Alfonso XIII of Spain (17 May 1886-28 February 1941) was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, succeeding Alfonso XII of Spain. His mother Maria Christina of Austria served as his regent until 1902, and his disastrous reign saw the liberal monarchy collapse due to the Rif War, Catalan nationalism, political and social turbulence, the loss of the Spanish Empire as a result of the Spanish-American War, the rise of Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, and, finally, the overthrow of the monarchy in 1931.
Biography[]
Alfonso was born in Madrid, Spain on 17 May 1886, the son of Alfonso XII of Spain and Maria Christina of Austria. He was born nearly six months after his father's death, and he assumed the crown from his mother at the age of sixteen in 1886. He was a weak ruler who was unable to provide his country with the stability and integration it so desperately needed, and hs acquiescence in Primo de Rivera's dictatorship meant that he was unable to survive the dictator's resignation in 1931. Alfonso left the country after the republican parties won the 1931 elections, but he did not formally abdicate until 1940. He died in exile in Rome, Italy in 1941.