Infanta Beatriz Of Spain

Infanta Beatriz of Spain, Princess of Civitella-Cesi (Spanish: Beatriz Isabel Federica Alfonsa Eugénie Cristina Maria Teresia Bienvenida Ladislàa de Borbón y Battenberg), was born on 22 June 1909 and died on 22 November 2002. She was a daughter of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, and served as a paternal aunt of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

Born at the royal palace of La Granja near San Ildefonso, Spain, she was the third of six surviving children of her parents. Her full name reflects a combination of familial and religious references, including Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, Infanta Isabel, Princess Frederica of Hanover, and others. Her early education was conducted within the walls of the Palacio de Oriente, provided by English nannies, and included instruction in English, French, and Spanish.

Her upbringing emphasized language learning, history, religion, music, and physical activities such as swimming, tennis, golf, and horseback riding. She and her sister Maria Cristina, two years her junior, expressed a desire to attend private schools but were educated by governesses following Spanish tradition. During the late 1920s, she participated in numerous official events and engaged with issues like animal protection and participated in nursing classes through the Red Cross.

Her official societal debut occurred in 1927 with a court ball at the royal palace. She resembled her maternal relatives, being a brunette of tall and lean stature. Her family was affected by hemophilia; her eldest and youngest brothers were hemophiliacs, her second brother was deaf, and her third brother was healthy. In 1929, she celebrated her twentieth birthday and was involved romantically with Miguel Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, although marriage was blocked due to political reasons and concerns over hemophilia.

Following the fall of the Spanish monarchy in 1931 and the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic, the royal family went into exile. Initially residing at Hôtel Meurice in Paris, they later moved within France, Switzerland, and Italy, establishing themselves in various locations including Fontainebleau, Lausanne, Rapallo, and Rome.

In 1934, she was involved in a car accident in Austria that resulted in the death of her hemophiliac brother Gonzalo. She was engaged to Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi, an Italian aristocrat, and married him on 14 January 1935 in Rome. The marriage was morganatic, requiring her to renounce her rights to the Spanish throne. Her husband came from a family with a history related to the Vatican finances, and the couple had four children: Donna Sandra Torlonia, Marco Torlonia (6th Prince di Civitella-Cesi), Princess Olimpia of Civitella-Cesi, and Princess Vittoria Eugenia.

Infanta Beatriz resided with her husband in Rome, in the Palazzo Torlonia. During World War II, she and her family joined her mother in Lausanne before returning to Italy after the war. She returned to Spain briefly in 1950 with her family but was promptly asked to leave. Despite her exile, she maintained connections to Spain, supporting her brother Don Juan’s claims to the throne and participating in royal celebrations abroad. Her first visit to Spain post-exile was in 1950, when Franco’s government permitted her limited visit.

Her later years were marked by health issues, including a femur fracture in 1973 that limited her mobility. She witnessed the restoration of the Spanish monarchy with her nephew Juan Carlos I's ascension but was unable to attend many subsequent royal events due to health constraints. She visited Spain again in 1998 and 2001.

Infanta Beatriz died at her residence in Rome on 22 November 2002, at the age of 93. She was the last surviving legitimate child of King Alfonso XIII and the last surviving legitimate grandchild of King Alfonso XII of Spain.

Her honors include the Spanish Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa.