Was VE beloved by the Spanish people?
Now she is

. I've read that she was and that she wasn't but it's true that the only time she came back to Spain after the exile, for Felipe's christening, she stayed at the Duchess of Alba's palace, and so many people went to see her that they opened the palace so everybody could greet the Queen. Everybody says(the Duchess, the butler..)that there were many, many people and they spent many hours until everybody greeted her.
She liked luxurious things, smoked and was advanced for Spain at that time, above all for her mil, Mª Cristina of Austria, who was her antithesis in everything.
She also was incredibly involved in the Red Cross in Spain and is still praised by the organization. A picture of her dressed in the Red Cross uniform:
