n.
born May 17, 1886, Madrid, Spain
died Feb. 28, 1941, Rome, Italy
Spanish king (18861931).
The posthumous son of Alfonso XII , he was immediately proclaimed king under his mother's regency and assumed full authority at 16. He relished power, and after World War I he moved toward a system of more personal rule, even seeking to rid himself of the Cortes (parliament). He associated himself with the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera (192330), but after the latter's fall the freely elected Republicans demanded Alfonso's abdication, and he was forced to leave Spain. His grandson became Spain's sovereign as Juan Carlos I in 1975.