Carlos son of Philip. History of Spain

(Post updated) Parents always love their children. This axiom sometimes fails, but in general, when we are touched by photographs of our own child or the same George of Cambridge, we are not much different in this from people who lived several centuries ago.
How, if not parental love, can explain the desire to capture the unique moments of childhood, touching muzzles and delicate curls, toys and elegant dresses? Especially when children's life is so fragile and sometimes, alas, short-lived. Portraits of princes and princesses from the Habsburg dynasty, rulers - in those days - of almost half of the world, give us a unique opportunity to look into the past and flip through the family album of the royal family. They were brought up like little soldiers, with the realization of a huge debt to their family and country, whose interests they always had to put before their own. And yet, being far from the ceremonial, arrogant crowned persons became just parents, and the children remained just children.

Generation one. Philip II (1527-1598), son of Emperor Charles V, elevated Spain to the pinnacle of European power. He united the Iberian Peninsula under his rule, becoming the king of Portugal. He owned the vast lands and gold of the Aztecs and Incas on the distant American continent. The sun never set in his empire. If not for a chain of accidents, it is quite possible that the Great Armada he sent would have conquered England, swept the Tudors from the throne and restored Catholicism there. And yet, like all rulers, Philip was obsessed with the desire to continue his family...

From his first wife, Maria of Portugal, Philip had a son, named after his grandfather Carlos.
At the age of fourteen, a young and handsome infante was betrothed to a pretty and young French princess, but suddenly his bride was intercepted by his own, widowed againfather. It was rumored that the stepmother and stepson were not indifferent to each other, because Carlos never married afterwards. Having received a severe head injury from a fall from a horse, the infant begins to suffer something like the “King Henry VIII syndrome” - he becomes violent, cruel and uncontrollable, which leads to his isolation, imprisonment by order of his father and death (according to gossip, as a result of poisoning poison).

Don Carlos (1545-1568)

The marriage of Philip with Elizabeth of France produced only two viable girls, but what!
Infantes Isabel Clara Eugenia and Catalina Michaela, having lost their mother early, became the light of the eyes of their father, a hard and cold man, and the ideal of princesses of that time. His letters to them, who subsequently lived away from him, he always signed "your loving father." Perhaps these are the two most beautiful and interesting princesses of the Spanish Habsburgs in all respects. The sisters, who were separated only by a year of age difference, loved each other very much.

Above - Isabel 2 years old, Catalina - 1 year old
Below - Isabel 5 years old, Catalina - 4 years old

Catalina Michaela

What amazes me about these portraits is the unchildish seriousness of facial expressions. In the first image above, Catalina is only 7 years old, but she already seems to be a bride. Only a frivolous narcissus flower in her hair and a marmoset monkey with grubs in her paw, brought to the princess by sailors from the distant Amazonian jungle, contrast both with the sadness on this sweet face and with the mournful severity of clothes (at that time the princesses lost their beloved aunt Juana, father's sister) .
If you look closely, in the second general portrait of the sisters above, there is an equally cute detail with the beloved pets of Isabel and Catalina:
Isabel in 1579 - 13 years old. Her father trusted her mind and judgment so much that he allowed her to stay in his office, help with papers and translate reports from Italian, which she spoke well, into Spanish.She has been engaged to the future emperor, the Austrian cousin Rudolf, since the age of two, and is patiently waiting for the wedding, only strange things are told about him, and it does not seem that he intends to marry at all ...

Sisters in 1575, aged 9 and 8. The wreath is a symbol of their mutual affection, preserved for life.

In public, they, imitating their father, seemed arrogant and withdrawn, but no one could ever deny not only their feminine beauty, but also their intelligence and diplomatic abilities.
Catalina will marry at the age of 18, as part of the union of the Spanish king and her fiancé, the Duke of Savoy. Isabel will have to wait for her betrothed until the age of 33, and it will not be Emperor Rudolph at all, but his younger brother.

With father and younger brother Felipe.


And now they are quite grown up. Catalina Michaela, Duchess of Savoy (left) is simply enchanting, while Isabel looks exactly what she has become - the successful ruler of the Spanish Netherlands.

And it seems that Isabel retained the childhood love for animals that distinguished her from her sister. (below in the portrait - Isabel with her husband Albert of Austria, dogs and monkeys visit the studio of an art collector).

But let's not forget that their father, having become a widow and without a male heir, hastily married for the fourth time - this time to his own niece Anna. Although this laid another time bomb in the genetic catastrophe of the Spanish Habsburgs, the patter of small feet was heard again in the chambers of the ancient palace of the Escurial, and court painters were in a hurry to capture new princes and princesses.

Four year old Ferdinand.

Two year old Diego Felix.
Despite the dress, we have a real little man in front of us. By the age of five, he already knew the alphabet, knew how to dance and learned Portuguese in order to become a worthy monarch of the united Iberian Peninsula ...

Diego with his younger brother Felipe.
Below in the portrait is Felipe. He is destined to become the successor of their father, the future Philip III. Alas, little Ferdinand will die at the age of seven from dysentery, and the next, Diego, at the same age from smallpox. After all, not everything is subject to kings ...

And adult Felipe...

Generation two. Following the tradition of his family, Felipe III married his cousin, Margaret of Austria. Remember Queen Anne from The Three Musketeers? In the next touching portrait, she, the firstborn of her parents, is still in diapers.

1602. The future queen is a year old and has been christened with the long Spanish name Ana Maria Mauricia.

The happy chubby baby has a rich selection of toys: in addition to two crucifixes, a coral thing that is useful for teething and alsoto protect against diseases and the evil eye.

