Compassionate Kings and Rebellious Princes

History may not repeat itself, but there is no gainsaying its fondness for close affinities. When in 1807 Ferdinand, heir to the throne, stood accused by his father, Charles IV of Spain, of sedition and seeking to usurp the royal title, the young prince fearfully recalled the analogous events two hundred and forty years previously.

In 1568 Philip II had similarly confronted his recalcitrant son Carlos, resulting in the latter’s imprisonment and mysterious death seven months later. Rumour had it that the Catholic monarch, for reasons of state, had sanctioned his own son’s death. Might not Charles follow the sacrificial example of his illustrious forbear and remove the self-confessed threat to his own position?

The parallels are interesting but deceptive. Both Carlos and Ferdinand were twenty-three years old at the time of their respective altercations, both were tragically warped in mind and weak in body, and imbued with a passionate hatred towards their father (for good measure Ferdinand extended his antipathy to his mother). There can be little doubt that the two princes secretly conspired with foreign powers inimical to Spain’s interests.