Empire Rise: Spain

Chapter 179: Birth Of The Eldest Son

As time reached the end of May 1875, one of the most important things in Carlo’s life finally arrived.

That was Queen Sophie about to give birth, and Carlo was about to welcome his first child.

After Queen Sophie felt unwell, Carlo nervously summoned the royal palace doctor who was always on standby, as well as many maids waiting for instructions.

As expected, after an experienced female doctor checked Queen Sophie’s condition in midwifery, she immediately realized that Queen Sophie was about to give birth.

This instantly made the entire royal palace busy, with servants constantly coming in and out at the doctor’s instructions to carry out preparations.

Fortunately, the room prepared for Queen Sophie’s delivery was very large. Carlo stayed by Queen Sophie’s side, with many serious-faced doctors standing by the bed, and busy servants further back.

Although the doctor advised Carlo to wait outside, Carlo still decided to accompany Queen Sophie through the entire delivery process.

This was not only a highly dangerous event, but it would also bring extreme pain to Queen Sophie. In an era without cesarean sections, giving birth relied entirely on natural delivery.

Even before the delivery began, Carlo had repeatedly instructed the doctors. If any problems arose in the process, they should not hesitate and prioritize protecting Queen Sophie’s safety.

Carlo was still young and not yet at the point where he could not have more children. For Carlo, Queen Sophie was more important than the unborn child. Whether boy or girl, before he arrived in this world, the Spanish Royal Family currently consisted of only two people: Carlo and Queen Sophie.

Perhaps Carlo’s personal companionship provided some encouragement, or maybe Queen Sophie’s body was very healthy due to the royal family’s careful care, but in any case, the entire delivery process went quite smoothly.

On May 28, 1875, with a cry, Carlo welcomed his first child, his eldest son Juan Fernando.

“Carlo, this is our child.” Queen Sophie, exhausted from the entire delivery process, still forced herself to see her child, looking at Carlo with a face full of joy and pride, wearing a gentle smile.

“Yes, it’s our child. You’ve worked hard, Sophie. You are a great mother.” Carlo nodded, carefully brushing Queen Sophie’s forehead hair behind her ear, then gently kissing her forehead, before taking the child from the maid Anna’s arms and bringing him close to Queen Sophie again.

The mischievous Anna at this moment looked enviously at the harmonious and loving royal family, her eyes carrying a hint of regret, but it quickly dissipated.

Her background was completely different from Queen Sophie’s, and her status was merely that of Carlo’s maid. Although she had an extraordinary relationship with Carlo, it was obvious that their relationship could not be brought into the open.

This also meant that Anna would find it very difficult to bear children for Carlo. Even if she had children, they would ultimately be illegitimate sons without any title.

But for the two maids Anna and Alice, they were already very satisfied with their current status. This was not a peaceful and beautiful era, and the fate of pretty girls would not be so romantic.

Pretty women could use their beauty to attract high officials and nobles, but they could not become their wives.

Because European nobles emphasized matching social status. If nobles married a commoner wife, their own children would also lose their nobility title inheritance rights.

Although they would not gain any title in the future, being the King of Spain’s lovers was still much better than being the lovers of ordinary capitalists and nobles.

At least Carlo was quite good to them, and Queen Sophie did not pay too much attention to Carlo’s lovers.

Even knowing that Anna and Alice had an unusual relationship with Carlo, Queen Sophie still allowed Anna and Alice to continue serving as personal maids to Carlo and herself, which was already open indulgence.

For the birth of his eldest son, Carlo had no intention of concealing it. That very evening, telegrams were sent openly to European countries, with the first ones going to Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire soon responded. Vittorio Emanuele II happily congratulated Carlo on the birth of his eldest son and indicated that he would grant Carlo’s eldest son the title of Count of Genoa in Italy.

Franz Joseph I’s reply also came quickly. Since Carlo had mentioned that Queen Sophie’s condition was good, Franz Joseph I was relieved and stated that he would visit Spain within the year with some officials from the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Government.

Franz Joseph I’s visit to Spain was nominally to see his daughter and eldest grandson, but the actual meaning was naturally more than that.

The main reason was that Spain’s strength had now recovered, so the Austro-Hungarian Empire naturally placed more importance on this ally, Spain.

Most importantly, there was no conflict of interest between Spain and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which allowed their alliance relationship to remain stable and hopefully last long-term.

Besides the child’s paternal and maternal grandfathers, many kings in the European Royal Family with kinship to Carlo sent congratulatory telegrams to Spain. Only with a heir to the throne would Spain truly stabilize, and only then would the country’s strength be truly powerful.

