Mercedes of Orléans

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|

Queen of Spain in 1878

Mercedes of Orléans

Queen consort of Spain
Tenure| 23 January 1878 - 26 June 1878

Born| (1860-06-24)24 June 1860
Palacio Real, Madrid, Spain
Died| 26 June 1878(1878-06-26) (aged 18)
Palacio Real, Madrid, Spain
Burial|

Cathedral of la Almudena

Spouse|

Alfonso XII

(m. 1878)​

| Names

Spanish: María de las Mercedes Isabel Francisca de Asís Antonia Luisa Fernanda de Todos los Santos de Orléans y Borbón
French: Marie de La Mercédès Isabelle Françoise d'Asis Antoinette Louise Ferdinande d'Orléans
House| Orléans
Father| Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier
Mother| Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain

María de las Mercedes of Orléans (24 June 1860 - 26 June 1878) was Queen of Spain as the first wife of King Alfonso XII. She was born in Madrid, the daughter of Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier, and Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain.

## Death

[edit]

Shortly after their honeymoon, it became evident that Queen Mercedes suffered from typhoid fever.[1][2][3][4] The marriage would last only five months and three days,[5] during which she reportedly had a miscarriage.[3] She died due to the fever on 26 June 1878, at 18 years old.[6][7]

## Legacy

[edit]

Portrait of Mercedes in 1878, the year of her death (portrait by Manuel Cabral Aguado-Bejarano)

The news of her demise spawned many folk songs accounting for it,[8] most notably the famous copla, with many variations in Spain and America, particularly popular among children delivered as a song accompanying a skipping rope game.[9] According to Benito Pérez Galdós, he had already heard about it a few days after the incident: “¿Dónde vas Alfonso XII? ¿Dónde vas triste de ti? Voy en busca de Mercedes que ayer tarde no la vi…” ("Where are you going, Alfonso XII? Where are you going, sad man?—I'm going in search of Mercedes whom I did not see yesterday afternoon...").[9] A film about the romance between María de las Mercedes and Alfonso XII, Where Are You Going, Alfonso XII?, was released in 1958.[10]

Queen Mercedes co-initiated the building of the Cathedral of la Almudena in Madrid, opposite of the royal palace —the construction beginning in 1883.[citation needed] In May 2004 Felipe, Prince of Asturias, was wed there to Letizia Ortiz. Queen Mercedes' remains were re-interred there on 8 November 2000, in accordance with her widower's wishes.

A town in the northern Philippine province of Isabela was named Reina Mercedes in her honor in 1886 when the Spanish colonial government formally separated it from Cauayan.

When the King's minister Cánovas del Castillo suggested that he take a new wife, Alfonso acquiesced, choosing Mercedes' sister María Cristina. She also contracted tuberculosis, and died during the engagement period.[citation needed] In late 1879, he married Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria-Teschen; the eldest of their children, the Princess of Asturias, was named in honour of Queen Mercedes.

## Ancestry

[edit]

Ancestors of Mercedes of Orléans

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Louis Philippe I of France|

|  |  |
| 9\. Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon

| 2\. Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies

| 5\. Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily|

|  |  |
| 11\. Maria Carolina of Austria

| 1\. María de las Mercedes of Orléans|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Charles IV of Spain

| 6\. Ferdinand VII of Spain|

|  |  |
| 13\. Maria Luisa of Parma

| 3\. Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Francis I of the Two Sicilies

| 7\. Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies|

|  |  |
| 15\. Maria Isabella of Spain

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## See also

[edit]

* Reign of Alfonso XII

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "02 Nov 1878 - The Death of the Young Queen of Spain. - Trove". Nla.gov.au. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
2. ^ MCNBiografias.com. "María de las Mercedes. Reina de España (1860-1878) » MCNBiografias.com". mcnbiografias.com.
3. ^ a b "Cumplida la última voluntad de una reina". El País. 9 November 2000.
4. ^ "Alfonso XII y María de las Mercedes, real historia de amor - ArqueHistoria". arquehistoria.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
5. ^ "Alfonso XII | Real Academia de la Historia". dbe.rah.es. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
6. ^ "Muere María de las Mercedes de Orleans y Borbón, cinco meses después de casarse". Madridiario. 26 June 2019.
7. ^ Parrado, Diego (9 November 2017). "La sortija maldita de Alfonso XII". Vanity Fair.
8. ^ Pallardó Pardo, Esther (2016). "La restauración bajo el reinado de Alfonso XII desde la perspectiva de lo audiovisual". Opción: Revista de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales (12): 120. ISSN 1012-1587.
9. ^ a b Tejero Robledo, Eduardo (1998). "La tradición oral en la cadena etnográfica". Didáctica. Lengua y Literatura. 10. Madrid: Ediciones Complutense: 148.
10. ^ Pallardó Pardo 2016, pp. 114–115.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mercedes of Orléans.

