Empire Rise: Spain

Chapter 209: Eldest Daughter Sophia

As time moved to November 1876, Carlo was about to welcome his second child.

Fortunately, with the experience of the previous childbirth, although the birth of the second child also received attention, Carlo was no longer so nervous.

Because her body had been recuperating for more than half a year before pregnancy, Queen Sophie was very healthy during her second pregnancy and faced no danger during childbirth.

Thus, in a quite smooth manner, Carlo welcomed his second child, his eldest daughter, Sofia.

As early as when his first child was born, Carlo had already decided on the names for his eldest son and eldest daughter.

The eldest son’s name was Juan Fernando, and the eldest daughter’s name was Sofia. Of course, if the second child had been a son, he would have been named Martin.

Because he was delighted to have his eldest son previously, Carlo had no requirements for the gender of his second child. Carlo even hoped to have a daughter, as a “little padded jacket” is much more reassuring than a “little rascal.”

Of course, Carlo was not worried at all about his children being mischievous. The strict elite noble education that Carlo personally formulated would not give them time to be mischievous.

Juan Fernando, who was only one and a half years old, had already begun learning Spanish words and some simple phrases.

When he grew a bit older, he would have to start learning more knowledge and truly begin a more demanding period of time. After all, as Carlo’s eldest son, it was highly probable that the future throne would be passed down to Juan Fernando.

Therefore, Carlo was quite serious about Juan Fernando’s cultivation. Not only did he have to learn all the various educations received by traditional nobles, but he also had to learn much newly discovered knowledge, as well as the history, politics, and psychology courses essential for a monarch.

After that, he would have to serve in the army for 2 to 3 years, cultivating some confidants in the military to complete the entire training plan for the heir to the throne.

After that, Juan Fernando could gradually begin to engage in political affairs, waiting for the day when Carlo would pass the throne to him.

As long as the entire cultivation process was relatively smooth, he would be the first in line to inherit the Spanish throne. However, if Juan Fernando performed poorly during the training process for the heir to the throne, Carlo would consider passing the throne to a more capable child.

The King of Spain certainly represented immense power, but it also represented arduous responsibility and obligation. Carlo’s attitude was clear: if one’s ability was insufficient, even the eldest son could not inherit the throne.

Whether it was Juan Fernando or other princes who would be born in the future, the first 20 years of their lives would be very difficult.

However, for princesses like Sofia, they would not have to endure such hardship.

Daughters also needed to be educated, but since they were not heirs to the throne, their education did not need to be so rigorous.

They only needed to learn some cultural knowledge and then choose a major they were interested in. After they graduated from university, Carlo would arrange their future endeavors.

After Princess Sofia was born, Carlo showed his doting on his daughter. Not only did he spend time every day playing with Princess Sofia while she was still in swaddling clothes, but he also specially created a new noble title, Duke of Arganda, for Princess Sofia.

Arganda is a small city southeast of Madrid with a population of only a few thousand. However, the scenery here is quite good. Carlo owned a vast manor here, which served as a reward for Princess Sofia.

Carlo was very fond of his children. His eldest son, Juan Fernando, was granted the title of Duke of Montblanc upon birth, and his eldest daughter, Sofia, also received the title of Duke of Arganda. Both stood at the pinnacle of the Spanish aristocracy from birth.

This was not all; Carlo would bestow more rewards upon them when they reached adulthood.

The assets of the royal family had long since reached hundreds of millions of pesetas, and Carlo was not stingy with his children at all. Whether it was his eldest son, eldest daughter, or other children in the future, they would all receive generous gifts of property upon reaching adulthood.

These gifts included not only land, manors, gold, jewelry, and antiques, but also shares in some enterprises, and even complete control of some companies.

The future heir to the throne would certainly inherit most of Carlo’s property, while for his other children, Carlo would ensure they had a worry-free life for the rest of their days, living comfortably even without much ability.