Three years.

1607. Growing up Ana Maria Mauricia with her younger brother Felipe. She is 6 years old, he is 2 years old.

Anya Mauricia is 6 years old.

Ana Mauricia is 9 and Felipe is 5 years old.Children's feet have either a dog or a monkey.

Ana Mauricia (11 years old) with her brother Felipe (7).

It seems that while the older children, Ana Maria Mauricia and Felipe, were very friendly, the younger ones - Maria Ana, Ferdinand, Carlos, Alfonso and Margherita Francisca, also grouped among themselves.

Infanta Maria Ana

1612. Infante Carlos (5 years old) and Infanta Maria Ana (6 years old).

1612. Seven-year-old Felipe, the future King Philip the Fourth.

Ferdinand of Spain tortures a bird.

Infante Alfonso

Infanta Margherita Francisca (1610-1617)

1610. Two younger brothers: Ferdinand and Alfonso. Note that Ferdinand was promised to the church from birth. Already at the age of ten he became the archbishop of Toledo, and a little later - a cardinal.

Infante Alfonso inherited a wheelchair from his older brother Felipe. Together with sister Margarita Francisca and brother Ferdinand.

Alfonso with his sister Margherita Francisca. Unfortunately, the boy lived in the world for only one year.

The children have grown up. Ana Mauricia of Spain is the bride of King Louis XIII of France.

Anya is 15 years old - Queen of France. Here I became thoughtful... 15 years?? But respectable Spanish princesses theoretically did not use cosmetics ...

And finally, her sisters and brothers who survived to adulthood:

Philip IV, King of Spain. The famous "Habsburg Bay". It is said that this king smiled only three times in his life. Most likely, he smiled at his children, because he did not really love his wives and cheated on them.

His younger brother Don Carlos (1607-1632) and Maria Ana (1606-1646)

Cardinal Ferdinand

Generation three. Philip the Fourth broke the tradition of inbreeding and did not marry a cousin, as one might assume. It was a double dynastic union: Infanta Ana Mauricia married the king of France, and Philip married his sister, Elisabeth de Bourbon. Of their eight children, only two survived: Baltazar Carlos and Maria Teresa.
At the age of seventeen, the heir to the throne, previously strong and healthy, suddenly died of smallpox, thereby forever depriving the Spanish Habsburgs of the opportunity to have a capable ruler in the future. Diego Velasquez left us many wonderful portraits of Baltazar Carlos:

Infanta Maria Teresa, future wife of King Louis XIV.

Having married a second time, Philip the Fourth made the worst choice he could in order to get a new heir. He, like his father, married his niece, from the Austrian branch of the family, named Mariana. By the way, the girl was previously the bride of Baltazar Carlos.

I honestly do not understand how it was possible after such a lovely Frenchwoman, Elizabeth of France,
to marry such a ... hmm ... sad Austrian ...

In some surprising way, many Habsburgs, utterly adorable as children, seemed to mutate as adults. For as a child, Mariana looked like this:

Of the five children of the uncle and niece, only a healthy girl and two hardly viable boys stayed in the world. . Unfortunately for Philip the Fourth, nature said a categorical "fi", not wanting to continue closely related reproduction.

Infante Felipe Prospero, who died of epilepsy at the age of 4.

Margarita Teresa, Velazquez's favorite and the heroine of the famous Menin, will repeat the fate of her mother and will be married to her uncle. But in these portraits she is forever captured as an eternally young and spontaneous doll.

At the age of 13 or 14, she lost some weight and turned ugly, and her face is as sad as Mariana's, but still pretty.

Margarita Teresa - wife of the Emperor of Austria. They will be united by religiosity and love of music, but a series of difficult births and miscarriages will undermine her health and bring her to the grave at the age of 21.

And finally, the last monarch from the Spanish Habsburg family, Carlos II. This is where the family resemblance turned into a surrealist painter's nightmare. Until the age of four, he could not talk, and until the age of eight, he could not walk. His jaw was so severely deformed that it interfered with both speech and normal eating.

Infant and child portraits of Carlos.

Until ten, he was actually treated like a baby (although Carlos became king at the age of five). He was both mentally and physically handicapped, and apparently could not have children, although he was married twice. His death brought Spain into a disastrous war with France and marked the beginning of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty.
The Spanish Habsburgs are one of the shortest royal dynasties, and the reason for this is obvious. Only kings: Charles the Fifth, Philip II, Philip III, Philip the Fourth and Charles II. By the way, such closely related marriages, which were practiced by the Habsburgs, could take place only with papal permission. And since Spain was the main pillar of the papacy, such permissions, of course, were given without problems. Like, under your responsibility. And everyone forgot that it was not without reason and not contrary to common sense that questions of kinship during marriage were so carefully regulated earlier by church councils.

Philip II - Spanish king. A brief biography of this ruler testifies to the despotism and rigidity of his character. At the same time, the period of his reign is the time of the highest power of the country.

Philip 2 Spanish: history

The reign of this monarch is 1527-1598. Who was Philip 2 of Spain? The ruler's ancestors are Charles V and the future king was born in Valladolid. During a visit to his possessions in Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, the future monarch immediately felt the hostile attitude of his subjects. Subsequently, their mutual misunderstanding was aggravated by the fact that the ruler did not know a single language well, with the exception of Castilian.

