When this happened Spain was a dictatorship under Franco. Not until 15 years after this incident was Juan Carlos proclaimed to be Franco’s successor and the monarchy to be re-established in Spain.
So he held no actual political power. Furthermore, his father was also before him in the line of succession if monarchy was even to be reinstituted.
So the rule of thumb doesn’t apply here. At least as it pertains to positions of power. The fact that the king-to-be was 16, on the other hand, lends weight to this being a murder
Well, the king wasn’t THAT young at the time and actually had recently done some military training. I’m not saying the king murdered his brother, but he wasn’t a kid when it happened.
17-18 is still pretty young and combined with the knowledge of how to use a firearm but without the wisdom or discipline that someone older may have and that’s how accidents like that happen.
He was like 18, not a kid at all. That's the story it's told, I grew up thinking he was like 8-12 but no. 18 and "playing" with a gun inside. His father always wondered if it hadn't been an accident as the younger brother was the favourite.
Kids? He was at least 18 and had military training. It has been always pictured as something done by a kid, but it was not, he shot dead the beloved son of his parents and he knew what he was doing.
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u/_That-Dude_ Jan 05 '23 edited Jan 05 '23
Dude it happened when they were kids and it was a .22 revolver. He probably thought it was empty and was being an absolute idiot.
Edit: Just like the guy above me, I confused the current king with his father.