[Illustration: THE QUEEN REGENT AND HER SON, KING ALFONSO XIII.
OF SPAIN.]
In the present war between the United States and Spain, the Queen
Regent is an impressive figure, and it is entirely owing to her charm
and fortitude that the present dynasty of Spain is maintained. Since
his earliest youth she has constantly made efforts to fit her son to
wear the crown. The Queen Regent came from the great historic house of
Hapsburg, which has done much to shape the destinies of the world. All
the fortitude that has distinguished its members is represented in
this lady, who is the widow of Alfonzo XII. and the mother of the
present king. Her father was the late Archduke Karl Ferdinand and she
is the cousin of Emperor Franz Joseph. She has had a sad history. Her
husband died before the young king was born, and from the hour of his
birth she has watched and cared for the boy. She is the leader in all
good works in Spain, and her sympathy for the distressed is
proverbial. She gives freely from her private purse wherever there is
need, whether it be for the relief of misery or, as recently, when the
state is in peril. The young king has been carefully educated. By a
curious fate, his birth deposed from the throne his sister Maria de
las Mercedes, who as a little girl was queen for a few months. The boy
has been brought up under the influence of family life and has a warm
affection for his mother and sisters. He has never had the full
delights of childhood, for he has been educated in that false,
punctilious and thoroughly artificial atmosphere of the court of
Spain, in which every care has been taken to fit him for his royal
position. His health is far from robust, though the military education
he has received has done much to strengthen his constitution. He has
been taught to interest himself especially in the naval and military
affairs, and the study of the models of ships and military discipline
has been one of the principal occupations of his childhood. It is the
earnest wish of Spain that he should prove worthy of his mother.
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