Childhood

Philip II of Spain spent his childhood in Castile. His father was the emperor of Rome and heir to the Habsburg territories. From 1516 he was also king of Spain. He ruled while traveling through North Africa and Europe. Valladolid and Toledo were the main cities where Philip II of Spain grew up. The family barely saw their father. State affairs demanded that Charles V be constantly present in the territories subject to him. When Philip's mother died, he was not 12. In his early years, he developed a love for nature. Fishing, hunting, trips to nature became the activities in which Philip II of Spain found solace. The self-consciousness of the monarch also began to manifest itself quite early. From a young age, he was distinguished by religiosity, love of music. Mentors instilled in him a craving for reading. His library consisted of 14 thousand volumes.

Accession to the board

Philip II of Spain (whose photo reproductions of portraits are presented in the article) developed his political views with the direct participation of his father. Despite a long absence and rare visits home, Charles V tried personally, through letters and special instructions, to instruct his son in matters of government. Father always talked about great political responsibility, the need to hope in God. Charles urged his son to be proportionate and fair in his decisions, urged him to defend the old faith, not to allow heretics under any circumstances.

Initial management stage

During the years of his first regency (from 1543 to 1548), Philip II of Spain received the most important experience of government. He was supported by the experienced top of the Council. In addition, he constantly consulted with his father, agreed with him on many issues. During this period, Philip II of Spain performed a dual function. He acted primarily as a regent in charge. In this regard, observing the political interest, he married in 1543 Mary, the daughter of the ruler of Portugal. Secondly, Philip 2 of Spain had to follow very closely everything that happens in Germany. During that period, the main actions in this territory were carried out by his father. Philip also needed to be able to mobilize the resources of Spain for the subsequent costly policy. In 1547, Charles V defeated the Protestants. This moment marked the rise of the emperor to the height of his power.

Arrival in Germany

The events taking place on the territory of the empire, as well as the fact that the son of Ferdinand (Charles' brother), who was prophesied as ruler, sympathized with the Protestants, confirmed Father Philip in the opinion that it was time to prepare the heir for the throne. He was ordered to come to the Netherlands and Germany. The years 1548-1559 became an excellent school for European political life for the young monarch. In the autumn of 1548, Philip II of Spain went to Italy. Along the way, with a retinue of two thousand, he stopped in Milan, Genoa, Trient, Mantua. Then he crossed the Alps, visited Heidelberg, Speyer, Munich. Through Luxembourg, he went to Brussels, where he met with his father.

Getting to know the Netherlands

The journey of the young monarch was accompanied by numerous feasts and holidays, in which Philip II, the Spanish king, took an active part. A short biography is full of many events. So, from July 1550 to May 1551, he was present at the Augsburg Reichstag. Here the monarch met Ferdinand (his uncle) and his son, Maximilian. In 1549 Philip traveled around the Netherlands. Having got acquainted with this country, he learned to appreciate it. The impressions brought from the Netherlands largely influenced the architecture of the parks and buildings that Philip later built in Spain. At the same time, the monarch took the most direct part in the planning of complexes and ensembles. Painting aroused particular delight in the monarch. Soon his collection was replenished with paintings by prominent artists. There were 40 Bosch paintings alone.

Loss of power by Charles V

In 1551, Philip returned to Spain for 3 years. From there, he tried to act independently, supporting his father in the uprising of the German princes. However, Charles and, accordingly, his son lost power in the empire. Ferdinand and Maximilian were able to defend their interests in Germany against the line of the Habsburgs, which, by the way, has now become Spanish. As a result, Charles had to cede the emperorship. Nevertheless, he was able to provide Philip with possessions in Italy and the Netherlands. He intended to strategically protect the territories of the latter with the help of his son's marriage to Mary Tudor, who was much older than him. For this, Philip received the Kingdom of Naples. The young monarch moved to London.

Death of father and wife

A year after the events described above, Karl's health deteriorated significantly. He gave his son first the Netherlands, and then Spain. For another two years, the father wrote instructions to his son, until in 1558, in September, he died. Mary Tudor died two months later. All this allowed Philip to return to Spain in 1559. The monarch was 33 years old. Adversity in his personal life, fifteen years of political experience made him a mature husband. Philip II of Spain, like no other European ruler, was ready to take responsibility for the fate of his state.

Aims of the Monarch

What kind of ruler was Philip II of Spain? A brief biography of the monarch indicates that he understood the importance of his existence, responsibility before God himself for the salvation of the souls of his subjects. His supreme goal was to preserve and expand the possessions of the House of Habsburg, provide protection from Turkish raids, contain the Reformation, fight against its adherents through the reform of the Catholic Church. In many ways, the tasks that he set for himself were consistent with those that his father solved. But at the same time, there was also a specificity in the policy pursued by Philip II of Spain. The king, unlike his father, ruled the country mainly from one permanent residence. During his time on the throne, he only came to Portugal for 2 years, after taking the throne in 1580, Charles V constantly participated in military campaigns. Philip II of Spain was completely different. The king sent his generals on military campaigns.

Residence transfer

In 1561 Philip moved to Madrid. From 1563 to 1568, the Escorial was built next to it. It was a symbolic center of power. It contained a residence, a dynastic tomb and a monastery. With the transfer of central government and his court, the king accomplished what had already been completed in England and France. Since that moment, Madrid began to acquire the features of the capital.

Government style

Philip clearly followed the advice of his father, tried to ensure that he did not become dependent on individual advisers. In general, the style of his government can be called bureaucratic and authoritarian. Few representatives of the highest aristocracy were involved in the central administration to solve military and foreign policy problems. One of these persons, for example, was the grandee Philip 2 of Spain, who assigned the duties of ambassadors to European courts. However, he still removed them from the central control. Key assistants were predominantly legal scholars, often with clerical titles. Most of them were educated at the leading colleges and universities in Castile.

