the narrow passage. On the 26 September, therefore, facing certain failure, the decision was taken to re-embark the troops. A plan to bombard the city (against Prince George's wishes) was abandoned due to bad weather, and, after a further council of war, the fleet left on 30 September. The attempt to seize Cádiz had ended in abject failure. Aftermath The fact that no Spanish notables had joined the Allies during their time at Cádiz meant a loss of prestige for Prince George; but he did receive aboard his ship a deputation of Spanish grandees from Madrid which had missed him in Lisbon, and had been ferried over from Faro. The Prince informed Rooke and Ormonde that they were ready to declare for the House of Austria, but they were not prepared to commit themselves unless the Allies could guarantee them adequate support, and leave a force to winter in Spain. This assistance was not forthcoming. There had, however, already been a number of Castilian defections, the most startling of which was that of the Admiral of Castile, Juan de Cabrera, Duke of Rioseco and Count of Melgar. After leaving Madrid on 13 September 1702, he fled to Portugal where he issued a denunciation of the Bourbon government and entered the service of the Archduke Charles. Ormonde and Prince George wanted to land at another key place in Spain but Rooke, concerned about the autumnal gales, decided to head for England. By now Ormonde and Rooke were barely on speaking terms: the general thought he could have taken Cádiz were it not for Rooke vetoing his plan; for his part, the admiral had written bitterly to Ormonde regarding the behaviour of the soldiers on shore. However, it was fortunate for Rooke, Ormonde, and the Allied cause, that news of a Spanish silver fleet from America had arrived off the coast of Galicia. The subsequent Battle of Vigo Bay was considerably more successful than the attempt on Cádiz (although the financial rewards were far less than expected), and the victory had taken the edge off the failed expedition. Nevertheless, when the fleet returned to England the House of Lords insisted on an inquiry into the conduct of the Allies at Cádiz. The bad feeling between Rooke and Ormonde had led to hopes of a fruitful inquiry, but the success at Vigo had given the Tories the opportunity to build up Rooke as