On the occasion of her wedding to King Alfonso XIII in 1906 (a union that brought much dismay to the king’s mother, Queen Maria Cristina, on account of the bride’s Anglican heritage and family history of haemophilia), the groom-to-be gifted Victoria Eugenie a vast array of jewels, known as the joyas de pasar, including a diamond necklace and diamond earrings, commissioned from Ansorena. He also presented her with a pearl necklace that once belonged to Queen Isabel II.
On 13 May 1906, an estimated 400,000 people gathered to watch the royal procession outside the Church of Saint Jerome the Royal. Spain’s most aristocratic houses attended, with godparents including Infante Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The Minister of Grace and Justice registered the marriage in an official register, and, with that, Victoria Eugenie became the Queen of Spain.
Their joy was short-lived. As the royal procession made the journey back to the Palace, a bouquet fell from a nearby balcony and landed next to the couple’s carriage. Had Ena’s head not been turned to look upon St Mary’s Church, she would have been killed when the bomb enclosed within the flowers exploded. Later, when the Queen stepped out onto the balcony to greet crowds, her dress was flecked with the blood of a horseback guard who had been chaperoning the newlyweds. 24 people died and 100 were wounded. The would-be assassin, anarchist Mateu Morral, would later kill himself under military duress.
Queen Victoria Eugenie in her diamond necklace wedding gift, which grew into the most expensive piece of royal jewellery in the Spanish vaults
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It was a troubling augury for Ena’s new life, and she proved to be an unpopular Queen. The royal family hoped that the birth of her son, Alfonso, Prince of Asturias, might improve Ena’s standing among the Spanish people, but upon his circumcision, the young heir would not stop bleeding. The haemophilia running through Queen Victoria’s bloodline had returned. King Alfonso reportedly never forgave his wife, despite the two parenting seven children. He is alleged to have conducted numerous affairs, including one with Ena’s cousin, Beatrice, Duchess of Galliera, though this has never been confirmed.