They acted as key governing bodies. Councils have evolved since the time of the Catholic rulers. Charles V improved their structure. Some of the organs were endowed with rather capacious functions. In particular, the State Council decided the most important foreign policy issues, the Financial Council was responsible for money circulation. Under Philip, the body in charge of military policy was finally formed. The Council of the Inquisition, created in 1483, had supra-regional competence. It was he who became the key central power structure under Philip. Other advisory bodies were endowed mainly with regional competence. For example, the Councils of Aragon, Castile, and overseas territories operated in the country. In 1555, an independent body emerged that was in charge of the affairs of Italy. In the course of the emergence of new tasks, Philip II of Spain created the Councils of the Netherlands and Portugal. Collegiate bodies were endowed with judicial, legislative and administrative powers. These structures assisted the monarch in resolving various issues and were used to exchange views.

The principle of interaction with authorities

Philip rarely attended meetings of the Soviets. Usually deliberative structures provided draft decisions in writing in the form of recommendations. Secretaries acted as intermediaries. They were also members of the Councils. In the eighties, these secretaries were united in the junta. Under Philip, it became the most important governing body. The monarch, when interacting with advisory structures, secretaries and other responsible officials, was guided by the principle of "divide and rule." Councils held meetings separately from each other. Often, even secretaries and a small circle of employees were not fully informed about all issues.

Punishments

Philip did not tolerate the neglect of officials to their duties. If someone was seen using his position for selfish purposes or failing to fulfill the assigned tasks, he was immediately deprived of his position and removed from the court. Such a fate, for example, befell the secretaries Antonio Perez and Francisco de Eraso. They were taken into custody. The Duke of Alba also periodically lost confidence due to arbitrariness in the Netherlands. Don Carlos, the son of Philip, was also arrested. The death of the heir saved the country from a deep foreign and domestic political crisis. It is worth noting the public outcry that arose during these events. Philip's contemporaries did not doubt for a moment that the decisiveness of the monarch was determined by the state necessity to ensure the protection of dynastic interests. At the same time, the rigidity of the ruler created the ground for political propaganda launched by opponents. Throughout Europe, it was called legenda negra. Its echoes became the basis for the works of German writers F. Schiller ("Don Carlos"), G. Mann, T. Mann.

Revolution in the Netherlands

The rebellion was largely driven by Philip's actions. He rigorously introduced and strengthened the Inquisition in the Netherlands. The persecution of Muslims, Protestants and Jews intensified. The Dutch hated the monarch. To all the complaints and requests that came to him, he responded with orders to crush heretics, without showing any leniency. In 1565-1567 the uprising grew. Then Philip sent Alba, one of the outstanding generals, to the country. All his successors could not make peace with the Netherlands. Philip has always been against any compromise. He sat in his residence and from there sent letters with orders to his proteges. In 1581, the states general in The Hague announced that Philip was deprived of his possessions in the Netherlands. At the same moment, England advanced against the monarch.

"Invincible armada"

After the death of his first wife, Mary, Philip wanted to marry her successor, Elizabeth. However, the latter rejected the offer. As the successes of the Netherlands grew, Elizabeth showed more and more sympathy for their causes. The adventurer under the auspices of the English government attacked the Spanish coast. Elizabeth sent help to the Netherlands - a large detachment of infantry and artillery. In turn, Philip decided to deal her a decisive blow. In 1588, he sent a huge flotilla to the English coast - the "Invincible Armada". But on the campaign, almost all the ships (and there were 130 of them) were lost in a storm and during attacks by enemy ships. Philip never made peace with Elizabeth. Until his death, the country was attacked by the British. The Spanish treasury was depleted. There was no money even to create at least a small defensive fleet.

Descendants

During the entire reign, Philip II of Spain was married four times. His children were of different sexes. The first son - don Carlos - was born from Mary of Portugal. She died after the birth of her first child. Philip had no children from his second wife, Mary Tudor. At the same time, Don Carlos died under rather strange circumstances. It is known that he suffered from mental illness. In the third marriage, daughters were born. One of them began to rule in the Southern Netherlands. Philip tried to make her queen of France. As for the heir to the throne, he was the only son of the monarch. Philip 3 was born in a marriage with She was originally intended for Don Carlos. It is known from history that Philip II often changed mistresses. Numerous wars, barbarism in relation to the commercial and labor population for religious beliefs ruined the once rich state ruled by Philip 2 of Spain. He spent the end of his life in physical suffering. He developed gout.

Personal assessment

Protestant and Catholic authors characterize Philip 2 in completely different ways. The former describe the monarch as a bloody monster, attributing various vices to him. At the same time, they emphasize his unpleasant, repulsive appearance. An atmosphere of suspicion reigned in the ruler's court. The administration of the state was accompanied by vile intrigues. At the same time, Philip was considered a patron and connoisseur of art. During his reign, literature and painting experienced their golden age. It was during this period that El Greco, Lope de Vega became known to the world. The heyday continued until the second half of the 17th century. Philip's collection included rare paintings from all over Europe. His love for books has already been mentioned above. In his library were collected works of Copernicus, Erasmus. Despite the depletion of the treasury by the end of Philip's life, the country during his reign entered the international arena as a powerful state. In many ways, this was facilitated by the policy of the monarch's father, Charles V. However, the suspiciousness, suspicion, and cruelty of Philip II destroyed the country.