A king without an heir did not have such a secure status, because once an accident occurred, the throne’s succession would face many problems.

In Europe’s era, accidents were not uncommon. Especially after rifle technology developed, ways to assassinate kings increased.

One of the reasons Carlo continuously built his reputation in Spain was to avoid being assassinated by the Spanish people every day.

This was no joke. Prime Minister Primó in history died from an assassination, which also made the Spanish House of Savoy in history a joke, one that only lasted a few years before being forced to abandon itself.

On the day Prince Juan Fernando was born, many factories on the Madrid Outskirts were brightly lit. Many of them were printing factories that had close cooperation with various newspaper offices, needing to urgently print news about the birth of the royal eldest son in a short time and transport it to major cities around Madrid the next day for sale.

Do not underestimate the royal family’s popularity in Spain, especially matters related to Carlo. Unlike other European countries, Spain’s establishment history was closely related to Catholicism, and Catholicism was closely related to monarchy.

The public had extraordinary affection for the king, especially when most of the domestic population were conservative farmers, making public support for the king very high.

Under the backdrop of reforms by Carlo and Prime Minister Primó making Spain prosperous, Carlo naturally received such preferential treatment.

Especially with the powerful propaganda of public opinion power, the Spanish people came to adore this foreign king Carlo, even affectionately calling him “the savior sent by God.”

In a sense, this was also related to Carlo’s Italian background. The center of Catholicism was in the Vatican, and the Vatican was located in Italy.

Carlo, as an Italian, being propagandized and deified as the savior sent by God was not surprising.

Although the truth was that Italy had always wanted to recapture the Vatican but was forced to abandon it due to pressure from Catholic believers, what did commoners care about that?

They were more willing to believe that Carlo was the savior sent by God to Spain, come to save the Spaniards oppressed by the evil Bourbon family for over a hundred years.

Even if some did not believe at first, with newspapers saying so and relatives and friends around saying so, they naturally came to believe under subtle influence.

It was precisely this kind of propaganda that gave Carlo extremely high popularity in Spain. Although most of the public did not reach fanatical loyalty toward Carlo, at least a considerable portion had a favorable impression of him.

In this monarchy country, having a favorable impression meant loyalty to the king. As long as Carlo did not personally promulgate any tyranny, public support for the king basically would not decrease much.

It could only be said that this was a characteristic of the era. Although technology was relatively backward, it also led to the ignorance of these people.

With some public opinion propaganda as assistance, Carlo’s image in most people’s minds could become extremely good, even turning into a very positive and great figure.

Under the bandwagon effect, such propaganda’s influence would become better and better, also giving Carlo higher status and influence in the hearts of Spaniards.

For Carlo, this was of course good news. But it also represented the power of public opinion, and that Carlo must master public opinion power.

As long as he held public opinion power in his hands, Carlo’s throne would not fear provocation from anyone. Public opinion power could not only unite the entire country’s public into a single force, but also make Carlo the controller of that force.

Although personal adoration had many drawbacks, for Spain at this time, perhaps personal adoration was the fastest way to enhance the nation’s comprehensive strength and ethnic group cohesion.

No need to overthink it: a Spain united and bravely advancing under Carlo’s orders would definitely be more powerful than one with intense faction struggles and constant quarrels between monarchy and republicanism.

At least Carlo had confidence in controlling this great ship of Spain, steering it toward a bright and warm harbor, rather than the storms in the ocean.

Speaking of the newspaper offices that were rushing to produce news about the royal eldest son.

Although they had learned of Carlo’s eldest son birth, they did not know the little one’s name or specific photographs.

But these were no longer important. Whoever could be the first to issue the newspaper would definitely seize the top spot in next day’s newspaper sales volume.

They could even use this opportunity to seize a large market share for newspapers, increasing the newspaper office’s influence and reputation.

There were also unique ones among the newspaper offices, such as the Spanish Sun Newspaper and the Spanish National Newspaper under the royal family.

These two newspapers were also rushing to print the big news of Carlo’s eldest son birth, but their news was obviously more detailed.

They not only knew Carlo’s eldest son’s name, but also the birth time and the news that he had already obtained the Count title of Genoa in Italy.

It was not strange for Carlo’s eldest son to receive an Italian count title, after all, Carlo was also an Italian Prince, the two royal families had blood relationships, and the two kings had an even closer father-son relationship.

But this also proved the Italian King Vittorio Emanuele II’s importance to this child, as European kings rarely granted nobility titles to princes of other countries.

Carlo’s Duke of Chambord title was obtained before becoming King of Spain, so it naturally did not count. But Carlo’s eldest son Juan Fernando was already the first heir to the Spanish throne, and also the first in line to inherit the Duke of Chambord. Under such circumstances, still obtaining the Count of Genoa title showed Vittorio Emanuele II’s emphasis.

