[3] In addition, Klemens von Metternich told the Carlists that the Austrians would stop financial support if the insurgents could not establish themselves past the Ebro, while the French suggested that they'd back them if they were able to take control of the Franco-Spanish border.

[4] Finally, Maria Cristina was rumored to be willing to strike a peace involving her exile and marriage of her daughter to a Carlist prince, an agreement that would necessitate Carlos renouncing his claim in favor of his son.

A large group of priests and administrative officials, expecting to take up roles as part of the Royal Court once Madrid was taken, accompanied the Carlist army and put a heavy pressure on their logistics and especially their lodgings.

Furthermore, the Cristinos territories had been the source of widespread anti-clericalism, with over 400 parishes closing in the first half of 1836 due to lack of ministers, giving the Carlist troops a religious fervor that increased their morale.

[6] The British ambassador to the Cristino court outlined the Carlist strategy in Aragon as follows: "The same as in Navarra: to deceive the Queen’s generals by false information, and to harass the troops by constant marches and counter-marches and then to beat them in detail".

[7] This was additionally effective by the revolutionary crisis the Cristinos faced, as instead of being able to field significant troop numbers to fight against Carlist raids they instead kept them in population centers to prevent radical citizens from rebelling.

On 24 August, while retreating, the Carlists managed to defeat the equally-sized Cristinos at the Battle of Villar de los Navarros, taking prisoners and badly-needed supplies.

While originally intended as a diversion, they made such rapid progress through exposed and badly defended Cristino territory that they conquered Segovia early in August.

In response, on 6 August the Liberals declared Madrid in a state of siege decreeing a wide range of pro-Carlist activities as punishable by council of war.

Cabrera had supported a very fast raid on Madrid to last two weeks rather than the leisurely "throne-and-altar" march that the Carlists had undertaken under the command of Infante Sebastian and Carlos.

The foreign auxiliaries like Von Rahden were also angry: they "did not understand the decorative time-wasting of the Carlist political community" which had wasted many opportunities for decisive victories with "masses and festivals of grace".

On 4 October, the Cristinos won a close Battle of Retuerta by using the last of their reserves, thereby pushing the Carlists back to the other side of the Ebro and signaling the end of the Royal Expedition.

However, the Liberals were also in a dire logistical situation as their system (based on private contractors) was often intercepted by Carlists and consequently were only able to supply less food and clothing that was needed by Espartero's army.

[11] The expedition showed that the Carlists were too weak to decisively carry out military operations deep within Cristino territory and were only effective within areas already strongly under their control.

In a proclamation made at this town, the insurgent king Carlos said that the Expedition had been just a "promising dress rehearsal", back-tracking on claims that the previous march on Madrid would be the "definitive" end of the war, for a future offensive of "national liberation".

Radical members of a political ideology called apostolicism (a branch of Spanish absolutism) started to dominate the Carlist court, "launch[ing] public proclamations describing the Expedition’s failure as the work of [a] hated peace faction".