In 1935, he was authorised by King Alfonso XIII to accept the appointment as Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus.

He took part in the Spanish Civil War on the Nationalist side, loyal to Francisco Franco.

Subsequently, on 12 December 1935, he was authorised by his cousin King Alfonso XIII to accept the appointment as 44th Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus, hence resurrecting the office that had been vacant since 1814 after the 43rd Grand Master, Louis Stanislas Xavier of France, became King Louis XVIII after the Bourbon Restoration.

The symbolic value of this appointment was limited, however, by the fact that the Spanish Republic itself dissolved the royal orders in 1933.

[2][3][4] The Order of Saint Lazarus in Spain was subsequently officially accepted by the Spanish Republican Government by decree dated 9 May 1940.