Raising Heirs to the Throne in Nineteenth-Century Spain

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Richard Meyer Forsting

   Pages 1-34

3. Teachers and Courtiers

   • Richard Meyer Forsting

   Pages 35-98

4. Officers and Educators

   • Richard Meyer Forsting

   Pages 99-162

5. The Public Sphere and Royal Education

   • Richard Meyer Forsting

   Pages 163-226

6. Conclusion

   • Richard Meyer Forsting

   Pages 227-239

7. Back Matter

   Pages 241-261

   PDF

This book analyses royal education in nineteenth-century, constitutional Spain. Its main subjects are Isabel II (1830- 1904), Alfonso XII (1857-1885) and Alfonso XIII (1886-1941) during their time as monarchs-in-waiting. Their upbringing was considered an opportunity to shape the future of Spain, reflected the political struggles that emerged during the construction of a liberal state, and allowed for the modernisation of the monarchy. The education of heirs to the throne was taken seriously by contemporaries and assumed wider political, social and cultural significance. This  volume is structured around three powerful groups which showed an active interest, influenced, and significantly shaped royal education: the court, the military, and the public. It throws new light on the position of the Spanish monarchy in the constitutional state, its ability to adapt to social, political, and cultural change, and its varied sources of legitimacy, power, and attraction. 

• Bourbon monarchy
• nationalism
• modernity
• constitutionalism
• royalty

• Wietmarschen, Germany

  Richard Meyer Forsting

Richard Meyer Forsting is an independent scholar whose research interests centre on constitutional Spain. He has given papers and published works on Spain’s public sphere during the Liberal Triennium (1820-23), the role of masculinity in public representations of royal heirs, and the upbringing of Isabel II.  

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