What the editors of several newspaper offices regretted was that the Austro-Hungarian Empire side seemed not to grant a title to the newly born Spanish prince.

Otherwise, being granted noble nobility titles by two foreign countries right at birth would definitely be big news, attracting more interest.

Fortunately, their regret did not last long. Not long after, Carlo made another major decision: to grant his eldest son Juan Fernando the title of Duke of Montblanc.

The Duke of Montblanc was quite special in the Spanish noble system, of course, this was for the Catalan region.

When the Catalan region existed as a sovereign country, the Duke of Montblanc title was equivalent to the Crown Prince of Catalonia.

Of course, the current Catalan region was just an ordinary region of Spain, and the Duke of Montblanc was just an ordinary ducal title.

For Spain, the nobility title with Crown Prince symbolic meaning like the Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom was the Prince of Asturias.

However, Carlo had long decided not to strictly use primogeniture.

If the eldest son’s ability was not qualified, the future King of Spain candidate would be selected from his other children based on who was more excellent.

But if the eldest son’s ability was acceptable, Carlo did not plan to stir up trouble. Judging whether a prince’s ability was qualified required putting him through a certain degree of test.

Carlo had already planned the tests Prince Juan Fernando would face in the future. He would not only receive quite strict elite noble education from childhood, but also enter a military academy at age 16 to study, and after graduation become an ordinary officer.

After gaining at least three years of experience in the army, Carlo would gradually let him contact political affairs and train his political abilities.

During this period, if Carlo felt his eldest son was qualified, he would grant him the Prince of Asturias title, making him the true Crown Prince of Spain.

But if his performance in political affairs was not good and showed no potential for progress, Carlo would consider replacing him with someone more capable.

Of course, this was a very distant matter. Carlo also believed his children were not mediocrities and would grow into qualified monarchs under his cultivation.

Given Carlo’s age, his reign would basically cover World War I and World War II.

This also meant his son only needed to steadily develop the country without facing cruel world wars.

To a certain extent, this lowered the requirements for the heir to the throne. After all, world wars were unpredictable, and one misstep could plunge a hard-developed country into abyss.

If without sufficient ability, Carlo did not want to see his son experience a world war as the country’s ruler, which might make him the ultimate scapegoat.

Just like Wilhelm II after World War I. Wilhelm II was indeed the one who started World War I, but in the mid-to-late war, Germany’s actual commanders had become Hindenburg and the Junker nobility.

What was the final result? Hindenburg became President of Germany, while Wilhelm II, who was sidelined in the mid-to-late war, had his throne abolished instead.

After a night of rushed printing, the next day the news of Carlo’s joy at his eldest son spread through the streets and alleys of Spain.

Of course, the main dissemination locations were still around Madrid. To spread to other regions of Spain would take more time.

These newspaper offices had basically bet correctly, because the public was very concerned about the news of Carlo’s eldest son birth. That day’s newspaper sales volume was several times that of the previous day, making these newspaper offices that temporarily decided to rush print earn a fortune.

Among them, the Sun Newspaper and National Newspaper profited the most. They not only reported Carlo’s eldest son birth routinely, but also revealed that Carlo’s eldest son was named Juan Fernando.

Of course, this must have been with Carlo’s permission to reveal. Spain currently controlled public opinion institutions quite strictly; if Carlo did not want it, royal family news would hardly appear in newspapers, let alone in newspapers like the Sun Newspaper and National Newspaper controlled by the royal family.

Newspaper offices could report royal-related news or even fake news to attract attention, but the cost would be far heavier than the gains.

Previously, some bold people had tried, and not only faced fines of tens of thousands of pesetas, but their newspaper office’s top executives were all imprisoned.

Prime Minister Primó supported the royal family’s strengthened control over public opinion. After all, the royal family mainly managed newspaper reports about the royal family, and on this point, Prime Minister Primó shared the same attitude as Carlo: royal reports should try to report beneficial news.

If there was deliberate smearing of the royal family, it would undermine Spain’s existing monarchical system. If Spain’s monarchical system collapsed, the hard-maintained stability and development situation would be ruined.

Prime Minister Primó saw the situation very clearly. For current Spain, the king’s importance had been infinitely elevated.

If Spain became a republicanism country, those dormant nationalism elements would surely jump up again seeking independence.

Without the Spanish King’s great title integrating all Spanish regions as jurisprudence, how would the Spanish Government integrate all regions? By mere words? Of course not.

Five thousand word two-in-one chapter, seeking support!