Queen Victoria Eugenia

Victoria Eugenia von Battenberg, always called "Ena", was born in Scotland on October 24, 1887, the only daughter of Prince Henry von Battenberg and Princess Beatrice, herself one of Queen Victoria's daughters. 1887 was also Queen Victoria's Jubilee Year, and in her honor her little granddaughter Ena was called the "Jubilee Princess". Her father had been obliged to live with his mother-in-law in order to marry the princess, but in 1896 he set off on the Ashanti expedition to West Africa, where he died of malaria. After turning down a marriage proposal from a Russian Grand Duke, Ena caught the eye of King Alfonso XIII, and her uncle King Edward VII gave her the title of Royal Highness in order to compensate for her morganatic status. After the wedding in 1906, Ena and Alfonso were returning to the Palace when a bomb was thrown at their carriage. It exploded and killed 24 people and wounded more than a 100. Though not injured, Ena was covered with the blood of a nearby decapitated guard. The royal couple had their first child, son and heir Prince Alfonso, in 1907, but much to their dismay he was a hemophiliac. Like so many of the female members of her family, Ena was a carrier of hemophilia (one of her brothers also suffered from hemophilia which killed him in 1922). The second son, Jaime, was deaf and their youngest Gonzalo was also a hemophiliac. Only the middle son, Juan, was healthy. Alfonso blamed Ena for their children's health problems, and their marriage deteriorated. In 1931, the King went into exile after Republican demonstrations and abdicated the throne of Spain in 1941. In 1934 Ena's children, Beatriz and Gonzalo, were in a car accident; though they were barely injured, Gonzalo was unable to stop bleeding and died at the age of 19. His eldest brother Alfonso also died in a car accident in Florida in 1938. Disheartened by the deaths of her children and the disintegration of her family, Ena lived throughout Europe for the rest of her life. She returned to Spain briefly in 1968 to stand as godmother to her great-grandson, Crown Prince Felipe. She was greeted warmly by the crowds, and when she left 50,000 people said goodbye to her at the airport. Victoria Eugenia von Battenberg, called "Ena", died on April 15, 1969.