HISTORICAL DICTIONARY A–Z - Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 198

(grandson of A LFONSO XIII) while seeking
to establish the concept of a future monar-
chy shaped in the Franquist image. Both
the prince and the public were constantly
told that nothing would really change
when El Caudillo was gone. Franco had
always maintained a distance from his
subjects and kept his innermost thoughts
secret, even from close associates, while
preserving an aura of mysterious power.
This habit also isolated him from reality—
especially in his later years. Franco had
long identified himself with the great fig-
ures of Spain's past: El Cid, C HARLES I,
P HILIP II. Sycophantic propaganda that had
engulfed Spain for nearly 40 years eventu-

ally convinced even its protagonist that he
was all knowing and all powerful. When
he finally succumbed to the infirmities of
old age (although only after a hard strug-
gle), Franco undoubtedly imagined that all
would work out as he had planned. Instead
he was succeeded by a king who embraced
the concept of democracy and won a mass
following that protected Spain against both
the old specter of marxist revolution and
the chance of a Franquist military coup.
Ironically, the soldier who had waded to
power through a sea of blood and ruled for
decades with an iron hand was destined to
fade rapidly into the ranks of historical
phantoms.