A new Princess of Asturias

The title of Prince of Asturias has been given to the first in line to the Spanish throne for eight centuries and most of those who have held it have been men.  But while several women have been invested with the honour in their own right, Leonor will be the first among them sure to retain the name until her own accession.  For some of the other princesses, born in the male dominated world of 19th century royals, were made heir in times of desperation when princes were thin on the ground and a solid line of inheritance was needed to shore up the monarchy.  Leonor will claim a place in history by taking the title without a fight and by being recognised as her father's heir in a world of female monarchs in waiting.  Her story is a long way removed from the princesses who waited in line before.

The current Prince of Asturias with the girl who will inherit his title in less than 24 hours' time and become the Princess of Asturias in her own right

The last time a woman was Princess of Asturias in her own right was at the end of the 19th century and then there were two women known by the name.  In 1880, the reigning king Alfonso XII finally had an heir when his second wife, Maria Teresa of Austria, gave birth to a healthy baby at the Royal Palace in Madrid.  Alfonso had been king since 1874 and had taken the throne at a time of political turmoil.  His mother, Isabel II, had fled Spain in 1868 after a revolution and abdicated in 1870.  Alfonso's restoration was fragile and he needed a son to bolster his position.  His first wife, Maria de las Mercedes of Orleans had died six months after their 1878 wedding when she was just eighteen. He had married again sixteen months later and now his second wife had given him an heir. But the baby was a girl and the reaction to her arrival was muted to say the least.

Alfonso XII, King of Spain 1874 - 1886

The little Infanta was named Maria de las Mercedes after her father's first consort and also took the names Isabel Teresa Cristina Alfonsa.  Immediately, there were calls to make her Princess of Asturias as by rights she was her father's heir and the first in line to the throne of Spain always took that title.  But there was another Princess of Asturias standing in Mercedes' way. And this princess had popular opinion on her side.

Maria de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias, 1880 - 1904

Alfonso's eldest sister, Isabella, was already on her second stint as Princess of Asturias.  She was the eldest surviving child of Isabella II and had been born at the Royal Palace in Madrid on December 20th 1851.  She was heir from birth and given the title of Princess of Asturias which she kept until 1858 when her mother gave birth to Alfonso.  But when her brother became king he had no children of his own and Isabella returned to Spain to be his heiress.  In 1874, she took the title of Princess of Asturias for the second time and she was its incumbent when her niece arrived in 1880.

Maria Isabella Francisca de Asis, Princess of Asturias twice but never Queen of Spain

The unhappiness that Alfonso's heir was a girl manifested itself in a delay to transfer the title of Princess of Asturias from Isabella to Mercedes.  The king's sister was generally popular and had spent the six years since her brother took the throne promoting the monarchy and trying to win it as much support as possible.  She was a visible figure among Spanish royalty but the title she was known by no longer belonged to her.  In 1881, when Mercedes was six months old, Alfonso XII made his heiress the Princess of Asturias.  She would hold the title for the rest of her life.

Mercedes of Asturias with her brother, Alfonso, and her sister, Maria Teresa, pose with their mother, Queen Maria Christina of Spain

Isabella's influence on the royal family continued as she helped to educate her niece.  But when Mercedes was just five years old her family was plunged into a new crisis.  Alfonso XII died, leaving two daughters and a pregnant wife.  Mercedes, Princess of Asturias was declared Head of State but not queen - not while there was a chance that the king may have left a posthumous son.  In May 1886, Queen Maria Christina gave birth to a son called Alfonso who immediately became king.  Mercedes was his heiress and this time there was no argument about her title - for the second time, she became Princess of Asturias.

Mercedes of Spain in her second stint as Princess of Asturias

She held the title until her death in 1904.  The princess married Carlos of Bourbon Two Sicilies in 1901 and Mercedes gave birth to two sons in quick succession.  In 1904, about a month before her third baby was due, the princess developed internal pains but her appendicitis was misdiagnosed.  By the time her condition was realised, it was too late.  Mercedes developed peritonitis and gave birth early but within twenty four hours she had died.  Her tenure as Princess of Asturias, which had lasted 24 hours, came to an end.  Like Isabella, who had held the title before her, she never became queen.  Her brother, Alfonso XIII, did eventually marry and had seven children but abdicated the throne before any could succeed him.  His grandson, Juan Carlos, was restored to the throne in 1975 and his abdication will make his his granddaughter, Leonor, the Princess of Asturias.  But unlike her predecessors, her claim to the title in undisputed.