Alfonso XIII of Spain

Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. Alfonso was monarch from birth, as his father Alfonso XII had died the previous year. Until his 16th birthday in 1902, his mother, Maria Christina of Austria, served as his regent, in a period which saw Spain lose its Caribbean and Pacific colonies during the Spanish-American War. Due to family ties to both sides, Alfonso kept his kingdom neutral during the First World War (1914-1918).