* v
* t
* e

Spanish royal consorts

* Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (2014–present)

* Sophía of Greece and Denmark (1975–2014)
* Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1906–1931)
* Maria Christina of Austria (1879–1885)
* Mercedes of Orléans (1878)
* Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo (1870–1873)
* Francis, Duke of Cádiz (1846–1868)
* Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies (1829–1833)
* Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony (1819–1829)
* Maria Isabel of Portugal (1816–1818)
* Julie Clary (1808–1813)
* Maria Luisa of Parma (1788–1808)
* Maria Amalia of Saxony (1759–1760)
* Barbara of Portugal (1746–1758)
* Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans (1724)
* Elisabeth Farnese (1714–1724, 1724–1746)
* Maria Luisa of Savoy (1701–1714)
* Maria Anna of Neuburg (1690–1700)
* Marie Louise of Orléans (1679–1689)
* Mariana of Austria (1649–1665)
* Élisabeth of France (1621–1644)
* Margaret of Austria (1598–1611)
* Anna of Austria (1570–1580)
* Élisabeth of France (1559–1568)
* Mary I of England (1556–1558)
* Isabella of Portugal (1526–1539)

* v
* t
* e

Infantas of Spain

Generations indicate descent from Carlos I, under whom the crowns of Castile and Aragon were united, forming the Kingdom of Spain.

1st generation|

* María, Holy Roman Empress
* Joanna, Princess of Portugal

2nd generation|

* Isabel Clara Eugenia, Duchess of Brabant
* Catalina Micaela, Duchess of Savoy

3rd generation|

* Ana, Queen of France
* Infanta María
* María Ana, Holy Roman Empress
* Infanta Margarita

4th generation|

* María Teresa, Queen of France
* Margarita Teresa, Holy Roman Empress

5th generation|

* None

6th generation|

* None

7th generation|

* Mariana Victoria, Queen of Portugal
* María Teresa Rafaela, Dauphine of France
* María Antonia Fernanda, Queen of Sardinia

8th generation|

* Infanta María Josefa
* María Luisa, Holy Roman Empress
* Isabella, Archduchess Joseph of Austria

9th generation|

* Carlota Joaquina, Queen of Portugal
* María Amalia, Infanta Antonio Pascual of Spain
* María Luisa, Queen of Etruria and Duchess of Lucca
* María Isabel, Queen of the Two Sicilies

10th generation|

* Queen Isabel II
* Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier
* Isabel Fernanda, Countess Ignaz Gurowski*
* Infanta Luisa Teresa, Duchess of Sessa*
* Infanta Josefa Fernanda, Mrs. José Guëll*
* María Cristina, Infanta Sebastian of Portugal and Spain*
* Amalia, Princess Adalbert of Bavaria*
* María Luisa Carlota, Hereditary Princess of Saxony*

11th generation|

* Infanta Isabel, Countess of Girgenti
* Infanta María del Pilar
* María de la Paz, Princess Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria
* Infanta Eulalia, Duchess of Galliera
* Infanta María Isabel, Countess of Paris*
* Infanta Maria Amelia*
* Infanta María Cristina*
* Maria de las Mercedes, Queen of Spain*

12th generation|

* Maria de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias and Princess Carlos of Bourbon-Two-Sicilies
* María Teresa, Princess Ferdinand of Bavaria

13th generation|

* Infanta Beatriz, Princess of Citivella-Cesi
* Infanta María Cristina, Countess Marone
* Isabel Alfonsa, Countess Jan Kanty Zamoyski*
* Maria de las Mercedes, Princess Irakli Bagration of Mukhrani *

14th generation|

* Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz and Viscountess of La Torre
* Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria and Hernani

15th generation|

* Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo
* Infanta Cristina

16th generation|

* Leonor, Princess of Asturias
* Infanta Sofía

*title granted by Royal Decree

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of Orléans

Generations descend from Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, father of King Louis Philippe I of France

1st generation|

* Princess Adélaïde

2nd generation|

* Louise, Queen of the Belgians
* Marie, Duchess Alexander of Württemberg
* Clémentine, Princess August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

3rd generation|

* Marguerite, Princess Władysław Czartoryski
* Princess Françoise, Duchess of Chartres
* Princess Marie Isabelle, Countess of Paris
* Princess Maria Amelia of Orléans
* Princess Marie Christine of Orléans
* Mercedes, Queen of Spain

4th generation|

* Amélie, Queen of Portugal
* Marguerite, Duchess of Magenta
* Princess Hélène, Duchess of Aosta
* Princess Isabelle, Duchess of Guise
* Louise, Princess Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
* Marie, Princess Valdemar of Denmark
* Louise, Princess Alfons of Bavaria

5th generation|

* Isabelle, Princess Pierre Murat
* Françoise, Princess Christopher of Greece and Denmark
* Princess Anne, Duchess of Aosta
* Marie Louise, Princess Philip of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

6th generation|

* Princess Anne, Duchess of Calabria
* Diane, Duchess of Württemberg
* Claude, Duchess of Aosta

7th generation|

* Marie, Princess Gundakar of Liechtenstein

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Spain
* Catalonia

Other|

* IdRef

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