King Alfonso XII and Wives (Queen Mercedes and Queen Maria Cristina)
Alfonso XII Francisco de Asis Fernando Pio Juan Maria de la Concepcion Gregorio Pelayo, King of Spain (Madrid, 28 November 1857 - El Pardo, 25 November...
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Alfonso XII (November 28, 1857–November 25, 1885) was king of Spain, reigning from 1875 to 1885, after a coup d'état restored the monarchy and ended the ephemeral First Spanish Republic.

Alfonso was the son of Isabella II of Spain. His biological paternity is uncertain, though his legal paternity is not: his mother was married to her (presumed homosexual) cousin Francis of Assisi de Borbon, King Consort of Spain, at the time of Alfonso's conception and birth. Some theories suggest that Alfonso's biological father might have been either Enrique Puigmoltó y Mayans, captain of the Royal Guard, or General Francisco Serrano.

When Queen Isabella and her husband were forced to leave Spain by the Revolution of 1868, Alfonso accompanied them to Paris. From there, he was sent to the Theresianum at Vienna to continue his studies. On June 25, 1870, he was recalled to Paris, where his mother abdicated in his favour, in the presence of a number of Spanish nobles who had tied their fortunes to that of the exiled queen. He assumed the title of Alfonso XII, for although no King of united Spain had borne the name "Alfonso XI", the Spanish monarchy was regarded as continuous with the more ancient monarchy represented by the eleven kings of León and Castile, also named Alfonso.

Shortly afterwards, Alfonso proceeded to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom in order to continue his military studies. While there, he issued, on December 1, 1874, in reply to a birthday greeting from his followers, a manifesto proclaiming himself the sole representative of the Spanish monarchy. At the end of that year, when Marshal Serrano left Madrid to take command of the northern army in the Carlist War, Brigadier Martinez Campos, who had long been working more or less openly for the king, led some battalions of the central army to Sagunto, rallied to his own flag the troops sent against him, and entered Valencia in the king's name. Thereupon the president of the council resigned, and his power was transferred to the king's plenipotentiary and adviser, Canovas del Castillo. Within a few days, the king arrived at Madrid, passing through Barcelona and Valencia and was acclaimed everywhere (1875). In 1876, a vigorous campaign against the Carlists, in which the young king took part, resulted in the defeat of Don Carlos and the Duke's abandonment of the struggle.

On January 23, 1878, Alfonso married his cousin, Princess Maria de las Mercedes, daughter of Antoine, Duke of Montpensier, but she died within six months of the marriage. Towards the end of the same year, a young workman of Tarragona, Juan Oliva Moncasi, fired at the king in Madrid.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

María de las Mercedes d'Orléans y Borbón, a.k.a Mercédés/ Marie des Graces d'Orleans-Montpensier (24 June 1860 - 26 June 1878) was Queen Consort of Spain, the first wife of Alfonso XII. She was born in Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Antoine d'Orléans, Duke of Montpensier and of Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain.

Through her father, Mercedes was the granddaughter of King Louis Philippe I, King of the French and of Princess Marie Amalie, Princess of the Two Sicilies. Through her mother, Mercedes was the granddaughter of King Fernando VII of Spain by his niece and fourth wife, María Cristina of Bourbon, Princess of the Two Sicilies. Thus, Mercedes descended from the Bourbon Dynasty through all four of her grandparents, since his descendants reigned in Spain, France and Naples (later Kingdom of the Two Sicilies).

She was born at the Palacio Real, Madrid (the royal castle). Isabella II and her husband Francisco were Mercedes's godparents at her christening, when she was given the names: María de las Mercedes Isabel Francisca de Asís Antonia Luisa Fernanda Felipa Amalia Cristina Francisca de Paula Ramona Rita Cayetana Manuela Juana Josefa Joaquina Ana Rafaela Filomena Teresa Santísima Trinidad Gaspara Melchora Baltasara et omni sancti.

Although Mercedes was patrilineally a French princess, she was officially also a Spanish infanta. In addition to being a niece of Isabella II, Mercedes was entitled to the title of infanta because her father Antoine had been created Infante Antonio of Spain at his marriage. Her entire childhood was spent mostly at their Palace of San Telmo, Sevilla, in Andalucía (southern Spain). They apparently were not welcome to Madrid, because of her father's aspirations to gain the throne for himself. She was especially close to all her siblings, and most especially to her brother Fernando, who died when she was 13 years old. She was also close to her eldest sisters, the Princesses Isabel (who married her cousin Philippe, Comte de Paris in 1864) and María Amelia (who died at the age of 19 in 1870), as well as her younger sister María Cristina (1862-1879), who died shortly after Mercedes's own death in 1878.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.