Self-proclaimed descendant of Spanish royal family dies while digging through trash in wealthy suburb
An 83-year-old man known as ‘The Count’ because of his alleged royal Spanish heritage was crushed to death as he rummaged through trash bins near his California home.
Alfonso de Bourbon was a well-known character in the high-end neighbourhood of La Jolla, near San Diego.
Although he owned his own condominium and was always dressed immaculately in his signature tweed sportcoats, Mr de Bourbon would often be seen fishing food out of dumpsters to take to his homeless friends.
Royalty: Alfonso de Bourbon died on Tuesday after being crushed to death. He was a well-known character in the high-end neighbourhood of La Jolla, near San Diego
Death: The body of Alfonso de Bourbon is removed after being found crushed between a series of three dumpsters and the loading dock wall at Jonathan's market
The nattily dressed old timer was killed on Tuesday when a tractor-trailer reversed and pinned him between a bin and a loading dock wall outside Jonathan’s Market grocery store.
Locals remembered ‘The Count’ or ‘The Prince’ for his daily strolls through La Jolla, where he would dine daily at Girard Gourmet restaurant and browse the shelves of Warwick’s bookshop.
‘He was very well-spoken, very knowledgeable,’ said Diana Goedhuys, who owns Girard Gourmet with her husband.
She told the San Diego Union Tribune that Mr de Bourbon gave her a bunch of flowers at Christmas, a sweet gesture even though they had clearly been plucked from the trash.
‘He had a quirk, a tiny bit of a con. He’d be very charming and hope you’d return it with a bowl of soup or something,’ she added.
He would eat the same thing every day – eggplant stuffed with spinach and cheese.
Warwick bookshop owner Nancy Warwick said he’d been coming there since she was a child.
‘He was a fixture here. Same time everyday,’ she said. ‘In recent years he seemed more tattered, he really looked more frail.’
Claim: Mr De Bourbon said he was related to the late Spanish King Alfonso XIII and carried around a photograph showing the close resemblance between the two men
Mr De Bourbon said he was related to the late Spanish King Alfonso XIII and carried around a photograph showing the close resemblance between the two men.
He said he was born in Switzerland and that his father died in a car crash in Florida in 1938.
After living in Paris, Germany and New York, he said he visited La Jolla in 1975 and fell in love with the quiet seaside town.
He said he worked as an interpreter for the United Nations in New York and often attended charity balls in the Big Apple.
‘He owned the condo he lived in,’ said La Jolla Town Council President Rick Wildman. ‘His home was immaculate, with lots of pictures of beautiful women he’d dated.’
Mr Wildman told La Jolla Light that ‘The Count’ would sometimes ask him: ‘Would you talk to some of the women that you know and tell them that I would be happy to escort them if they would buy me dinner?’
Police said it was unclear why the trailer driver reversed or whether he knew that he hit the old man.
A spokesman said the investigation was ongoing.
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