{"id":14515,"date":"2020-05-25T17:10:54","date_gmt":"2020-05-25T17:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gocaldas.com\/o-rei-d-carlos-i-das-caldas-da-rainha\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T19:06:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T19:06:56","slug":"king-carlos-i-of-caldas-da-rainha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gocaldas.com\/en\/king-carlos-i-of-caldas-da-rainha\/","title":{"rendered":"King Carlos I of “Caldas da Rainha”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Inspiration<\/a>><\/span>History<\/a><\/p>\n

By GoCaldas Team\u25cf<\/i>25 May 2020<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Summers at the Spa, Bullfights with Friends and the First Stone of the Park Pavilions: King Carlos I and Caldas da Rainha<\/h1>\n
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From childhood until the regicide of 1908, King Carlos I was a regular visitor to Caldas. Discover the king\u2019s bond with the town, his local friends and the park that bears his name.<\/p>\n

Copy link<\/a>Facebook<\/a>Pinterest<\/a>X<\/a>Print<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\"Parque
Parque D. Carlos I, the park named after the king. Photo: GoCaldas<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
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King Carlos I and Caldas da Rainha<\/strong>: the man behind the crown.<\/p>\n

Related: Best natural spaces in Caldas da Rainha<\/a><\/p>\n

King Carlos I and the spa town of Caldas da Rainha<\/h2>\n
\"King
King Carlos I of "Caldas da Rainha", C\u00e9u de Vidro space. Photo: GoCaldas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although he was not born here, King Carlos I (1863\u20131908) played an important part in the history of Caldas da Rainha<\/a>. He was one of the monarchs with the strongest local impact, a great enthusiast of the town and a regular visitor, especially during the bathing season.<\/p>\n

Born in Lisbon, the future king came to the Caldas spa from an early age with his parents, King Lu\u00eds and Queen Maria Pia, and his younger brother, Prince Afonso.<\/p>\n

Later, alone or with Queen Am\u00e9lia and their sons, Crown Prince Lu\u00eds Filipe and Prince Manuel, he kept coming back. He was probably the member of the Portuguese royal family who visited the town most often, and his close, warm relationship with it is only comparable to that of Queen Leonor<\/a>, five hundred years earlier!<\/p>\n

King Carlos I of Caldas da Rainha<\/h2>\n
\"King
King Carlos I of Caldas da Rainha, tennis court. Photo: GoCaldas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carlos came to the throne at the end of 1889. Soon afterwards he faced the fallout of the British Ultimatum, which fuelled a growing republican movement that became even stronger when Jo\u00e3o Franco was appointed head of government.<\/p>\n

Events led to the assassination of the king and of Crown Prince Lu\u00eds Filipe in the Regicide of 1 February 1908, and to the proclamation of the Republic on 5 October 1910. The serious financial crisis the state was going through also added to the national instability.<\/p>\n

Despite this difficult context, his bond with Caldas da Rainha was good for the town. After becoming king he kept up his visits and interest, helped by his friendship with Rodrigo Berqu\u00f3<\/a>, administrator of the Thermal Hospital from 1888 to 1896. The king admired Berqu\u00f3\u2019s plans for the spa and honoured him with the Order of Saint James, as an Officer in 1892 and as a Commander in 1893.<\/p>\n

The birth of local traditions<\/h2>\n
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D. Carlos I Park. Photo: GoCaldas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His local friendships also mattered. One was with Vitorino Fr\u00f3is, a legend of bullfighting in Caldas, which helps explain the king\u2019s enthusiasm for the sport. He attended bullfights in the town and on one occasion gave a horse to the local horseman Joaquim Alves, a pupil of his friend Vitorino Fr\u00f3is.<\/p>\n

He was also a close friend of Father Ant\u00f3nio, a local priest who, according to the chronicles, cooked divine dishes with fish from the \u00d3bidos Lagoon<\/a>. These made the king\u2019s mouth water: he was known as a great lover of Portuguese food and never missed a chance to taste Father Ant\u00f3nio\u2019s cooking.<\/p>\n

His relationship with Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro<\/a> was a different story. The artist often mocked him in the satirical papers he founded, such as A Lanterna M\u00e1gica, Pontos nos ii, Ant\u00f3nio Maria and A Par\u00f3dia.<\/p>\n

Despite Bordalo\u2019s jibes, the king respected him as an artist and even bought one of his most famous works, the Talha Manuelina, in 1893.<\/p>\n

King Carlos I and life in Caldas<\/h2>\n
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Misty morning at D. Carlos I Parks. Photo: GoCaldas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

King Carlos was a sociable man who enjoyed spending time with friends, and many of them came with him to visit the town.<\/p>\n

He was therefore key to promoting the cosmopolitan life and the prestige of Caldas as a spa town. He also mixed easily with noblemen, fado singers and bullfighters, which helped him fit into the local community and made people feel he was one of them.<\/p>\n

The king had many hobbies, including hunting, riding, painting and producing wine, cork and olive oil. He was also a keen sportsman who swam, rowed, played tennis and sailed.<\/p>\n

He was one of the first people in Portugal to practise all these sports regularly, which made him one of the first and best-known sportsmen of his time.<\/p>\n

There is no record of him practising sports or painting in Caldas, as he regularly did in Cascais, Vidigal or Vila Vi\u00e7osa. Here he stood out above all as a bullfighting fan, one of the most popular pastimes of the local bathing season and an important part of social life in Caldas.<\/p>\n

King Carlos I and a cosmopolitan town<\/h2>\n
\"Carlos
Carlos I Park signals. Photo: GoCaldas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The town prepared his visits with great pomp and ceremony, as they brought not only social prestige but also an economic return that was not to be overlooked.<\/p>\n

One example was his visit in 1893 to open the Santo Isidoro Hospital, designed by Rodrigo Berqu\u00f3, and to lay the first stone of the future D. Carlos Hospital (the Park Pavilions). The local press reported more than five thousand people at the event, at a time when the town itself had around four thousand six hundred inhabitants.<\/p>\n

Beyond his visits, King Carlos was a popular figure in the local community. This was confirmed when he was chosen, certainly at the suggestion of his friend Berqu\u00f3, as the patron of Parque D. Carlos I and of the future hospital, which was never completed.<\/p>\n

King Carlos I was a source of prestige for the town and a social magnet at a time when mixing with the elite and sharing their habits were key to the life of tourist resorts, and helped draw visitors to them.<\/p>\n

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Recommended guided tour<\/p>\n

Best of Caldas da Rainha with a local guide<\/a><\/p>\n

Discover the historic centre, the Thermal Hospital and Pra\u00e7a da Fruta with a local guide.<\/p>\n

See the tour \u00b7 from \u20ac33<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n

Why is the park called Parque D. Carlos I?<\/h3>\n

The king was chosen as the park\u2019s patron at the initiative of his friend Rodrigo Berqu\u00f3, administrator of the Thermal Hospital, whose plans for the spa he admired.<\/p>\n

Did King Carlos I often visit Caldas da Rainha?<\/h3>\n

Yes. He came to the spa from childhood with his parents and kept visiting after he became king in 1889, especially during the bathing season.<\/p>\n

What is the king\u2019s link to the Park Pavilions?<\/h3>\n

In 1893 he came to Caldas to lay the first stone of the future D. Carlos Hospital, today\u2019s Park Pavilions, in front of more than five thousand people.<\/p>\n

More history of Caldas da Rainha<\/h2>\n