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About this time it was noticed that the King listened patiently to his Ministers, but did not always act upon their advice. He developed a most curious thirst for knowing all the facts of a case and, more extraordinary, he even insisted upon knowing both sides of a question. Never before had a King of Spain been so unreasonable. Matters went from bad to worse, in the opinion of certain politicians. The King actually insisted on visiting the remotest parts of his kingdom in order to understand specific problems at first hand. He let it be known that he had the people's interests at heart and with great courage he carried out his policy. His indifference to convention aroused the affection of all; for example, when Señor Canalejas was assassinated, he dashed from the Palace in a cab to the Home Office where the body had been taken; and on the day of the funeral he walked at the head of the mourners.
From the first day of the War, the King showed that he was wholeheartedly on the side of the Allies. Although he vigorously maintained, as Monarch, a proper attitude of neutrality, he personally went farther in assisting the Allies than did any other neutral sovereign. His first act was to assure France through his Government that there was no need to maintain a large Army on the Franco-Spanish frontier. The French relied upon his assurances and transferred no less than three army corps from the Pyrenees to the battlefields of northern France. More signal proof of his attachment to the Allied cause were his efforts on the behalf of prisoners-of-war and his great services in ascertaining the fate of soldiers and civilians reported missing. He was, through his personal organization, enabled to help stricken relatives in every way possible by forwarding parcels and organizing charities. Another thing, not at all well known, was that the King offered to lead an Army himself in the Allied cause. The offer was refused as clearly impossible if Spain were to maintain a neutral attitude. And, in last proof of his devotion to the Allies, at a time when the fortunes of the Central Powers were at their highest and pro-German feeling in Madrid was openly evinced, Alfonso was quoted as saying: "In Madrid, only the canaille and myself are pro-Ally."
In the present year, the 39th of Alfonso's reign and age, this tall, slight man with the ready smile—gay, brave to the point of recklessness, with features in no wise handsome, but none the less attractive—is in reality a monarch beloved by his people. Much more than his embittered enemies may he be called a democrat of Spain. Hard-worker, severely earnest in fulfilling his responsibilities, unusually tactful and liberal-minded, rapid and accurate in his decisions, he combines to a high degree of perfection those qualities of intellect for which he has earned recognition. If he has had his affaires—and he has—they have in no way diminished his ability to rule.