Infanta Eulalia of Spain

Infanta Eulalia, Duchess of Galliera (María Eulalia Francisca de Asís Margarita Roberta Isabel Francisca de Paula Cristina María de la Piedad) (12 February 1864 – 8 March 1958) was the youngest and last surviving daughter and child of Queen Isabella II of Spain and Francis, Duke of Cadiz; She was also sister of King Alfonso XII and aunt of his son King Alfonso XIII. She was most known for her controversial books which mostly criticised foreign leaders and also Spanish and foreign governments.

Eulalia was born on the 12th of February 1864 in the Royal Palace of Madrid, the third daughter and youngest of the four children of Queen Isabella II of Spain and her consort Francis, Duke of Cadiz. She was baptised on 14 February 1864 with the names María Eulalia Francisca de Asís Margarita Roberta Isabel Francisca de Paula Cristina María de la Piedad. Her godparents were the Duke of Parma and his sister Princess Margherita.

In 1868 Eulalia and her family were forced to leave Spain by the revolution. They lived in Paris where Eulalia was educated. She received her first communion in Rome from Pope Pius IX.

In 1874 Eulalia's brother Alfonso was restored to the throne in place of their mother Queen Isabella II. Three years later Eulalia returned to Spain. She lived at first in El Escorial with her mother, but later moved to the Alcázar of Seville and then to Madrid.

On 6 March 1886, at Madrid, Eulalia married her first cousin, the Duke of Galliera, son of Antoine, Duke of Montpensier and of his wife, Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain. The officiant was Cardinal Zeferino González y Díaz Tuñón, Archbishop of Seville. The wedding had been delayed several months on account of the death of Eulalia's brother King Alfonso XII. Eulalia and Antonio spent their honeymoon at the Palacio Real de Aranjuez.

Eulalia and Antonio had two sons:

• Infante Alfonso, Duke of Galliera (1886–1975)
• Luis Fernando de Orleans y Borbón (1888–1945)

After the birth of her younger son, Eulalia lived apart from her husband. She maintained residences in Spain and Paris, but often visited England.

In May 1893 Eulalia visited the United States; her controversial visit to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago was particularly well-documented. She traveled first to Puerto Rico, then to Havana, Cuba, before making her way to Washington, D.C., where she was received by President Grover Cleveland at the White House. She then proceeded to New York City. Eulalia was later admitted a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution as a descendant of King Charles III of Spain.

Eulalia was the author of several works which were controversial within royal circles, although she never ceased to have frequent contact with her relatives both in Spain and elsewhere.

In 1912, under the pseudonym comtesse de Avila, Eulalia wrote Au fil de la vie (Paris: Société française d'Imprimerie et de Librarie, 1911), translated into English as The Thread of Life (New York: Duffield, 1912). The book expressed Eulalia's thoughts about education, the independence of women, the equality of classes, socialism, religion, marriage, prejudices, and traditions. Her nephew the King telegraphed her and demanded that she suspend the book's publication until he had seen it and received his permission to publish it. Eulalia refused to comply.

In May 1915 Eulalia wrote an article about the German Emperor for The Strand Magazine. The following month she published Court Life from Within (London: Cassell, 1915; reprinted New York: Dodd, Mead, 1915).

In August 1925 Eulalia wrote Courts and Countries After The War (London: Hutchinson, 1925; reprinted New York: Dodd, Mead, 1925). In this work she commented upon the world political situation, and particularly her belief that there could never be peace between France and Germany. She also made a celebrated observation about Benito Mussolini's Italy that, crossing the Italian frontier, one hears "Il treno arriva all'orario" [the train is arriving on time], reflecting a boast often cited in connection with the fascist regime at the time.

In 1935 Eulalia published her memoirs in French, Mémoires de S.A.R. l'infante Eulalie, 1868-1931 (Paris: Plon, 1935). In July 1936 they were published in English as Memoirs of a Spanish Princess, H.R.H. the Infanta Eulalia (London: Hutchinson, 1936; reprinted New York: W.W. Norton, 1937).

On 9 February 1958, Eulalia had a heart attack at her home in Irun. She died there on 8 March and is buried in the Pantheon of the Princes in El Escorial. She was the last surviving grandchild of Ferdinand VII of Spain.

Titles

• 12 February 1864 – 6 March 1886: Her Royal Highness Infanta Eulalia of Spain
• 6 March 1886 - 24 December 1930: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Galleria
• 24 December 1930 - 8 March 1958: Her Royal Highness The Dowager Duchess of Galleria

Honours

National honours

• Spanish Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
• Spanish Royal Family: 620th Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa

Foreign honours

• Austrian-Hungarian Imperial and Royal family: Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross

• Boletin Oficial Del Estado
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• http://geneall.net/en/title/25500/dames-of-the-royal-order-of-queen-maria-luisa-of-spain/
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