Spanish king's grandson shoots self in foot

Felipe Juan Froilan, the 13-year-old son of the king's eldest daughter Infanta Elena, was with his father, Jaime de Marichalar, on Monday evening on the patio of a house in the town of Soria, when he misfired a shot at his right foot.

Misfired: Eldest grandson of King Carlos, Felipe Juan Froilan, was with his father target practising when the rifle went off. Pic/AFP

"He has suffered a minor accident," said a spokesman, reading from a short statement. Felipe, the king's eldest grandchild, was treated at Santa Barbara Hospital in Soria before being transferred to the Quiron clinic in the capital for further treatment, the palace added.

Reports said that Felipe was walking with the rifle pointing at the ground when it went off. The incident was reminiscent of a more serious royal shooting accident in 1956 when King Juan Carlos's 14-year-old brother Alfonso, was shot dead at the royal family's home.

While the palace at that time said a revolver that Alfonso was cleaning went off, and he received a shot to the head, historians have questioned the official version.