Discreta regente, la austriaca o Doña Virtudeslas imágenes de María Cristina de Habsburgo

Abstract

Going beyond the legend of the discreet queen regent of Spain, María Cristina Hapsburg offers a multi-faceted image that may contribute to calibrating the political, cultural and social importance of the symbolic representation of the crown. The images of María Cristina posited by the establishment, the opposition and the people are analysed from different angles: the consolidation of a monarchy in crisis following the death of Alfonso XII a few years after the Republic, the creation of a yet-untried national identity and the shaping of gender stereotypes around the discourse of separation of spheres. The images often provided divergent responses to the circumstances distinguishing Maria Cristina from other monarchs: she was the queen regent and not the queen by right; she was a foreigner but sat on the Spanish throne and she was a woman but performed the role of the country’s supreme judge.