Named after Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, the wife of the reigning king of Spain at the time, this ship was laid down in March 1915. The project was influenced by the design of British cruiser Birmingham. Between 1923 and 1926, the ship took part in the Rif War; between 1928 and 1929, she underwent a major overhaul; and in 1930, she was transferred to the naval school in Cadiz. After the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, she was renamed República. With the start of the Spanish Civil War, the ship was seized by the rebel nationalists, and in 1937, her name was changed again to Navarra.