For the entire month after Princess Sofia was born, Carlo would set aside time every day to be with Queen Sophie and Princess Sofia.

Although infant mortality rates were high in this era, it appeared that both the eldest son, Juan Fernando, and the eldest daughter, Sofia, were in good health.

Shortly after Princess Sofia’s full moon, it was also Christmas 1876.

This Christmas, the royal palace was even more lively. The royal family was growing at a rate of almost one person per year, which was definitely good news for the Spanish royal family.

The royal family now seemed more fitting. Carlo, Queen Sophie, Prince Juan Fernando, and Princess Sofia spent Christmas joyfully together. Although Princess Sofia only looked on obediently from her crib for a while before falling asleep, it was still a family of four together, looking more lively and warm.

The news of Princess Sofia’s birth once again ignited Spain, but it did not cause as much sensation as that of Prince Juan Fernando.

This was also normal. After all, Juan Fernando was Carlo’s eldest son and the future heir to the Spanish throne, so it was natural for foreign governments and high-ranking officials to pay attention.

While Sofia was also of noble status, she was, after all, just a princess. Only the royal families of Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and a few countries with blood ties to Spain sent congratulations.

Compared to the birth of the Spanish Princess Sofia, European countries were clearly paying more attention to Queen Victoria’s coronation as Empress of India.

As early as May 1876, the British had achieved this fact, and Queen Victoria officially became Empress of India, possessing her own imperial title.

Becoming emperor certainly required a coronation ceremony. Since it was an imperial title in India, the coronation ceremony could only be held in India.

The British were initially worried about the issue of the Balkan Peninsula, but after waiting for several months without Russia showing any intention of intervening, the British were completely relieved.

The British government decided to hold Queen Victoria’s coronation ceremony in India on the first day of the new year, to place the imperial crown of the Indian Empire upon the head of the British Queen.

Although the imperial title in India might seem a bit self-indulgent, the person indulging was the British ruler, Queen Victoria, so other countries still had to show some respect.

However, within Britain, the public clearly held two diametrically opposed attitudes towards this Indian crown.

A brochure titled “The Stain on the Queen’s Head” quickly sold over ninety thousand copies. This brochure attacked Prime Minister Disraeli in comic form, mocking him as a Jew with strong orientalist views.

In the comic, Disraeli, depicted as Aladdin, was encouraging Queen Victoria to accept the crown of Empress of India.

The attitude of this brochure was also clear: it believed that Queen Victoria did not need an extra empress crown, as the word “empress” could easily evoke the image of an autocratic monarch, rather than the constitutional monarchy that the British government currently maintained.

Another booklet reached the same conclusion. Members of Parliament and the British public who supported this view generally believed that the crown and the legislation would damage the principles of the British monarchy, and the Indian imperial title was a lie.

The title of Empress of India was imperial, opposed the British monarchical system, and was an extremely wrong decision that was autocratic and arbitrary, where individual rights superseded those of the masses, and personal will could be enacted into law at any time at will.

The Opposition Party further used the Empress’s enthronement to oppose the ruling Conservative Party, claiming that the Conservatives completely ignored the public’s needs and were caught in the specter of their own political propaganda. Some extreme opponents even called the ruling Conservative Party a dictatorial party that advocated absolutism.

Even the well-known British newspaper, The Times, expressed its opposition and criticism, considering the coronation as Empress of India to be a manifestation of Queen Victoria’s arrogance and presumption, betraying the principles of the British constitution.

John F. Dickinson openly stated that the title legislation was a complete infringement of collective will by Queen Victoria’s personal will, and the empress title legally confirmed India’s subservient relationship to Britain, which would exacerbate the conflict between India and Britain.

At the same time, it would also legally confirm the British Empire’s movement towards a new round of expansion, which most Britons did not wish to see. The individual demands superseding public interest caused by the legislation would destroy the British Empire.

