The King's Confession

Prince Julián and Bishop Valdespino are summoned to the Valley of the Fallen by the dying king. The king reveals a long-held secret: he and Valdespino were lifelong lovers, a platonic relationship that Valdespino justified through celibacy. The king asks Julián to preserve the Valley of the Fallen as a museum of tolerance rather than destroy it. After the king's death, Valdespino, overwhelmed by grief and the scandal, takes his own life by consuming morphine. Julián discovers the empty bottle and silently prays for both men.