Isabelle II, Queen of Spain (1830-1904) Provenance This watch is accompanied by a personal card from Le Prince L. Ch. de Bourbon-Sidle, attesting that it used to belong to 11.1\4. the Queen Isabelle II of Spain. Isabella II, Queen of Spain, from 1833 to 1868, was born on October 10, 1830, in Madrid and died on April 9, 1904, in Paris. Her troubled reign was marked by political instability and the rule of military politicians. Isabella 's failure to respond to growing demands for a more progressive regime, her questionable private life, and her political irresponsability contributed to the decline in monarchical strength and prestige that led to her deposition in the Revolution of 1868. The elder daughter of Ferdinand VII by his fourth wife, Maria Cristina, Isabella was proclaimed Queen on her father's death in 1833. Her right to succeed to the throne was disputed by supporters of her uncle, Don Carlos, and her accession precipitated civil war (First Carlist War, 1833-39). During Isabella 's minority (1833-43), her mother and Gen. Baldomero Espartero, a hero of the civil war, acted successively as regents. In 1843 Espartero was dcsposcd by military officers and Isabella was declared of age. The period of Isabella 's personal rule, from 1843 to 1868, was characterized by political unrest and a series of uprisings. Her government was dominated by military politicians, most notably Gen. Ramon Maria Narvaez and the somewhat more liberal Gen. Leopoldo O'Donnell. Liberal opposition to the regime's authoritarianism became increasingly directed at the Queen. Scandalous reports on the private conduct of Isabella who lived apart from her husband, Francisco de Asis de Borbon, as well as her arbitrary political interference, further damaged the monarchical cause. The abortive uprising of 1866, and the deaths of O ' Donnell (1867) and Narvaez (1868), weakened her position further. In the antaunn of 1868 a successful revolution drove her into exile. Isabella settled in Paris, where in 1870 she abdicated in favour of her eldest surviving son, the future Alfonso XII (1874-85). She retur ned to Spain for a time after Alfonso 's accession but was unsuccessful in influencing political affairs.