He believed that the fewer and simpler the principles of British rule in India, the better the effect would be. The more prosperous the empire, the tighter the policy towards India should be.

The cartoon “New Crown, Old Queen” also became a hot topic of discussion for the British government and the public, causing a sensation that overshadowed Queen Victoria’s coronation as Empress of India itself.

The fundamental reason for the opposition from a large number of officials and democratic figures was the public’s attention to the word “authority.”

The British Empire possessed colonies on a scale far exceeding other countries, but the relationship between the colonies and the British Empire was not one of complete subservience and loyalty.

The United States was once a British colony, but it later chose independence. This also represented one thing: that the people of the colonies were not entirely loyal to the British Empire, and they had their own considerations regarding the British Empire.

Under such circumstances, whether Queen Victoria’s coronation as Empress of India would cause dissatisfaction in multiple colonies, including the Indian colony, was a question that some British officials and parliamentarians needed to consider.

Did the authority of the British Empire and Queen Victoria supersede that of the colonies? Did the British Empire have complete control over the colonies? Should the control over the colonies be increased?

These questions were also the key points of discussion for Britain’s two major political parties and a large number of parliamentarians, and they were the reason for the sensation within Britain.

But it was clear that these discussions alone could not shake Queen Victoria herself.

It could be seen from these opposing Members of Parliament’s inability to stop the bill’s passage that Prime Minister Disraeli and Queen Victoria were both willing to see the British Empire control the Indian throne.

On January 1, 1877, the ceremony for Queen Victoria’s coronation as Empress of India was officially held in India.

Although there were many voices of opposition domestically, the British Government still attached considerable importance to this coronation ceremony.

Prime Minister Disraeli himself went to the coronation site, and the Indian colonial government also prepared a grand ceremony and a large number of crowd actors for the Queen.

Regardless of the Indian people’s reaction to Queen Victoria’s coronation, on the day of Queen Victoria’s coronation, over one hundred thousand Indians enthusiastically celebrated Queen Victoria’s coronation, even shouting “Long live Your Majesty!”

Queen Victoria was more than satisfied with the elaborate scene prepared by the Indian Colonial Government. Being crowned Empress also fulfilled one of her wishes, and her gaze towards the Governor-General of India was one of great satisfaction and admiration.

Carlo did not pay much attention to Queen Victoria’s coronation. The throne was rather a stain on Queen Victoria, and having or not having the throne provided no additional benefit to Queen Victoria.

Without the Indian throne, Queen Victoria was one of the greatest monarchs in British history, ushering in the most brilliant Victorian era for the British Empire, which was also the golden age of the British Empire’s dominance over the world.

Fortunately, this stain was not too serious, nor did it affect Queen Victoria’s reputation within the United Kingdom.

Compared to Queen Victoria’s throne, Carlo was more interested in the development of the Balkan situation.

The reason the British Government felt at ease holding the coronation ceremony was precisely because Russia did not take significant action in the Balkan Peninsula.

The war in the Balkan Peninsula is still a war between the Ottoman Empire and several ethnic groups fighting for independence; Russia is currently in a phase of covert support.

Through telegram exchanges with Franz Joseph I, Carlo also confirmed one thing: both the United Kingdom and the Austro-Hungarian Empire underestimated Russia’s ambition in this Balkan War.

The British Empire arrogantly believed that Russia would not launch a war against the Ottoman Empire, given the British Empire’s strong stance in supporting the Ottoman Empire. This was also why Britain reduced its attention to the Balkan Peninsula.

After all, the Ottoman Empire currently had the advantage in the war, and Serbia and Montenegro were clearly no match for the Ottoman Empire.

This was also the reason why Russia, after initiating war, devastatingly defeated the Ottoman Empire and obtained victory in the war.

Because the British Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not have much preparation, they could only use diplomacy after the war to threaten Russia to give up some of the war spoils, ensuring they would not suffer too much of a loss.