Infanta María del Pilar of Spain

Born on 4 June 1861 at the Royal Palace of Madrid, Infanta Pilar was the third surviving child of Queen Isabella II and King Francisco de Asís.In August 1865, he was dismissed from his post as both Leopoldo O'Donnell, president of the government, and his successor, Ramón María Narváez, were weary of the influence Tenorio had over the Queen.Pilar's eldest sister, Infanta Isabella, had been married off to her cousin Prince Gaetan, Count of Girgenti, in May and she was abroad on her wedding trip.On 28 September, the defeat of the royalist troops headed by General Novaliches in the battle of Alcolea sealed the end of Isabella II's reign.The first home of the Spanish royal family in exile was the Château de Pau, a renaissance castle that had been the birthplace of Pilar's ancestor Henry IV of France.Infantas Pilar, Paz and Eulalia were enrolled at the Sacré-Coeur, a Catholic school run by nuns in la rue de Varnnes.[citation needed] On the second anniversary of their arrival in France, the fall of the monarchy of Napoleon III and the disturbances in Paris forced Queen Isabella and her children to leave the city on 29 September 1871.Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, President of the Council of Ministers, finally authorized the return of Queen Isabella in the summer 1876.Isabella II was not allowed by the government to live in Madrid so Pilar, her mother and sisters stayed at El Escorial until the Queen decided to settle with her younger daughters in Seville.Pilar and her sisters frequented their cousins, the children of their aunt Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain and the Duke of Montpesier who had arrived from exile in France almost at the same time, settling at the palace of San Telmo in Seville.Upset with her son's choice of a bride and feeling neglected in Seville, in August, Isabella II decided to return to Paris and lived there permanently.Since the years of exile in Paris, it had been a cherished project between Queen Isabella II and her friend Empress Eugenie of France to arrange a marriage between their children Pilar and Napoleon, Prince Imperial.As the project had been on the back burner due to the fall of the French Empire and the exile in England, Isabella conceived the idea of an even more illustrious match for her daughter.Rudolph met Pilar, and he was surprised to find that she was blond with clear eyes as he had thought that all Spanish women were brunettes, but he showed no particular interest in her, concentrating in game hunting.He was due to pay an official visit to Madrid on his return from South Africa, where he was fighting with the British troops in the Anglo-Zulu War.In the early summer 1879 it was organized that Pilar, Paz and Eulalia would spend some time in Eskoriatza, a small town known for its hot springs of mineral waters.Wearing a white dress, and with a red beret on her head, Pilar attended the rustic fete and enjoyed its simple pleasures: donkey rides, bullocks and open-air dancing.On the day of the Prince Imperial's death, 1 June 1879, a pressed violet - the flower of the Bonapartes - is said to have fallen out of Pilar's prayer book and to have broken at the stalk.Empress Eugenie wrote from Camden on 9 August 1879, to her mother the Countess of Montijo, "I have received a terrible blow with the death of Infanta Pilar who was so close to my son.Years later, Paz married Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria, and decided to call her only daughter Pilar, in memory of her beloved sister.
From left to right : Infantas Paz, Pilar and Eulalia of Spain.
Infanta Pilar of Spain.
Infanta Pilar of Spain.
Infanta Pilar of Spain and her three sisters. From left to right: Pilar, Eulalia, Isabella and Paz
Infanta Pilar of Spain.
MadridEskoriatzaEl EscorialBourbonFrancisco de Asís, Duke of CádizIsabella II of SpainSpanishQueen Isabella IIking consortKing Alfonso XIINapoleon IIIGenevaEulaliaRoyal Palace of MadridIsabella, Princess of AsturiasNapoleon, Prince ImperialEmpress EugenieAnglo-Zulu WarKing Francisco de AsísInfanta Maria Cristina of SpainInfante Sebastian of Portugal and SpainLeopoldo O'DonnellRamón María NarváezPalace of la GranjaSpanish royal familyLekeitioInfanta IsabellaPrince Gaetan, Count of GirgentiupsiringNovalichesbattle of AlcoleaBiarritzChâteau de PauHenry IV of FranceArc de TriompheViennaSwitzerlandPope Pius IXpronunciamientoFirst Spanish RepublicPrincess of AsturiasAntonio Cánovas del CastilloSantanderSevilleAlcázar of SevilleAndalusiaAntoine, Duke of MontpensierInfanta Luisa Fernanda of SpainMercedes of OrleansBasilica of Nuestra Señora de Atochagastric feverPierre, Duke of PenthièvreRudolf, Crown Prince of AustriaPrince Leopold of BavariaTuileries PalaceEnglandSouth AfricaGipuzkoaGraziellaAlphonse de LamartineBonapartesCamdenCountess of MontijoPrince Ludwig Ferdinand of BavariaWittelsbachOrder of Queen Maria LuisaCharles IV of SpainFrancisco de Paula of SpainMaria Luisa of ParmaFrancisco de Asís of SpainFrancis I of the Two SiciliesLuisa Carlotta of the Two SiciliesMaria Isabella of SpainFerdinand VII of SpainMaria Christina of the Two SiciliesInfantas of SpainCarlos IMaría, Holy Roman EmpressJoanna, Princess of PortugalIsabel Clara Eugenia, Duchess of BrabantCatalina Micaela, Duchess of SavoyAna, Queen of FranceInfanta MaríaMaría Ana, Holy Roman EmpressInfanta MargaritaMaría Teresa, Queen of FranceMargarita Teresa, Holy Roman EmpressMariana Victoria, Queen of PortugalMaría Teresa Rafaela, Dauphine of FranceMaría Antonia Fernanda, Queen of SardiniaInfanta María JosefaMaría Luisa, Holy Roman EmpressIsabella, Archduchess Joseph of AustriaCarlota Joaquina, Queen of PortugalMaría Amalia, Infanta Antonio Pascual of SpainMaría Luisa, Queen of Etruria and Duchess of LuccaMaría Isabel, Queen of the Two SiciliesQueen Isabel IIInfanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of MontpensierIsabel Fernanda, Countess Ignaz GurowskiInfanta Luisa Teresa, Duchess of SessaInfanta Josefa Fernanda, Mrs. José GuëllMaría Cristina, Infanta Sebastian of Portugal and SpainAmalia, Princess Adalbert of BavariaMaría Luisa Carlota, Hereditary Princess of SaxonyInfanta Isabel, Countess of GirgentiMaría de la Paz, Princess Ludwig Ferdinand of BavariaInfanta Eulalia, Duchess of GallieraInfanta María Isabel, Countess of ParisInfanta Maria AmeliaInfanta María CristinaMaria de las Mercedes, Queen of SpainMaria de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias and Princess Carlos of Bourbon-Two-SiciliesMaría Teresa, Princess Ferdinand of BavariaInfanta Beatriz, Princess of Citivella-CesiInfanta María Cristina, Countess MaroneIsabel Alfonsa, Countess Jan Kanty ZamoyskiMaria de las Mercedes, Princess Irakli Bagration of MukhraniInfanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz and Viscountess of La TorreInfanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria and HernaniInfanta Elena, Duchess of LugoInfanta CristinaLeonor, Princess of AsturiasInfanta Sofía