King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain will soon be parents, reports the Marquise de Fontenoy. The Queen is expected to give birth at the royal palace in Madrid.
The royal couple are expected to have the "immense" palace to themselves (apart from the servants, staff, and security), when the British-born Queen gives birth to their first child.
When the young Queen first came to Madrid, she discovered that the palace was not only the home of her husband, but also the residence of her mother-in-law, Queen Maria Cristina, Don Carlos, the widower of Alfonso's eldest sister, Mercedes, and his "motherless" children; the king's only surviving sisters, Infanta Maria Teresa and her Bavarian husband, Don Fernando, and the King's two aunts, Infantas Isabel and Eulalia, and the latter's two sons.
The presence of so many members of the royal family "naturally served to deprive" Queen Ena to some of the "privacy to which she was entitled," as well as the strain of not feeling at home with all of her husband's "numerous relatives."
It was the "wonderfully clever and good-hearted" Infanta Isabel who realized Ena's dilemma and bought a mansion for herself in another part of Madrid. Infanta Eulalia, whose sons now spend a lot of time at Heidelberg University, followed suit.
The other members of the royal family, except for Queen Maria Cristina, have also made plans to move out of the palace. Don Carlo and Don Fernando have purchased new mansions in the area as Infanta Isabel and Infanta Eulalia.
Ena made the "urgent request" that her mother-in-law retain her apartments in the royal palace. However, next month Queen Maria Cristina will proceed as usual to Miramaire at San Sebastian, where she will spend the summer with Infanta Maria Teresa and her family, as well as with Don Carlos and his children.
The King and Queen will remain in Madrid for longer than usual and will spend only three months at La Granja, about an hour from Madrid. They have chosen to not spend the summer at San Sebastian, which has served as the sovereign's summer court for 19 years.
La Granja is said to be a "delightful summer retreat" from Madrid's intense heat.
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