An initiative of the Junta Central de Acción Católica after the death of Menéndez Pelayo in 1912, the idea was endorsed by the director of the National Library of Spain (BNE), Francisco Rodríguez Marín.

[3] Education Minister Fernando de los Ríos attempted to move the statue to another location in the 1930s, yet he was dissuaded by BNE director Miguel Artigas [es], who warned him it would be considered a sectarian action either way.

[9] Regàs counter-argued that (Ménendez Pelayo) "will never have a company as good as the one in the garden", accompanied by the likes of Cervantes, Lope de Vega, San Isidoro, or Nebrija.

[9] Following months of heated controversy, Regàs rectified and announced the dismissal of the plans to move the statue to the exterior garden in October 2006, on the basis of the reported fragility of the stone from Novelda.

[10] Years later, Regás still wondered about the ruckus the "extreme right media" had created around the move, claiming her intention was always to place the statue in a privileged location.