September 10, 1979
Nearly a year has gone by since the death of Queen Mercedes of Spain, so it is not a surprise that the young King Alfonso XII is reported to be courting an Austrian archduchess, reports the Chicago Daily Tribune. The palace in Madrid is being renovated in order to welcome Alfonso's new bride, who is said to be Archduchess Maria Christina, who is not rich, but acceptable as a future queen of Spain. The reported rumors that the Cortes has opposed this marriage are false.
The King will leave La Granja in a few days and travel incognito to Pau, where he will "interview" the young Archduchess. He will return to LaGranja and remain there for the rest of September with his sisters, the Infantas Paz and Eulalia and the Princess of the Asturias.
After the king has met with the archduchess, Manuel Silveia will take a signed letter to the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph with Alfonso's official offer of marriage. It is expected that the Emperor will provide his assent, and once this assent is received, the Cortes will meet to make the final approval for the marriage and to make arrangements for the new Queen's allowance.
It is not known at this time when the wedding will take place, but the ceremony is unlikely to be performed at the church --the Basilica of Atocha where Alfonso married his first wife.
Alfonso married his first cousin, Princess Marie de las Mercedes of Orleans, Infanta of Spain, on January 238, 1878. Shortly after the marriage, it was learned that Mercedes suffered from tuberculosis. She died shortly after suffering a miscarriage. She died two days after her 18th birthday.
The king was persuaded by one of his ministers, Antonio Casanova del Castillo, to marry again, and the grieving king chose Mercedes' sister, Marie Christine, as his future wife. She, too, suffered from consumption, and she died not long after their engagement was announced.
Archduchess Maria Christina, 21, is the daughter of Archduke Karl Ferdinand and Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska.
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