Don Carlos, Infante of Spain... the son of Philip II of Spain (from the Habsburg family), who earned the nickname Bloody... an unfortunate young man, hated by his father and ruined by him at the age of 22.

Fifteen years old, young Carlos was betrothed to a fourteen-year-old French princess, Elisabeth of Valois. The young people met and managed to like each other - and even fall in love, but at the last moment the Spanish king changed his mind: he himself wanted to marry the beautiful young princess. Instead of an attractive young man, the unfortunate girl had to marry a cruel old man. In an effort to forget about his grief, Don Carlos gives his all to the struggle for the freedom of the Netherlands, groaning under the heavy yoke of the Spanish crown. Sympathizing with the Dutch revolution, the Infante seeks to be appointed governor in Flanders by his father (he will build a kingdom of freedom and justice there!) - but it was not he who was appointed governor, but the despotic Duke of Alba. Carlos decides to flee to the Netherlands to join the freedom fighters there - but his father becomes aware of his plans, as a result of which Carlos was arrested and died in captivity.

In this form, the fate of the heir to the Spanish throne is known to the general public thanks to F. Schiller and G. Verdi. F. Schiller's drama "Don Carlos" and the opera of the same name by G. Verdi are undoubtedly beautiful, but, as often happens, art is art, and history is history (not to mention the fact that the Marquis Rodrigo de Posa - perhaps the most attractive hero of drama and opera - in reality did not exist).

The historical Don Carlos, in 1545 from the marriage of Philip II and Mary of Portugal, was nothing like a romantic hero. Let's start with the fact that he was marked with the seal of degeneration, and this was not surprising: kings and princes, as you know, marry exclusively princesses, and Catholics exclusively on Catholics, as a result of which all European monarchs were relatives. And closely related marriages do not lead to good!

At the age of 15-18, Don Carlos was a very pitiful sight: frail (weighing only 34 kg), round-shouldered, moreover, according to foreign contemporaries who were at the Spanish court, he had the mind of a seven-year-old child. And if foreigners can still be suspected of partiality, then you can trust the opinion of compatriots: well, the Duke of Alba was of the same opinion. Mental inferiority was also manifested in the alternation of a complete lack of appetite and bouts of gluttony. In addition, not having inherited the mind of his father, the son inherited his cruelty: he amused himself by roasting hares alive, and once, in a fit of rage, gouged out the eyes of several horses in the royal stable, and also made a list of people who would be dealt with first, when he becomes king - and the first on this list was the father of the young man.

In a word, I must admit: Elizabeth of Valois was very lucky that she avoided marriage with such a person (whom she hardly loved: it is difficult to imagine a girl who could love SUCH). And the king, whom she married, was not at all that disgusting old man that they like to show in the opera so much - he was a 33-year-old man in his prime. And their marriage was a happy one! Let's not be surprised: Philip II was a bloody monster in the political arena - at home, in the family circle, he could well have been an affectionate, loving husband.

What about Don Carlos? Oh, he was his father's true "headache"... and not only him. Dementia did not prevent him from striving for power - that is why, and not at all because of liberal ideas, he sought the appointment of a governor in the Netherlands. The king knew his son too well to allow this - and the Duke of Alba was appointed viceroy. The same Duke of Alba, who openly declared that this half-witted Infante should not be allowed to power, and once during a solemn ceremony defiantly did not kneel before the heir to the throne. The Infante was furious! And in a rage, he was capable of anything ... something had to be done urgently!

And Philip did. He subjected his son to a secret trial and imprisoned him ... no, not in prison - as shown in the drama and opera - but only under house arrest. After all, for all his vices, he remained a son for Philip, and they did not subject him to special hardships, all the more, they did not starve him: they served food, which he wishes ... as it turned out - in vain: after another bout of gluttony, he had a volvulus of the intestines, from which the infant died.

That's the way it was. But it is now that historians have revealed all the “cards” to us, and in those days the true background of the events was such a secret with seven seals that even British intelligence (the best at that time) could not find out anything!

But everyone noticed how worried the queen was - she loved her husband and took his problems to heart. But conjugal love, sympathy - this is all too simple for public opinion, it is always looking for some kind of abomination! Elizabeth is much younger than the king, and the prince is her age? Were they engaged? Well, that means they are lovers!

It was on the basis of such gossip that the French writer Saint-Real wrote a short story in the 17th century. It is there that the Marquis de Posa first appears - however, he was just an assistant in a love affair. Both him and the Infante were endowed with noble liberal ideas by F. Schiller, who created a drama based on this short story, and G. Verdi put his drama at the basis of the opera ...

Yes, artists have always been inclined to idealize reality!

Portrait of Don Carlos (A. Mor or A. Sanchez Coelho)

The day of July 8, 1545, when King Philip II (1527-1598) had an heir in Valladolid, was one of the happiest for the Spanish people. And four days after the birth of the boy, the country plunged into mourning - she died, never recovering from a difficult birth, the wife of the reigning monarch, Mary of Portugal, who gave the king a son.

Mary of Portugal(October 15, 1527, Coimbra - July 12, 1545, Valladolid) - Portuguese princess, first wife of King Philip II of Spain.

Don Carlos was the eldest legitimate son of Philip II and thus heir to the Spanish throne. He grew up stooped and mentally retarded. It is assumed that this was a consequence of incest practiced among the Habsburgs and between the royal houses of Spain and Portugal. Don Carlos had only four great-grandparents out of a possible eight, and only six great-great-grandparents out of a possible sixteen.

