At 11 p.m. Philip put on a coat of mail and his helmet and led his posse stealthily through the Alcázar ‘without torches or candles to the apartment of the prince, who was in bed’. He ‘immediately seized the sword that [his son] kept by his bed and the loaded arquebus that he always kept close to him’. Awaking to find armed men surrounding him, Don Carlos exclaimed in alarm: ‘What does Your Majesty want? What time is it? Does Your Majesty want to kill or arrest me?’ ‘Neither, prince,’ Philip replied as his entourage nailed the windows shut. At this, the prince ‘leaped out of bed and apparently wanted to throw himself in the fire’. When a courtier restrained him he cried out: ‘Does Your Majesty want to tie me down like a madman? I am not mad, just desperate.’ Philip replied, ‘phlegmatically, as usual: “Calm yourself, prince, and get into bed. What we are doing is for your own good.” ’ The king then ‘collected all the papers in the prince’s writing desks’, together with 30,000 ducats in cash found there, and departed. He left two courtiers in the prince’s bedchamber while the rest of the party stood guard outside.