Queen Victoria Eugenia(1887-1969)
- Actress
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.