From an early age, Carlos had epileptic seizures, tantrums and outbursts of anger were repeated too often, and the character of the young infant was unbearable. And although many educators and teachers were assigned to him, they could not change the audacity, self-will and cruelty that awakened in the young prince. It was said that he liked to torture animals, which were brought to him from hunting by servants, and in this entertainment he found particular pleasure. He loved to fight, and his slaps in the face often went to those close to him, who somehow could not please the wayward heir. One of his contemporaries described Carlos as follows: “The Prince of Asturias has unbearable arrogance and is loose in his morals, his mind is weak, he is capricious and stubborn ...” One way or another, despite the bad character of the royal son, he still remained the only heir to the Spanish throne.

Because his mother died, and his father was engaged in state affairs, the person closest to him was his aunt Juana, the younger sister of Philip II. But in 1552 she married the Crown Prince of Portugal. She returned after her husband's death in 1554, leaving her son Sebastian in the care of her grandparents. A widow at the age of 17, charming and intelligent, Juana tried to take care of Don Carlos.

Other brides that were proposed to the prince: Mary Stuart, Margaret of Valois, another daughter of Henry II, and Anna of Austria, daughter of Emperor Maximilian II, who later became the fourth wife of Philip II.

In 1558, when the war between Spain and France began, the monarchs of both powers met in a small abbey, where they decided to conclude a truce, and in honor of this event, to betroth their minor children: Carlos and Elizabeth. The Spanish heir was barely thirteen at the time, and the young princess was a year younger than her fiancé. Everyone began to patiently wait for the upcoming wedding and changes in the royal court.

Portrait of Don Carlos by Alonso Sanchez Coelho, (1558, Prado, Madrid)

However, in less than a few months, on November 17, 1558, the second wife of the king, Mary Tudor of England, died unexpectedly. Philip was only thirty-one when he became a widower, but the Spanish king still had strength, energy and passion. At the same time, those close to the monarch began to look for a new spouse. There was no suitable candidate, and Philip II decided to marry the bride of his own son.

In the summer of 1559, the engagement of King Philip II of Spain and a young French princess took place, who received the name Isabella in her new homeland. Six months later, on February 2, 1560, the young people were married, and the former groom played the role of an imprisoned father at the parent's wedding. The bride was only fourteen years old, and her beauty and sharp mind already aroused sincere admiration among the Spaniards. It seemed that happy times had returned to the country again.

Portrait Elizabeth of Valois by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, (c. 1560, Prado, Madrid)

But there was one who did not rejoice in the happiness of the Spanish monarch - his son, heir to the throne, Don Carlos. Passionately in love with Isabella, sensitive and selfish, the prince shed bitter tears and, hating his father, promised to avenge him for the happiness he had taken away. He became even more withdrawn, embittered and irritable.

Only the former bride could arouse joy in the infanta, who, through evil fate, became a stepmother, who always behaved simply, caringly with Carlos and tried to smooth out her hatred for her father. In the minutes of conversations with her, the heir seemed to change. He became more tolerant, softer, and a long-awaited smile appeared on his always stern and gloomy face.

It is still unknown whether the relationship between Carlos and Isabella was only platonic. Most likely, the young queen remained devoted to her husband and in no way violated the vow of fidelity given on the wedding day. Nevertheless, she always treated the prince too reverently and with caring, maternal love. However, there were those who, disliking a foreigner, tried to inspire the reigning monarch that his wife and son were connected by closer ties. Philip II even followed Isabella several times, but did not find anything suspicious.

And Carlos, in love with the young queen, burned with tender feelings for the former bride and hatred for the hypocritical parent. The Spanish king was indeed known in Europe as a deceitful, cold-blooded and cunning monarch. It seemed that the son took over from him the worst features, becoming even more cruel and inhuman. And life presented the heir with even more severe trials.

Although his mental health worsened every year, he was named in 1560 heir to the Castilian throne and three years later heir to the Aragonese kingdom.

After the king appointed not Don Carlos, but Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, the third Duke of Alba, as commander-in-chief in the Eighty Years' War, Don Carlos rebelled against his father. In a rage, he wrote a list of the people he hated the most, in which his father was in the first place. In the same year, he killed Philip II's favorite horse. To appease his son, Philip appointed him Minister of the Council of State, a role Don Carlos performed very well. However, later he again quarreled with his father and he deprived him of this post.

At the beginning of May 1562, the seventeen-year-old Infante, descending the stairs of his palace, inadvertently stumbled, rolled down the stairs and hit the floor hard. The prince, who had lost consciousness, was taken to his bedroom, and the doctors, after examining Don Carlos, considered that he did not have long to live. However, the royal physician Andreo Basilio went to extreme measures and opened the patient's skull, releasing fluid from there. Thus, the doctor brought the prince back to life. Unfortunately, the heir remained partially paralyzed, and excruciating headaches haunted him all his life.

When Carlos recovered a little, his father decided to marry his son to Princess Anna of Austria, who was four years younger than the heir and was his cousin. Familiar with her from early childhood, Carlos did not oppose the upcoming union, but events suddenly took a completely different turn.

Anna of Austria(November 2, 1549 - October 26, 1580) - the fourth wife of King Philip II of Spain. (1563, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien) Portrait by Giuseppe Arcimboldi

In the 1560s, an uprising broke out in the Netherlands, where Philip II was determined to eradicate Protestantism. In 1568, Don Carlos, being in a hostile relationship with his father, intended to flee from Spain to the Netherlands. He may even have made contact with some of the Dutch leaders.

