Juan Carlos I (Spanish:[xwaŋˈkaɾlos];[note 1] bornJuan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, 5 January 1938) is a member of theSpanish royal family who reigned asKing of Spain from 22 November 1975 untilhis abdication on 19 June 2014. In Spain, since his abdication, Juan Carlos has usually been referred to as therey emérito ('king emeritus') by the press.[1][2]
Juan Carlos is the son ofInfante Juan, Count of Barcelona, and grandson ofAlfonso XIII, the last king of Spain before the abolition of the monarchy in 1931 and the subsequent declaration of theSecond Spanish Republic. Juan Carlos was born inRome, Italy, during his family's exile. GeneralFrancisco Franco took over the government of Spain after his victory in theSpanish Civil War in 1939, yet in 1947 Spain's status as a monarchy was affirmed and a law was passed allowing Franco to choose his successor. Juan Carlos's father assumed his claims to the throne after King Alfonso XIII died in February 1941. However, Franco saw Juan Carlos's father to be too liberal and in 1969 declared Juan Carlos his successor as head of state.[3]
Juan Carlos spent his early years in Italy and came to Spain in 1947 to continue his studies. After completing his secondary education in 1955, he began his military training and entered theGeneral Military Academy atZaragoza. Later, he attended theNaval Military Academy and the General Academy of the Air, and finished his tertiary education at theUniversity of Madrid. In 1962, Juan Carlos marriedPrincess Sophia of Greece and Denmark in Athens. The couple have three children:Elena,Cristina, andFelipe. Due to Franco's advanced age and declining health amid his struggle withParkinson's disease, Juan Carlos first began periodically acting as Spain's head of state in the summer of 1974. In November the following year, Franco died and Juan Carlos became king.
Juan Carlos was expected to continue Franco's legacy, but instead introduced reforms to dismantle the Francoist regime and to begin theSpanish transition to democracy soon after his accession. This led to the approval of theSpanish Constitution of 1978 ina referendum which re-established aconstitutional monarchy. In 1981, Juan Carlos played a major role in preventinga coup that attempted to revert to Francoist government in the King's name. In 2008, he was considered the most popular leader across allIbero-America.[4] Hailed for his role in Spain's transition to democracy, the King and the monarchy's reputation began to suffer after controversies surrounding his family arose, exacerbated by the public controversy centering on an elephant-hunting trip he undertook during a time of financial crisis in Spain.
In June 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son, who acceded to the throne asFelipe VI. Since August 2020, Juan Carlos has lived in self-imposed exile from Spain over allegedly improper ties tobusiness deals in Saudi Arabia.[5][6] TheNew York Times estimated in 2014 that Juan Carlos's fortune was around €1.8 billion ($2.3 billion).[7]
Juan Carlos's early life was dictated largely by the political concerns of his father and GeneralFrancisco Franco. He moved to Spain in 1948 to be educated there after his father persuaded Franco to allow it.[8] He began his studies inSan Sebastián and finished them in 1954 at theInstituto San Isidro in Madrid. He then joined the army, doing his officer training from 1955 to 1957 at theMilitary Academy of Zaragoza.According to his sister Pilar, he had difficulty in his studies because ofdyslexia.[9]
Juan Carlos (left) and Alfonso with their father Juan, Count of Barcelona, in 1950
Juan Carlos has two sisters:Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz (1936–2020); andInfanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria (born 1939). He also had a younger brother,Alfonso (1941–1956). The rendering of his name as "Juan Carlos" (the first and second particles of his baptismal name) was a modification by choice of Franco.[10] He was always known in his familiar circle simply as "Juan" or "Juanito".[10]
Together with his parents and his sister Pilar, he took part in the ship tour organized byQueen Frederica and her husband KingPaul of Greece in 1954, which became known as the “Cruise of the Kings” and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe. On this trip, Juan Carlos met the hosts' 15-year-old daughter,Sofia, his future wife, for the first time.[11]
On the evening ofHoly Thursday, 29 March 1956,Infante Alfonso died in a gun accident at the family's home Villa Giralda inEstoril, on thePortuguese Riviera. The Spanish Embassy in Portugal then issued the following official communiqué:[12]
Whilst His Highness Prince Alfonso was cleaning a revolver last evening with his brother, a shot was fired hitting his forehead and killing him in a few minutes. The accident took place at 20.30 hours, after the Infante's return from the Maundy Thursday religious service, during which he had receivedholy communion.
