Kaulak (c. 1916). Wikimedia Commons.
15. Seeking to incite revolution in Spain and the overthrow of the monarchy, Mateu Morall bombed the royal wedding procession of King Alfonso XIII in 1906
Alfonso XIII, born posthumously in 1886 after the death of his father Alfonso XII the previous year, reigned as King of Spain from birth until his exile after the declaration of the Second Republic in 1931. Presiding over the end of the monarchy in Spain, if only temporarily, Alfonso was an unpopular ruler during a period of social and political upheaval, beginning with the Spanish-American War and the trials of the early-20th century. The victim of an attempted assassination on his wedding day, on May 31, 1906, Alfonso, along with his bride, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, were attacked by Mateu Morral on the streets of Madrid.
Seeking to incite revolution in Spain, Morral threw a bomb concealed in a bouquet of flowers from his hotel window at the passing royal procession. Killing twenty-four bystanders and soldiers, in addition to wounding more than one hundred others, the royal couple escaped unhurt. Fleeing the city under the cover of night, Morall was recognized in Torrejón de Ardoz two days later. Pursued by local militia, Morall killed one chaser before taking his own life. The attack mirrored a similar attempt that had occurred precisely one year to the day prior, leading to suggestions that the unattributed earlier event was also the work of Morall.