The Spanish monarch, who previously had no special feelings for his son, now found a convenient moment to remove Don Carlos from the throne and deprive him of the title of royal heir. Such a serious decision should have been supported by state advisers, whom the monarch called to himself in order to decide with them the future fate of his son. Philip II reported that he no longer intended to endure the antics of his child, in whose fate he tried to take an active part, and asked the Council to agree to the arrest of the heir.

However, the monarch did not wait for the answer of the advisers. He immediately imprisoned the prince, and a few days later sent him to prison. There, Carlos was not allowed any excesses, and even when Queen Isabella decided to visit her stepson, she was categorically forbidden to do so. The inconsolable Infante stopped eating, refused clothes and swallowed ice, which led to a painful fever.

For several days, doctors tried to cure him, but no medicine helped the prince. He grew worse until, finally, the court physician informed the monarch that Carlos might be living his last days. This turn of events was very beneficial to the king, and he ordered the healer not to take any action, so as not to suddenly cure the dying heir. And it got worse every day. When the agony was reported to Philip, he decided to visit his son for the last time. However, Carlos no longer recognized anyone. He died at dawn on July 24, 1568.

He was buried with full honors in one of the churches in Madrid. It was announced that the heir to the throne "died of his own excesses." The young queen, 22-year-old Isabella, grieved so bitterly about the death of her stepson that Philip II forbade her to cry, and a few months later she died. It is believed that the cause of her death was the sudden loss of the child, whom the queen carried under her heart for several months, and the blood poisoning that followed this event.

The monarch had no heirs, so he decided on a fourth marriage. His next wife, by the will of fate, again became the bride of his son, Anna of Austria, with whom Philip II was married in 1570 and who gave her already elderly husband a son, who later became the Spanish king Philip III.

In 1598, Philip II set off from Madrid to Escorial. He wanted to spend the last days of his life there. Broken by a serious illness, the infirm old man did not stay there for long: on September 13 of the same year, the king of Spain, who ruled the country for more than forty years, died.

Anthony More. Portrait of Philip II. (1554, Budapest)

The unknown and incomprehensible details of the whole story associated with Don Carlos and the foreign princess Isabella continue to cause numerous controversies among historians. It is believed that Isabella was poisoned, and Carlos was allegedly even violently killed. The latter is indicated by the testimony of the Duke of Saint-Simon, who many years later opened the grave of the prince and was surprised to find that the head of the heir had been cut off. A few centuries later, when Napoleon, wishing to unravel the secret of the Madrid court, decided to re-open the tomb of Don Carlos, he saw that the remains of the Infante were covered with lime mortar and it was no longer possible to prove the words of Saint-Simon.

Source: Sardaryan A.R.
"100 Great Love Stories"

Abbot Saint-Real, Campistron, Ximenes, Andrey Chenier, Otway, Alfieri and Schiller, having immortalized Don Carlos in their novels and tragedies, exposed him - alas! Far from what he really was. Alfieri is a martyr, Schiller has a Jena or Mannheim student, an honest, straight soul, an enthusiastic nature, an eaglet in a golden cage ... We repeat: Infante Don Carlos, the son of Philip II, was far from similar to Don Carlos - the brainchild of Schiller's imagination. In many respects, this pitiful person reminds us of another, from recent times, namely the son of Peter the Great - Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich ... Even the mysterious death of both was almost the same. Schiller, when depicting Don Carlos in his tragedy, sinned against the truth just as much as he was faithful to it when depicting Philip II.

Don Carlos was more like a hero of a harlequinade than a tragedy....

However, do we dare to reproach the immortal poet who gave humanity his Don Carlos? Did Shakespeare create his Hamlet from some half-witted Danish prince?

Kondraty Petrovich Birkin
Philip II, King of Spain

Don Carlos, Infante of Spain

(German: Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien) - a dramatic poem Friedrich Schiller

in five acts. The dramatic work, written in 1783-1787, tells about the social and political conflicts of the beginning of the Eighty Years' War, during which the Dutch provinces won independence from Spain, as well as social and family intrigues at the court of King Philip II. The play is written on the plot of a short story by the French writer Saint-Real (1639 - 1692). There are two stage versions - poetic and prose.

Friedrich Schiller. Portrait by Anton Graf. (1790)

Title page and frontispiece of the first edition (with obsolete spelling "Dom Karlos")

In Aranjus, the residence of the Spanish king near Madrid, is the entire Spanish court. Here is the king's son, Don Carlos. The king is cold to him, he is busy with public affairs and his young wife, who was formerly the bride of Don Carlos. Philip II assigned his servants to his son to spy on him.

The Marquis of Pose, a childhood friend of the prince, comes to Aranjus from Flanders, with whom he has touching memories. The Infante reveals himself to him in criminal love for his stepmother, and the Marquis arranges for Don Carlos to meet with Elizabeth in private. In response to the prince's passionate love confessions, she asks him to direct his love towards the unfortunate Spanish kingdom and hands him several letters with "Tears of the Netherlands".

After reading these letters, Don Carlos decides to ask his father to appoint him as governor of the Netherlands, instead of the cruel Duke of Alba, who is supposed to be in this position. This intention is also approved by the Marquis of Posa.

The court of the king moves to the royal palace in Madrid. With difficulty, Don Carlos obtains an audience with Philip. He asks to be sent to Flanders, where he promises to pacify the rebellion in Brabant. The king refuses, he believes that the place of the prince is at court, while the Duke of Alba will go to Flanders.

