Agustin de Iturbide was the first Emperor of Mexico. He came to the throne with a family in tow, and when the regime collapsed a few months later they were forced to flee the country. Who were these former princes and princesses?
Agustin de Iturbide was born in Mexico when it was still the colony of New Spain. His parents were Spanish nobles, which was vitally important to Iturbide. At the time, the colony had a class system that heavily relied on your bloodline and where you had been born. Peasants were, predictably, on the lowest rung; mestizos, people of mixed Spanish and indigenous heritage, were lower class than criollos, those born to noble Spaniards on Mexican shores. And, of course, Spanish-born nobility was at the very top. Agustin was plagued his entire life with accusations that his mother was a mestiza--or, worse, an indigenous woman--and his class anxiety played a part in many of his actions during wartime.
When Agustin was 22, he married Ana Maria Josefa Ramona de Huarte y Muniz. She was nineteen, born in the prosperous city of Valladolid--the same birthplace as Iturbide. Having lovely manners and grace, Ana Maria was also charming and beautiful. Most importantly, her bloodline was solid as a rock; she was the daughter of a nobleman named Isidro Huarte, a wealthy immigrant from the Navarre region of Spain; her mother was Ana Manuela Muniz, a member of the House of Tagle--one of the richest families in all of Spain. Indeed, Ana Maria was related to the First Marquis of Altamira on her mother's side.
In 1805 in an extravagant ceremony, Agustin and Ana Maria married; it was the high social event of the season, and the coupling was a perfect match. Ana Maria bore her first child, Agustin Jeronimo, two years later. The Mexican War of Independence started in 1810; while Iturbide initially fought against the uprising, he eventually switched sides and helped secure the nation's freedom from Spain. Then, in 1821, Agustin crowned himself the Emperor of the new country; suddenly, Ana Maria was an Empress; Jeronimo was the Prince Imperial, and his brothers and sisters were all royalty. They moved into a huge castle in Mexico City.
But it wasn't to last; fewer than ten months after it began, the first Mexican Empire collapsed. Agustin and his family were suddenly social outcasts in Italy after escaping to there, taking up residence for several months. The Spanish king was infuriated at the loss of his colony and the false royalty of the Iturbides, and urged the government of Italy to expel them. After settling in Great Britain, Agustin was urged to return to Mexico; the former Emperor was persuaded to help the conservative forces, after the economic situation deteriorated. However, Agustin was a traitor; he'd be killed if he ever returned. Whether he knew of this fact or not, he set sail back home in 1824.
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