Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
WHAT HAPPENS when the heir to the Spanish throne is badly inbred and crazy and even physically deformed? That was the situation faced by Philip II of Spain with regards to his eldest son, Don Carlos of Spain, Prince of Asturias. Carlos was the child of Philip’s first wife, Maria Manuela of Portugal and he was a product of Spanish Habsburg family’s royal inbreeding policy, for his parents were double first cousins, making their marriage the equivalent of a marriage between half siblings. He was born in 1545 but as he grew up, he displayed signs of mental instability, cruelty and physical deformities, including unequal leg lengths. He was also emotionally neglected. His teenaged mother died days after his birth and his father was often absent, not least when he was married to Mary I of England and was away, staying in that country. A serious fall and head injury in 1562 led to a coma and almost killed him. When he recovered his behaviour was even worse to the point that he threatened his own father. In the end Philip had to take the dramatic step of having his son locked up in solitary confinement, essentially depriving himself of a male heir to his throne. Carlos starved himself and died just six months later at the age of 23. In this week’s royal history documentary from History Calling I take you through the life of Mary I’s crazy stepson, giving details of Carlos’s erratic behaviour and discussing the effects of inbreeding on the Habsburg royal family and basically, why inbreeding is bad!
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
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THE DEATH OF HENRY VI
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WAS HENRY VIII BRAIN DAMAGED?
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RANKING THE TUDOR CONSORTS
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TUDOR MONARCHS’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FD_vatnjVq9egboPYy8Kg0
LEARN MORE:
Henry Kamen, Philip of Spain (1998). Available at amzn.to/3X13vZE
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
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PRIME VIDEO
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Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
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NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
#DonCarlos #RoyalInbreeding #Habsburgs #HistoryCalling
WHAT HAPPENS when the heir to the Spanish throne is badly inbred and crazy and even physically deformed? That was the situation faced by Philip II of Spain with regards to his eldest son, Don Carlos of Spain, Prince of Asturias. Carlos was the child of Philip’s first wife, Maria Manuela of Portugal and he was a product of Spanish Habsburg family’s royal inbreeding policy, for his parents were double first cousins, making their marriage the equivalent of a marriage between half siblings. He was born in 1545 but as he grew up, he displayed signs of mental instability, cruelty and physical deformities, including unequal leg lengths. He was also emotionally neglected. His teenaged mother died days after his birth and his father was often absent, not least when he was married to Mary I of England and was away, staying in that country. A serious fall and head injury in 1562 led to a coma and almost killed him. When he recovered his behaviour was even worse to the point that he threatened his own father. In the end Philip had to take the dramatic step of having his son locked up in solitary confinement, essentially depriving himself of a male heir to his throne. Carlos starved himself and died just six months later at the age of 23. In this week’s royal history documentary from History Calling I take you through the life of Mary I’s crazy stepson, giving details of Carlos’s erratic behaviour and discussing the effects of inbreeding on the Habsburg royal family and basically, why inbreeding is bad!
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
THE DEATH OF HENRY VI
youtu.be/E_tWkpAv878
WAS HENRY VIII BRAIN DAMAGED?
youtu.be/4Rd0s1roPoU
RANKING THE TUDOR CONSORTS
youtu.be/NXxqky055oc
TUDOR MONARCHS’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FD_vatnjVq9egboPYy8Kg0
LEARN MORE:
Henry Kamen, Philip of Spain (1998). Available at amzn.to/3X13vZE
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
#DonCarlos #RoyalInbreeding #Habsburgs #HistoryCalling
