On his arrival he was appointed to and immediately sailed from Torbay to Lisbon, to announce the imminent arrival of a British squadron, sent to evacuate the royal family of Portugal, as the French were about to enter the country. Unfortunately poor weather and contrary winds meant he arrived off the Tagus after the British squadron, and so negotiations were already underway by Sir W. Sidney Smith, who he then joined aboard "Foudroyant" as flag captain as they transported the royal family to Brazil in November 1807. Schomberg was later made a Knight of the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword.