Alfonso expects to wed in April

January 28, 1906

The marriage of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Princess Ena of Battenberg is expected to take place in April, according to newspaper reports. After the visit to Spain by the King and Queen of Portugal on February 24, King Alfonso will travel to London to sign the marital contract.
Alfonso was in Biarrita today, where he met his fiancée and drove the princess to San Sebastian by automobile. Queen Maria Cristina, the queen mother, is also in San Sebastian, and her visit is "declared to be for the purpose of putting an end to the malicious and persistent rumors" that she is not pleased with Alfonso's engagement to a Protestant princess and a Battenberg.
The trip to San Sebastian began this morning at 11:15. Princess Ena and her mother, Princess Henry and the King were in the first car, and Ena's older brother, Prince Alexander and his suite were in the second car. Military officers followed in other automobiles.
Along the route, the "royal party was enthusiastically cheered," according to the Chicago Daily Tribune. The entire population of San Sebastian turned out to greet the couple, and "flowers were showered on the princesses."
Queen Maria Cristina "received Princess Ena is the most gracious manner." After lunch, King Alfonso took Ena and her mother for a trip "around the town and the surrounding country," and returned in time for tea at the palace.
At 5:30 p.m., Princess Ena and Princess Henry, accompanied by King Alfonso and Prince Alexander left for Biarritz. They arrived at the Villa Mouriscot at 6:45 p.m., and Alfonso left for San Sebastian by train at 7 p.m., "in order to dine with the queen mother."