Don Carlos is disappointed, at this time the queen's page secretly hands him a love note with a request to come on a date with half of Elizabeth. The prince is sure that the note is from the queen, he comes to the indicated place and meets there the maid of honor of Elizabeth, Princess Eboli. The infant is perplexed. Eboli declares her love to him, she seeks protection from him against attacks on her own innocence and gives the prince a letter as proof. Don Carlos hardly begins to understand his tragic mistake, while the princess, seeing the indifference towards her, realizes that the signs of attention of the infanta, which she took personally, actually belonged to the queen. Eboli chases the prince, but before that she asks to return to her the key that the page gave to Don Carlos, and the king's love letter to her, which she herself had just given to the prince. Don Carlos is shocked by the news of Philip's attitude towards Princess Eboli, he leaves, but takes the letter with him.

Meanwhile, at the court of the king, the prince has enemies who do not like the unbalanced temper of the heir to the throne. The confessor of King Domingo and the Duke of Alba believe that such a monarch would be very uncomfortable on the Spanish throne. The only way to remove Don Carlos is to make the king believe in the love of the queen for her son, in this case, according to Domingo, they have an ally - Princess Eboli, with whom Philip is in love.

Upon learning of the refusal of the king to send a prince to Flanders, Pose is upset. Don Carlos shows his friend the King's letter to Princess Eboli. The Marquis warns the Infante against the intrigues of the offended princess, but at the same time shames him for wanting to use the stolen letter. The pose breaks it and, in response to the suffering of the unfortunate infant, promises to re-arrange his meeting with the queen.

From the Duke of Alba, Domingo and Princess Eboli, Philip II learns about the "treason" of Elizabeth, he loses his peace and sleep, he sees conspiracies everywhere. In search of an honest man who would help him establish the truth, the king's gaze rests on the Marchioness of Posa.

Philip's conversation with the Marquis is most reminiscent of a conversation between a blind man and a deaf man. Pose considers it her duty, first of all, to put in a good word for her suffering Flanders, where people's freedom is being stifled. The old monarch cares only about personal well-being. Philip asks the marquis to "enter the confidence of his son", "test the heart of the queen" and prove his devotion to the throne. leaving, the noble grandee still hopes that he will be able to achieve freedom for his homeland.

As Philippe's envoy, Posa gets a date alone with the Queen. He asks Elizabeth to persuade Don Carlos to go to the Netherlands without the king's blessing. He is sure that the royal son will be able to gather "rebels" under his banner, and then his father, seeing the pacified Flanders, will himself appoint her governor to this province. The Queen sympathizes with the patriotic plans of the Marquis of Posa and appoints a date with Don Carlos.

The Marquis of Posa delivers Don Carlos' personal letters to the King. Among them, the monarch recognizes by handwriting a note from Princess Eboli, who, wanting to prove Elizabeth's betrayal of her husband, broke open the queen's box and stole letters from Don Carlos, written to Elizabeth, as it turned out, even before her marriage. Pose asks the king for a paper with his signature, which would allow him, as a last resort, to arrest the unstable prince. Philip gives such a document.

At court, the behavior of the Marquis of Posa causes bewilderment, which reaches its limit when the grandee orders the arrest of Don Carlos on the basis of a letter from the king. At this time, the postal director, Don Raymond de Taxis, appears, he brings a letter from Posa, which is addressed to the Prince of Orange, who is in Brussels. It should explain everything to everyone.

Princess Eboli informs Elizabeth about the arrest of the Infante and, tormented by pangs of conscience, confesses her villainy against the queen, she orders her to be exiled to the monastery of St. Mary.

After a meeting with the queen, in which he asks Elizabeth to remind the prince of their youthful oath, the Marquis of Posa goes to prison with his friend Don Carlos. Knowing that this is their last meeting, he reveals his plan to the Infanta. To save Carlos, he wrote a letter to the Prince of Orange about his imaginary love for the Queen and that the Infante Don Carlos had been given to Philip by him only to divert his eyes. Poza is sure that his letter will fall into the hands of the monarch. The prince is shocked, he is ready to run to his father-king to ask for forgiveness for himself and the Marquis, but too late: a shot is heard, the Marquis of Posa falls and dies.

Philip comes to prison with grants to free his son. But instead of the grateful and obedient Don Carlos, he finds there a heartbroken man who blames the king for the death of his friend. Noise is growing around the prison, it is in Madrid that a rebellion of the people begins, which demands the release of the prince.

At this time, a Carthusian monk falls into the hands of the spies of the Duke of Alba. With him were letters from the Marquis of Posa to Flanders, which dealt with the escape of the crown prince to the Netherlands, where he would lead an uprising for the independence of this country. The Duke of Alba immediately delivers the letters to the Spanish king.

King Philip summons the Grand Inquisitor. He is tormented by the thought that infanticide is a grave sin, while he decided to get rid of his son. To appease his conscience, the old monarch wants to enlist the support of the church in his crime. The Grand Inquisitor says that the Church is able to forgive sonicide and gives the argument: “In the name of justice, the eternal son of God was crucified*. He is ready to take responsibility for the death of the Infante, if only the champion of freedom does not appear on the throne.

Night falls, Don Carlos comes on a date with Elizabeth. He sets out for Flanders, determined to accomplish in the name of friendship what he and the marquis had dreamed of. The Queen blesses him. The king appears with the Grand Inquisitor. The queen faints and dies, Philip, without a shadow of a doubt, hands over his son to the hands of the Grand Inquisitor.