Portugal's king is killed

Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection

February 1, 1908

King Carlos of Portugal and his elder son, Crown Prince Luiz, were assassinated today in Lisbon. The New York Times reports that the "city is in a state of uproar." The king's younger son, Infante Manoel was "slightly wounded," but Queen Amalia, who in an attempt to save the Crown Prince threw herself upon him, was unhurt.

The king and the Crown Prince were each shot three times, and "lived long enough to be carried to the Marine Arsenal nearby."

It is assumed that the assassinations were carried out by Anarchists and "not of Republican sympathizers." But the "discovery of plot after plot" and the seizure of many secret stores of weapons and ammunition" have shown that there is a "determination on the part of a large body of the Portuguese to overthrow the present conditions."

The "cold-blooded murder has sent a thrill of horror throughout the country" even among "those who have been working politically for the establishment eventually of a republic."

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 The assassination plot was "cunningly arranged" as the royal family returned from the Villa Vicosa, which had been known by the public in advance. The king and his family were returning to the palace at the end of the day "of the greatest excitement in the city on account of the wholesale arrests and continual discovery of new depots of arms and bombs."

The trip from Villa Vicosa was "without incident. The royal family arrived at the Barreiro Railroad station, where they got into carriages to drive across the Tagus to reach Lisbon. Suddenly there was the sound of the "sharp crack of carbine." Carlos appeared to stand up to reach for his throat, and then fell back onto the carriage's cushions. The Crown Prince was also seen to collapse, and Queen Amalia, "driven to frenzy," was seeking to save her two sons by "shielding them with her body."

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A "great hush" fell upon the crowd, and then came the screams and "cries of anger" as the crowd was "suddenly thrown into rage and fear."

The assassins' guns were hidden under their cloaks, and it appeared that a "score of shots were fired" in an instant. The men turned and "were madly fighting their way through the crowd" as they tried to make their escape.

The King and the Crown Prince were "tenderly carried" into the Marine Arsenal, and a surgeon, who was in the crowd," did everything possible to try and save the two men, but his efforts were "without avail," as King Carlos was already dead, and his son died within a few minutes.

Although the king was attended by many guards, his murderers "had selected the most advantageous spot for the commission of their crimes."
Infante Manoel was struck by two bullets, in the jaw and arm.

Queen Maria Pia, the mother of King Carlos, and the Duke of Oporto, his brother, and several Cabinet and Government officials "hastened at once to the arsenal," after receiving word of the attack on the royal family. The bodies of the King and Crown Prince were removed from the Arsenal and closed carriages and taken to the Royal Palace.

The public "is panic-stricken, not knowing where the next blow may fall." There is dread for Portugal's future, which may be on the "verge of being plunged into the throes of a revolution."

The wounded Manoel, who is now the king of Portugal, is now being treated by Lisbon's best doctors. A late bulletin says he is in no danger at present, but there is a fear of the "possibility of blood-poisoning later."

The assassinations took place at about 5:30 p.m., and the "news spread like fire through the city, which was instantly gripped by panic.

Everything has closed down, and Lisbon "has shut itself up in the houses and business places, which are barricaded."

The new king is a minor, and it is expected that Queen Amalia will be named as regent.