born May 17, 1886, Madrid, Spain
died Feb. 28, 1941, Rome, Italy
Spanish king (1886–1931).
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 Juan Carlos I in 1975.