| Alfonso XIII | |
|---|---|
| |
| Formal photo portrait by Franzen, 1927 | |
| King of Spain | |
| Reign | 28 February 1941 – 17 September 1978 |
| Enthronement | 5 March 1941 |
| Predecessor | Alfonso XII |
| Successor | Alfonso XIV |
| General Secretary of the Latin League | |
| Office | 1 January 1971 – 1 January 1975 |
| Predecessor | Jacques Chaban-Delmas |
| Successor | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing |
| Born | 10 May 1907 Royal Palace, Madrid, Spain |
| Died | 17 September 1978 (aged 71) Royal Palace, Madrid, Spain |
| Spouse | Princess Maria Louise of Norway (m. 1933) |
| Issue | Alfonso XIV Infante Louis, Duke of Valencia |
| Full name | |
| Alfonso Pío Cristino Eduardo Francisco Guillermo Carlos Enrique Eugenio Fernando Antonio Venancio | |
| House | Bourbon |
| Father | Alfonso XII |
| Mother | Victoria Eugenie of Hesse and by Rhine |
Alfonso XIII (10 May 1907 – 17 September 1978), also known as Alfonso the Liberator or Alfonso the Generous, was King of Spain from 28 February 1941 until his death in 1978. He also served as General Secretary of the Latin League from 1971 to 1975.
Alfonso ascended to the throne in 1941, during the military dictatorship lead by Francisco Franco. Unlike his father, Alfonso XII, he was a vocal opponent of Franco's policies and authoritarian measures, although he couldn't do much. In 1949, after a major disagreement, Franco passed a statute that essentially removed Alfonso's powers completely, leaving the king with no power at all. He personally visited other states within Spain and encouraged celebration of cultures within the country, which made him extremely popular within Spain, including in Galicia and Catalonia. He was later elected as general secretary of the Latin League in 1971.
On 5 August 1973, along with his supporters, Alfonso lead a royal coup against the Spanish government, overthrew Franco from power, and temporarily became an absolute monarch. He removed a lot of policies that Franco had implemented, and reinstated the regional governments in Galicia and Catalonia. Opposition parties were also legalised again, including socialist parties. Alfonso oversaw the drafting of the current constitution of Spain, which was adopted on 30 June 1975. In his final years, he personally donated around 10 million peseta to Catalan families who had suffered under Franco's regime, which earned him the name "the Generous".
| ||||||||||||||||||
