| Infanta Isabel | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princess of Asturias Countess of Girgenti | |||||
1.jpg) Isabel in 1879 | |||||
| Born | 20 December 1851 Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Spain | ||||
| Died | 22 April 1931 (aged 79) Paris, France | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | |||||
| |||||
| House | Bourbon-Anjou | ||||
| Father | Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz | ||||
| Mother | Isabella II | ||||
Infanta Isabel of Spain (Spanish: María Isabel Francisca de Asís Cristina Francisca de Paula Dominga; 20 December 1851 – 22 April 1931) was the oldest daughter of Queen Isabella II of Spain and her husband Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz. She was the heiress presumptive to the Spanish throne from 1851 to 1857 and from 1874 to 1880. She was given the title Princess of Asturias, which is reserved for the heir to the Spanish crown. In 1868, she married Prince Gaetan, Count of Girgenti, a son of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. Gaetan committed suicide three years later.
Infanta Isabel was a prominent figure at the Spanish royal court during the reign of her brother King Alfonso XII and during the minority of her nephew King Alfonso XIII. She was the most popular member of the Spanish royal family for most of her life. After the fall of the monarchy of Alfonso XIII, she refused the offer of officials of the Second Spanish Republic to continue to reside in Spain. She died in a matter of days after taking up a new life in exile in France.