Tragedy of the death of Juan Carlos' brother Alfonso

Well one thing we can all be sure on. JC will have a healthy respect for guns.

How very sad to lose a brother

[MissSaga]

I never ever knew about this. Thanks for anyone who came with information!

[Tilla]

IMHO, I would like to say, that I have great respect for the Spanish Royal Family; they are all very courageous and brave.

[iowabelle]

It would seem rather pointless to open an investigation up now since so many of the witnesses are deceased. And if the investigation revealed that the king of Spain was a murderer, could (or would) any further actions be taken? My guess is that no prosecution would be pursued.

And just to clarify what I think... I don't think the young Juan Carlos intentionally killed his brother.

[Carminha Stalker]

We were spending holidays in Portugal (my Father´s country) when this tragedy happened. As the SRF lived in Estoril, which is very close to Lisbon, we had passed several times by their home. At the time, I remember vividly that it was treated as an accident, that happened when the two brothers were cleaning a gun.I´ll never believe JC would have killed his brother. The whole family was devastated by this tragedy.

[brucantuosi]

It is very sad what happened then. I don't think King Juan Carlos killed his brother, I think this was an accident.

[marco]

Originally Posted by rattie21

New article on this topic in this months Royalty magazine. They interviewed people that were at the time of the tragedy and still are close friends of JC's apparently it was a prank that went wrong and that it was JC that fired the gun.

Royalty Magazine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Jaya]

That was soo long ago. A half a century has passed and I think there is timeframe where no one can re-open the case because of the length of time. Does anybody know how the statute of limitations is applicable in Europe ?
Clearly an accident and that was ascertained at a time when an incident such as this one would have been more severly punished than today. I see it as pointless to dredge the depths with it again.

[Hereditary Thane]

The job of kings' is to keep and protect justice. So many have turned a blind eye to the lack of it for the poor. As the Spanish say, "With the rich and powerful always a little patience." If we allow untruths to persist then it says a great deal about our morality. The shooting accident was excatly that, but if there is evidence to the contrary then of course it should be heard.

[JSP]

There was never any shroud of doubt that it was anything but an accident.

I've never heard the theory that the CoB was thinking of passing his rights to Alfonsito as he feared that JC was being dominated by Franco.
Besides, the CoB could not jump the succession line as it pleased him.

It was indeed an unfortunate accident, and, on the first line, there is one person to blame:
The Countess of Barcelona.

The Count was a rigid man who had forbidden his sons to play with guns, namely inside the house.
The kids knew that he kept the gun in a locked cabinet and asked their mother the key.
With a certain reluctance, foolishly she agreed, and gave them the key.
While playing with the gun, JC accidentally fired it against Alfonsito.

The Countess was in deep shock when she heard the shot.

Don Juan ran to the room where the little Infant was already dead and made JC sware on the Bible that he hadn't done it on purpose (maybe that's the reason for the story told at the TV doc.).

In a rage, D.Juan left their house, Villa Giralda in Monte Estoril, sat on his car and drove to the cliffs in Cascais - Boca do Inferno "Hell's Mouth" - where he threw the gun to the ocean never to be found.

A couple of days after the funeral, he embarked with some portuguese friends on a yacht and cruised the Atlantic for some weeks.

Meanwhile the Countess was admitted in a psychiatric clinic in Germany as a result of a severe nervous breakdown.

I've often thought of the destiny of the two Infantas on those days, who were left alone, their father at sea, the mother in a psychiatric clinic, one brother dead and the other back in Spain to follow his studies...

José

[Katrianna]

Thank you Jose for your account. It was a terrible tragedy. I'm sure that the Countess lived with guilt and remorse every day until she died and always questioned why she had let her sons get the gun.

[Marsel]

Originally Posted by JSP

There was never any shroud of doubt that it was anything but an accident.

I've never heard the theory that the CoB was thinking of passing his rights to Alfonsito as he feared that JC was being dominated by Franco.
Besides, the CoB could not jump the succession line as it pleased him.

....

Of course Franco never planned to bypass Juan Carlos in favour of his younger brother. The confusion might have arisen from the fact that in the 60s Franco did toy with the idea of naming another Alfonso - the grandson of Alfonso XIII, son of Infante Jaime and future Duke of Anjou and Cadiz, as his 'Heir', before designating Juan Carlos as the future Monarch.
(as a side note, for some time Alfonso's chances seemed more realistic as he was married to Maria del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco, daughter of Cristóbal, 10th Marquess of Villaverde and Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco - Franco's only daughter).

I agree that it was only a terrible tragedy, which undoubtedly marred the lives of everyone directly or indirectly involved in it.

[iowabelle]

I think Don Juan behaved badly, abandoning the family when they were all so distraught, especially the Countess and JC. Those are the times you need family most.

Perhaps it is a revelatory look at the nature of their marriage (no wonder Sofia had some problems with her husband if these were his role models as to marriage).

[Patra]

What a terrible tragedy, I had no idea about this loss in the Spanish Royal Family. It does seem to me that so much time has passed, that it would not benifical to rehash this at this point. It wont bring back the dead.

[Maura724]

Originally Posted by JSP

I've often thought of the destiny of the two Infantas on those days, who were left alone, their father at sea, the mother in a psychiatric clinic, one brother dead and the other back in Spain to follow his studies...

How sad for them. How old were the girls at the time?

[Jaya]

If you look at pics of JC after this tragic accident he looks like he has post traumatic stress disorder for years on end.Even at his marriage with Sofia there are vestiges of sadness and a vague look of bewilderment.
It is only recently that he has gotten rid of that 'look' he had about him. What would be the purpose to bring this up again? Would it bring Alfonso back ? No
JC has shown remorse and how. Case closed for me.

[Popsiq]

Now we are told Juan Carlos' grandson has shot himself - accidentally again- in the foot. In like fashion the stories vary with the kind of gun involved - a rifle or a small bore shotgun.

Of course that might make a significant difference to the regal 'gait' if a small calibre bullet damage a toe or two, as opposed to the damage caused by a load of small shot at close range.

A difference this time is that the police are investigating a minor handling a firearm. At age 14 the princeling shouldn't have been using a gun.

Perhaps the Royals should wait until adulthood, or even middle age, before starting to handle firearms. But 'boys will be boys' at any age when it comes to 'playing' with guns.

[An Ard Ri]

I've read that the late Countess of Barcelona never fully got over the terrible tragedy on Holy Thursday 1956 that befell the then exiled Royal Family at Estoril.

[Artemisia]

What mother would?
The aftermath of such a terrible tragedy can never be fully overcome.
I imagine King Juan Carlos to be most affected though; the sense of guilt must be haunting him to this day.

As a child, I once accidentally pushed my elder sister out of the first-floor window of our house, resulting in a deep cut on her hand (38 stitches required); to this day, the incident makes me feel guilty. How the King must feel, knowing he killed his own younger brother - I doubt anyone can truly understand it.

[Grandduchess24]

OMG I didnt even know about this, certainly the king feels so much guilt for this but this is so tragic, and was his only brother.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infan...pain#section_2