. The marriage did not meet the approval of all the Royal Family, but by then Alfonso had become King of Spain, so his word was final. They were married on January 13 1878 during a tiring ceremony. However, they had not quite settled after their honeymoon when Mercedes gave enough evidence that she was ill with tuberculosis. The marriage was to last only six months, during which Mercedes had a miscarriage. Almost desperate, the King could do nothing to prevent his wife's death, and she succumbed to the illness two days after her 18th birthday not having regained consciuosness for several days.

Related Topics:
Prince of Asturias - January 13 - 1878

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later that year the grieving King suffered an attack on his life, but he survived. When his minister Cánovas del Castillo suggested that the King ought to take a new wife, he obediently chose his former sister-in-law and cousin, Maria Cristina of Orléans, who resembled Mercedes in many ways. Unfortunately, she too died of tuberculosis, which left the King heart-broken. Without any zest left for life, he married the dry and plain María Cristina of Habsburg-Lorraine, who would give him three children, one of which, Alfonso's heir and successor, was born after his own death.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~