uary 1568, when he had made preparations for flight from
Spain, he was placed in confinement by order of Philip, and on the 24th
of July of the same year he died. This event is still enveloped in some
mystery. Philip has been accused of murdering his son, and from what is
known of the king's character this supposition is by no means
improbable. It is known that the king appointed commissioners to try the
prince, and he may have been put to death for treason in accordance with
their verdict. It has also been suggested that his crime was heresy, and
that his death was due to poison, and other solutions of the mystery
have been put forward. On the other hand, it should be remembered that
the health of Carlos was very poor, and that his outrageous behaviour in
captivity would have undermined a much stronger constitution than his
own. Consequently there is nothing strange or surprising in his death
from natural causes, and while no decisive verdict upon this question
can be given, Philip may perhaps be granted the benefit of the doubt. By
some writers the sad fate and early death of Carlos have been connected
with the story of his unlawful attachment to his promised bride,
Elizabeth, who soon became his stepmother, and whose death followed so
quickly upon his own. There is circumstantial evidence for this tale.
The loss of an affianced bride, followed by hatred between supplanted
and supplanter, who were father and son, then the increasing infirmity
of the slighted prince, and finally the almost simultaneous deaths of
the pair. But mature historical research dismisses this story as a
fable. It has, however, served as the subject for romance. Schiller and
Alfieri, J.G. de Campristron in _Andronic_, and Lord John Russell have
made it the subject of dramas, and other dramas based upon the life of
Don Carlos have been written by Thomas Otway, M.A. Chenier, J.P. de
Montalvan, and D.N. de Enciso.

See C.V. de Saint Real, _Don Carlos, nouvelle historique_ (Paris,
1672). This gives the story of the attachment of Carlos and Elizabeth,
which has been refuted by L. von Ranke, _Zur Geschichte des don
Carlos_ (Vienna, 1829); and J.A. Llorente, _Histoire critique de
l'Inquisition_ (French translation, Paris, 1817). See also L.P.
Gachard, _Don Carlos et Philippe II_ (Brussels, 1863); C. de Mouy,
_Don Carlos et Philippe II_ (Paris, 1863); M. Budinger, _Don Carlos,
Haft und Tod_ (Vienna, 1891); L.A. Warnkonig, _Don Carlos, Leb