Infante Gonzalo of Spain

Infante Gonzalo of Spain (24 October 1914 - 13 August 1934) was the fourth surviving son and youngest child of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and his wife Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg.

Gonzalo was born at Madrid. He was baptised with the names "Gonzalo Manuel Maria Bernardo Narciso Alfonso Mauricio". He received his final name in honor of his uncle, Prince Maurice of Battenberg, who was killed in World War One shortly before Gonzalo's baptism. The infante was educated privately. Because he inherited haemophilia from his mother's family (a fact not widely known in Spain during his life), he suffered some ill health, although he was an active sportsman. He held the rank of a private in the Engineering Corps of the Spanish Army. In 1927 he was made a knight of the Spanish branch of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

On 14 April 1931 Gonzalo accompanied his mother into exile. He studied engineering at the Catholic University of Leuven, instead of at the University of Madrid as originally planned for him.

In August 1934 Gonzalo was spending the summer holidays with his family at the villa of Count Ladislaus Hoyos at Pörtschach am Wörthersee in Austria. On the evening of 11 August, Gonzalo and his sister Infanta Beatriz were driving from Klagenfurt to Pörtschach. Near Krumpendorf, Beatriz, who was driving, was forced to swerve to avoid a cyclist (the retired jockey Baron Neimans). The car crashed into a wall. Neither Gonzalo nor Beatriz appeared badly hurt, and so they returned to their villa. Several hours later it became clear that Gonzalo had severe abdominal bleeding. Because he had a weak heart, an operation was ruled out. He died two days later.

Gonzalo was buried in the graveyard at Pörtschach. Later his body was moved to the Pantheon of the Princes in El Escorial.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Infante Gonzalo of Spain
2= 2. King Alfonso XIII of Spain
3= 3. Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
4= 4. King Alfonso XII of Spain
5= 5. Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria
6= 6. Prince Henry of Battenberg
7= 7. Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
8= 8. King Francis of Spain
9= 9. Queen Isabella II of Spain
10= 10. Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria
11= 11. Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria
12= 12. Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
13= 13. Countess Julia von Hauke
14= 14. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
15= 15. Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom
16= 16. Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain
17= 17. Princess Luisa Carlotta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
18= 18. King Ferdinand VII of Spain
19= 19. Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies
20= 20. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
21= 21. Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg
22= 22. Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary
23= 23. Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg
24= 24. Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse
25= 25. Princess Wilhelmine of Baden
26= 26. Count John Maurice von Hauke
27= 27. Sophie la Fontaine
28= 28. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
29= 29. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
30= 30. Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
31= 31. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Bibliography

* "Auto Crash Fatal to Spanish Prince", "The New York Times" (August 14, 1934): 7.
* "Spain to Honor Infante", "The New York Times" (August 14, 1934): 7.
* "Funeral Rites Today for Spanish Prince", "The New York Times" (August 15, 1934): 17.
* "Don Gonzalo Buried in an Austrian Grave", "The New York Times" (August 16, 1934): 17.
* "Spanish Prince Killed", "The Times" (August 14, 1934): 12.
* "Regret in Madrid", "The Times" (August 14, 1934): 12.
* "The Infante Gonzalo", "The Times" (August 14, 1934): 13.
* "The Late Infante Don Gonzalo", "The Times" (August 16, 1934): 9.