Death and Burial
In March 1956 Alfonso and Juan Carlos were at their parents' home Villa Giralda in Estoril, Portugal, for the Easter vacation. On Maundy Thursday Alfonso died in a gun accident. The Spanish Embassy in Portugal issued an official communiqué:
- Whilst His Highness the Infante Alfonso was cleaning a revolver last evening with his brother, a shot was fired hitting his forehead and killing him in a few minutes. The accident took place at 20.30 hours, after the Infante's return from the Maundy Thursday religious service, during which he had received Holy Communion.
Very quickly, however, rumours appeared in newspapers that the gun had actually been held by Alfonso's brother Juan Carlos at the moment the shot was fired. Josefina Carolo, dressmaker to Alfonso's mother, said that Juan Carlos playfully pointed the pistol at Alfonso and pulled the trigger, unaware that the pistol was loaded. Bernardo Arnoso, a Portuguese friend of Juan Carlos, also said that Juan Carlos fired the pistol not knowing that it was loaded, and adding that the bullet ricocheted off a wall hitting Alfonso in the face. Helena Matheopoulos, a Greek author who spoke with Alfonso's sister Pilar, said that Alfonso had been out of the room and when he returned and pushed the door open, the door knocked Juan Carlos in the arm causing him to fire the pistol.
Most historians agree nowadays that the pistol was fired by Juan Carlos by accident. After the accident, the father, Don Juan de Borbón, sent Juan Carlos back to Spain immediately after the funeral and, because of pain and anger against Juan Carlos, did not talk to him for a while.
There have been various stories about the origins of the pistol. The most frequently repeated is that it was a gift to Alfonso from General Franco.
The funeral liturgy for Alfonso was held on Holy Saturday and was presided by Monsignor Fernando Cento, Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal. He was buried at the municipal cemetery in Cascais, Portugal. In October 1992 he was re-buried in the Pantheon of the Princes of El Escorial near Madrid.
Read more about this topic: Infante Alfonso Of Spain
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