María de las Mercedes of Orléans

Daughter of Antoine of Orléans (1824-1890), Duke of Montpensier, and the Infanta Maria Luisa Fernanda (1832-1897), second daughter of Ferdinand VII (1784-1833), Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans spent her early years between Seville, Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz) and England, where her paternal family lived in exile. As a child, María de las Mercedes of Orléans had very little contact with her Bourbon cousins, the children of Isabella II (1830-1904), only meeting them at family events and public functions. 

After the 1868 Revolution in Spain, the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier and their family settled in Auvergne (France). There they were visited in 1872 by Prince Alfonso (1857-1885) whose mother, Isabella II, had abdicated her dynastic rights in his favour two years earlier. During this visit, the future Alfonso XII and María de las Mercedes of Orléans developed a close friendship. Soon afterwards, the two young persons met again in Paris. At the time, Queen Isabella II was strongly opposed to their engagement. Although Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans was her goddaughter, the Queen was aware of the political intrigues that her father, the Duke of Montpensier, had been involved in during her reign. 
María de las Mercedes of Orléans returned to Spain with her family in October 1876, almost two years after the proclamation of Alfonso XII. From then on, the young couple were seen together in celebrations and strolls in Madrid, Aranjuez and La Granja de San Ildefonso (Segovia). Their marriage, approved by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, President of the Council of Ministers, took place in the Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha in Madrid on 23rd January 1878. Queen Isabella, who remained opposed to the marriage, refused to attend the celebrations. 

The King and Queen were married for less than six months. Suffering from tuberculosis, Maria de las Mercedes of Orléans tried to fulfil her ceremonial duties until the symptoms of her illness worsened irrevocably. Attended by Cardinal Moreno Maisonave, the Queen died in the Royal Palace of Madrid on 26th June 1878, only two days after her eighteenth birthday. Extremely popular among the people, the Queen was initially buried in the Pantheon of Infantes and Infantas in the Monastery of El Escorial. However, since 2000, her remains have been laid to rest in the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena in Madrid, which was built on her initiative. María de las Mercedes de Orleans inspired the children's song ¿Dónde vas Alfonso XII? (Where Are You Going, Alfonso the Twelfth?) and is remembered by the general public thanks to Luis César Amadori's film of the same name, released in 1958. 

Source: Royal Academy of History (https://www.rah.es)