King Alfonso XIII of Spain - could he really not recognise the national anthem?

[Cunctator]

I came across one of those trivia facts last night:

King Alfonso XIII of Spain (reigned 1886-1931) was so tone-deaf that he employed one man whose sole duty was to tell the King to stand up whenever the Spanish national anthem was played, since the King wasn’t able to recognise it.

Does anyone know whether this was really true? Is it possible for a person to be that tone-deaf?

[Cunctator]

No takers?

[Nava]

Well, considering that the dates are all wrong, I don’t think the rest of the quote would be accurate.

The dates add together Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII.

[Polycarp]

Well, Alfonso XIII never stood up for the national anthem when he was first made king – he was a posthumous heir of his father, and on the throne from birth. No idea about the tonedeafness though.

[Freddy_the_Pig]

@Nava

The dates add together Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII.

No, those are the right regnal dates, although it includes his childhood, when his mother was regent.

In The Spanish Bourbons: The History of a Tenacious Dynasty, John Bergamini discusses Alfonso’s personality in some detail and notes that he wasn’t much of a patron of music but was “quite fond of military marches”. No comment about tone-deafness one way or the other.

[Nava]

@Freddy the Pig

No, those are the right regnal dates, although it includes his childhood, when his mother was regent.

You’re right, my bad. Sorry.

[Cunctator]

@Freddy the Pig

In The Spanish Bourbons: The History of a Tenacious Dynasty, John Bergamini discusses Alfonso’s personality in some detail and notes that he wasn’t much of a patron of music but was “quite fond of military marches”. No comment about tone-deafness one way or the other.

Thanks for that. A fondness for military marches doesn’t really seem consistent with such a degree of tone-deafness that he wasn’t able to recognise his own national anthem. I assume this was just another of those made-up internet facts.