Historical replica of the bed where D. Pedro IV died in the Queluz Palace

The construction of the replica, using the artisanal methods of the time, with the same type of materials, according to the documentation, namely a watercolor by Ferdinand Feubure, dated 1850, took a year, its author, the carpenter Rodrigo Bobone, confessed to the Lusa news agency.

This project, which began in 2022, was an investment of around 100 thousand euros, João Sousa Rego, president of Parques de Sintra-Monte da Lua (PSML), told Lusa.

Parques de Sintra-Monte da Lua is a publicly owned company whose objective is to safeguard and enhance the landscape that is a World Heritage Site, and it is responsible for managing some of the monuments, including the Queluz National Palace (PNQ).

The bed is located in the Don Quixote Room, "one of the most sumptuous" in the Palace, according to PNQ curator Hugo Xavier. This room served various functions throughout the history of the Portuguese monarchy, also serving as a meeting place for the Council of State.

In this room, the King's Bedroom, died, precisely on September 24, 1834, D. Pedro IV, the 26th king of Portugal and the first emperor of Brazil, two weeks before his 36th birthday, four days after his daughter, D. Maria II, became queen of Portugal.

D. Pedro, nicknamed "the soldier-king", led the liberal troops against his brother D. Miguel, defender of the absolutist monarchy.

The monarch declared Brazil's independence on September 7, 1822, and his military, political and diplomatic actions established liberalism in Portugal, leading his brother to go into exile in Austria, after capitulating and signing the Convention of Évora Monte, in 1834.

The replica of the bed, in Empire style, is the responsibility of Rodrigo Bobone, this being his first work for the PNQ.

The construction used wood from the Palace's inventory, "hawthorn wood, which has some twist, is yellowish in color, very dense and has a characteristic smell, and red bark for the interiors, and stainless steel for the structure," said carpenter/restorer Rodrigo Bobone.

Adília Botelho was responsible for the textiles, using damask, upholstery pique, animal and vegetable hair, and a smooth sheer fabric like cassava, and the tassels were made on a loom and by hand, she explained to Lusa.

The original bed, dating from around 1800, burned down following the fire at the PNQ in October 1934, and it was possible to reconstruct it through the palace's internal research team, explained João Sousa Rego, stating "the objective is to enhance the quality of the visit and give visitors the opportunity to learn about and experience the period."

The official added that "there are several projects with associated historical research in the PNQ", with inauguration scheduled for next year, such as the restoration of the room next to Don Quixote, the oratory of D. João VI.

Sousa Rego noted that PSNL intends, with these interventions, "to provide a differentiated tourist-cultural offer".

The PNQ, on the outskirts of Lisbon, is located in an area of approximately 16 hectares, and has 60 of the approximately one hundred divisions that make up its core that can be visited.