The 4th Earl of Ashburnham had been a bibliophile who amassed an important collection of books and manuscripts, most of which were acquired in the 1840s in three separate large purchases.

[5] The 5th Earl of Ashburnham was a leader of the Carlist cause which aimed to restore the Spanish throne to the descendants of Infante Carlos, Count of Molina.

[2] He was generally an adherent of Jacobite and Legitimist views, and in 1886 he founded the Order of the White Rose, which became "the main public face of British Legitimism".

With the Spanish government weakened by its defeat in the Spanish–American War, the Carlists hoped to depose the king, by force if necessary, and replace him with Don Carlos.

[8] Ashburnham gave his opinion that the Spanish army would not defend the defeated king against the Carlist forces, and that "there will not be a real war, but perhaps a little fighting here and there".

Among the recruits who learned to operate a machine gun and rifle and "studied drill, tactics and strategy" was the young Aleister Crowley.

[11] In early August the Times reported that the vessel had been "allowed to leave on payment of a small deposit" but that the 3,664 rifles it had been carrying had been "detained as security for the fine which may be imposed upon her".

[1] After the failure of the Carlist uprising and the death of his wife in 1900, Lord Ashburnham largely withdrew from public life and spent more time at his country properties.