Infante Gonzalo of Spain

Infante Gonzalo of Spain
Infante of Spain
Born	(1914-10-24)24 October 1914 Royal Palace of Madrid
Died	Krumpendorf, Austria
Burial	El Escorial
Father	Alfonso XIII of Spain
Mother	Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Royal styles of Infante Gonzalo of Spain
Reference style	His Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Sir

Infante Gonzalo of Spain (Gonzalo Manuel Maria Bernardo Narciso Alfonso Mauricio) (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 in Madrid. He was baptized with the names Gonzalo Manuel María Bernardo Narciso Alfonso Mauricio. He received his final name in honor of his uncle, Prince Maurice of Battenberg, who was killed in World War I shortly before Gonzalo's baptism. The infante was educated privately. Because he inherited hemophilia 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 the 1,166th Knight of the Spanish branch of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

In May 1924, nine-year-old Gonzalo inaugurated the Estadio Chamartín, the new football stadium for Real Madrid C.F., kicking the ball of honour and announcing "¡Hala Madrid!."

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

Family of Infante Gonzalo of Spain

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

Heraldry

Heraldry of Infante Gonzalo of Spain
150px Arms of Infante Gonzalo of Spain (1927–1931/1934)

Bibliography

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

References

• Infante Gonzalo of Spain in Persian | Memarfa.com