ABSTRACT
Francisco J. Romero Salvadó assesses both the character and political role of Alfonso XIII, whose rule ended in his departure for exile. The king played an interventionist role in a political system that provided him with amble opportunity to do so. Yet Alfonso was temperamentally incapable of pressing the ruling oligarchy to reform, often sharing the military's contempt for most of the political class. The king saw himself as a soldier-king and dedicated much of his time to colonial and military affairs, yet his alignment with a militarist culture undermined the authority of the state. It was international events: the First World War, the Bolshevik Revolution and exploding social conflict that saw the king embrace the praetorian solution of General Miguel Primo de Rivera. This coup was launched against the supposed enemies of Spain which included those hostile to the monarchy. In Alfonso's biggest miscalculation, his alignment with the dictatorship brought down the institution of monarchy in 1931.
