Queen Ena of Spain


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
The Queen was not only a great beauty, she was also kind and generous.

19.JPG
 
The Spaniards are not sure about who was the most beautiful Spanish Queen ever, but Ena is one of the candidates. The other candidate is Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Spain and Holy Roman Empress, consort of Emperor Charles V. Isabella was her husband's first cousin, herself a granddaughter of great monarchs Fendinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castilla.

Picture of Queen/Empress Isabella:
isabelportugal_tiziano.jpg
 
A picture of a mature but yet beautiful Queen Ena by Laszlo:
411px-Laszlo_-_Queen_of_Spain1920.jpg
 
Queen Ena wearing the very Spanish "Mantilla" (wasn't she a real royal beauty?):
ena.jpg
 
The charmest mom in the world (with her daughter Infanta Maria Christina):
victoriabattenberg1887coq0.jpg
 
She was indeed one of the most beautiful queens ever :flowers:
And, to me, the most beautiful Queen of Spain of the history.
 
Queen Ena's family was part of Queen Victoria's household; they had breakfast, lunch and dinner with Queen Victoria until the latter passed away when Ena was 11 years old. Ena's father became bored of this situation and asked to be sent to a war in Africa, where he died of Malaria. This picture shows an infant Ena with her parents and siblings having lunch with her grandmother Victoria.
vic46.jpg
 
Queen Ena at 18, right before his marriage to Alfonso XIII, King of Spain:
SR4184.jpg
 
We will never forget her charm, style and those wonderful light blue eyes:
024999qy2.jpg
 
I think the press definitely dubbed her the most beautiful Queen of Spain in a century (or more). She was certainly a beauty compared to her mother-in-law, the plain and bland Maria Christina.
 
Thank you for all these lovely pictures. I've always enjoyed looking at really old photos, but Queen Ena's photos are really regal and beautiful. I hope we can still have more.
 
She was really beautiful, a pity her husband seemed to be so ugly.
I read once that she said more or less these words, "my husband on the day of our marriage gave me the most wonderful gift in the world, he made me Queen of Spain".
 
You are right Menarue, King Alfonso XIII was very ugly and quite a womanizer. He fathered many illegitimate children. Some Spaniards call the following picture "the beauty and the beast":
ena5aniversary.jpg
 
Not a good quality picture, but we can still enjoy the Queen's sweet face:
1913_portrait.jpg
 
Last edited:
You are right Menarue, King Alfonso XIII was very ugly and quite a womanizer. He fathered many illegitimate children. Some Spaniards call the following picture "the beauty and the beast":

Totally true! :lol: I´ve already heard that.
 
Here we see a picture of the wedding of Ena's first cousin, King George V (by then prince of Wales), to Mary of Teck. Ena is the blonde baby girl closest to George and Mary. In the future, Queen Mary would be one of Queen Ena's best friends and confidants.
00417biglx5.jpg
 
Last edited:
Besides being a full time mom, Queen Ena devoted a lot of effort and used all her influence to organize, enhance and promote the Spanish Red Cross. Ena's objective was to create a Red Cross Office in every town of Spain in order to provide health care to the poor all over the Country. By that time doctors were very scarce in Spain and Ena wanted a solution to that situation.
5458716.jpg
 
Even nowadays she is considered "the mother of the Spanish Red Cross". Rich and noble families were proud of being involved in the movement created by the Queen; donations and support were raised as a result.
victoria.jpg
 
Queen Ena and her daughters. From left to right: Infanta Beatrix, Queen Ena and Infanta Maria Christina:
bandeaunv6.jpg
 
Like the United Kingdom, Spain was a constitutional monarchy; the Borbons had it all to stay as monarchs. However, King Alfonso XIII was not only a disolute man (with many mistresses and illegitimate children) but also a very bad polititian. On 1923 Captain-General Primo de Rivera overthrew the parliamentary government and declared himself as dictator. The King (big, horrendous mistake!!!) publicly declared his support to the dictator and to give the "de facto" government legitimacy named the dictator as his prime minister.

As a result, the Country became heavily divided and violent; democrats all over the Country felt arguably betrayed by the King. The division continued to grow and the monarchy was abolished soon after the Second Republic was proclaimed on 1931. The King's mistakes eventually led to the Spanish Civil War (July 1936 - April 1939) which caused the death of approximately 500,000 Spaniards.

After the monarchy was overthrown, Queen Ena and King Alfonso decided to separate. The royal family lived first in France and then in Italy. It was in Rome where Infanta Beatrix married Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi (they had 2 sons and 2 daughters) and Infanta Maria Christina married Enrico Marrone-Cinzano, Count Marone (they had 4 daughters). The Infantas' children married into Italian and Spanish nobility and had numerous descendants. Also in Rome, Infante Juan married Spanish born Princess Maria Mercedes Borbon-two Siciles and Orleans (parents of King Juan Carlos I) and Infante Jaime married noblewoman Emanuella of Dampierre-Ruspoli (daughter of French Nobleman Roger de Dampierre, 2nd Duke of San Lorenzo and Viscount of Dampierre and Italian Princess Donna Vittoria Ruspoli).

After leaving Italy, Queen Ena lived partly in the UK and partly in Switzerland. At the outbreak of World War II, the Queen settled in Lausanne, Switzerland. Her grandchildren Alfonso and Gonzalo of Borbon (sons of Infante Jaime) where living and studying very close to her. The princes were very often guests of their beloved grandmother. There was a great and everlasting mutual adoration between the princes and their grandmother.

Front of Queen Ena's Villa in Lausanne "La Vielle Fontaine":
xnevs6.jpg
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom