About Isabella II
Isabella II (Spanish: Isabel II, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella was the elder daughter of King Ferdinand VII and Queen Maria Christina. Shortly before Isabella's birth, her father issued the Pragmatic Sanction to revert the Salic Law and ensure the succession of his firstborn daughter, due to his lack of a son. She came to the throne a month before her third birthday, but her succession was disputed by her uncle, Infante Carlos (founder of the Carlist movement), whose refusal to recognize a female sovereign led to the Carlist Wars. Under the regency of her mother, Spain transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, adopting the Royal Statute of 1834 and Constitution of 1837. In 1843, Isabella was declared of age and began her personal rule. Her reign was a period marked by palace intrigues, back-stairs and antechamber influences, barracks conspiracies, and military pronunciamientos. Her marriage to Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz was an unhappy one, and her personal conduct as well as recurrent rumours of extramarital affairs damaged her reputation. In September 1868, a naval mutiny began in Cádiz, marking the beginning of the Glorious Revolution. The defeat of her forces by Marshal Francisco Serrano, 1st Duke of la Torre, brought her reign to an end, and she went into exile in France. In 1870, she formally abdicated the Spanish throne in favour of her son, Alfonso. In 1874, the First Spanish Republic was overthrown in a coup. The Bourbon monarchy was restored, and Alfonso ascended the throne as King Alfonso XII. Isabella returned to Spain two years later but soon again left for France, where she resided until her death in 1904. The first pretender to the throne, Ferdinand's brother Infante Carlos, Count of Molina, fought for seven years during Isabella's minority to dispute her title (see First Carlist War). Queen Maria Christina became regent on 29 September 1833, and Isabella, at just two years old, was proclaimed sovereign following the death of Ferdinand VII.
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