Alfonso had won a local junior golf tournament earlier in the day, then went to evening Mass and rushed up to the room to see Juan Carlos who had come home for the Easter holidays from military school.[13] Both Juan Carlos, age 18, and Alfonso, age 14, had been apparently playing with a .22LR Star Bonifacio Echeverria Automatic pistol owned by Alfonso.[14] As they were alone in the room, it is unclear how Alfonso was shot, but according to Josefina Carolo, dressmaker to Juan Carlos's mother, Juan Carlos pointed the pistol at Alfonso and pulled the trigger, unaware that it was loaded. Bernardo Arnoso, a Portuguese friend of Juan Carlos, also said that Juan Carlos had told him he had fired the pistol not knowing that it was loaded,[14] and adding that the bullet ricocheted off a wall, hitting Alfonso in the face.Helena Matheopoulos, a Greek author who spoke with the infantes' sister Pilar, said that Alfonso had been out of the room and when he returned and pushed the door open, the door knocked Juan Carlos in the arm, causing him to fire the pistol.[15][16]
After learning this news, the Count of Barcelona reportedly grabbed Juan Carlos by the neck and shouted at him angrily, "Swear to me that you didn't do it on purpose!"[17] Two days later, the Count sent his son back to the military academy.[18] Following a later declaration of Juan Carlos's mother,Paul Preston argues that the content of the former testimony implies that Juan Carlos had pointed the gun at Alfonso, apparently not knowing that the gun was loaded, and pulled the trigger.[14]
The dictatorial regime of Francisco Franco came to power during theSpanish Civil War, which pitted a government of democrats, anarchists, socialists, and communists, supported by the Soviet Union and international volunteers, against a rebellion of conservatives, monarchists, nationalists, and fascists, supported by both Hitler and Mussolini, with the rebels ultimately winning.[20] Franco's authoritarian government remained dominant in Spain until the 1960s. With Franco's increasing age, left-wing protests increased, while at the same time, the far right factions demanded the return of a hardlineabsolute monarchy. At the time, the heir to the throne of Spain was Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, the son of King Alfonso XIII.[21] However, Franco viewed him with extreme suspicion, believing him to be a liberal who was opposed to his regime.[22]
Ultimately, Franco decided to skip a generation and name Infante Juan Carlos as his personal successor. Franco hoped the young prince could be groomed to take over the nation while still maintaining the ultraconservative and authoritarian nature of his regime.[21] In 1969, Juan Carlos was officially designatedheir apparent and was given the new title ofPrince of Spain (not the traditionalPrince of Asturias).[21] As a condition of being named heir apparent, he was required to swear loyalty to Franco'sMovimiento Nacional, which he did with little outward hesitation.[24] His choice was ratified by the Spanish parliament on 22 July 1969.[25]
Juan Carlos met and consulted Franco many times while heir apparent and often took part in official and ceremonial state functions, standing alongside the dictator, much to the anger of hardline republicans and more moderate liberals, who hoped that Franco's death would bring in an era of reform. During 1969–1975, Juan Carlos publicly supported Franco's regime. Although Franco's health worsened during those years, whenever he did appear in public, from state dinners to military parades, it was in Juan Carlos's company. However, as the years progressed, Juan Carlos began meeting secretly with political opposition leaders and exiles, who were fighting to bring liberal reform to the country. He also had secret conversations with his father over the telephone. Franco, for his part, remained largely oblivious to the prince's actions and denied allegations from his ministers and advisors that Juan Carlos was in any way disloyal to his vision of the regime.[26]
During periods of Franco's temporary incapacity in 1974 and 1975, Juan Carlos wasacting head of state. On 30 October 1975, Franco gave full control to Juan Carlos.[21] According to declassified CIA reports, during this time Juan Carlos secretly acquiesced and arranged with KingHassan II of Morocco the terms of the so-calledGreen March,[27] the partial invasion of theSpanish Sahara by Moroccan civilians, followed by theMadrid Accords handing over the control of the territory to Morocco andMauritania.[27]
Franco died on 20 November 1975, and two days later on 22 November theCortes Españolas proclaimed Juan Carlos King of Spain. In his address to the Cortes, Juan Carlos spoke of three factors: historical tradition, national laws, and the will of the people, and in so doing referred to a process dating back to the Civil War of 1936–39.[21] He swore using the following formula: "I swear to God and the Gospels to comply and enforce compliance to theFundamental Laws of the Realm and to remain loyal to the Principles of theNational Movement".[note 2]
On 27 November, a Mass of the Holy Spirit was celebrated in the church ofSan Jerónimo el Real in Madrid to inaugurate his reign. He opted not to call himself Juan III or Carlos V, but Juan Carlos I.[21][29] Juan Carlos is reported to have been pressured byValéry Giscard d'Estaing to personally tell Chilean dictatorAugusto Pinochet, who had traveled to Spain for Franco's funeral, not to attend his inauguration.[30] In the end Pinochet did participate of the proclamation at thePalacio de las Cortes, Madrid but not in the follow-upTe Deum.[31] In private Pinochet expressed later his disapproval of what he saw as a lack of recognition of Franco by Juan Carlos I in his speech at the Cortes.[31]
Juan Carlos's accession met with relatively little parliamentary opposition. Some members of theMovimiento Nacional voted against recognizing him, and even more voted against the 1976 Law for Political Reform. But a majority of Movimiento members supported both measures.[32] Juan Carlos quickly instituted reforms, to the great displeasure ofFalangist and conservative (monarchist) elements, especially in the military, who had expected him to maintain the authoritarian state.[33]
Further legitimacy was restored to Juan Carlos's position on 14 May 1977, when his father (whom many monarchists had recognized as the legitimate, exiled King of Spain during theFranco era) formally renounced his claim to the throne and recognized his son as the sole head of the Spanish Royal House, transferring to him the historical heritage of the Spanish monarchy, thus making Juan Carlos bothde facto andde jure king in the eyes of the traditional monarchists.[36]
On 20 May 1977, the leader of the only recently legalizedSpanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE),Felipe González, accompanied byJavier Solana, visited Juan Carlos in the Zarzuela Palace. The event represented a key endorsement of the monarchy from Spain'spolitical left, who had been historicallyrepublican.[37] Left-wing support for the monarchy had grown when theCommunist Party of Spain was legalized on 9 April 1977, a move Juan Carlos had pressed for, despite enormous right-wing military opposition at that time, during theCold War.
On 15 June 1977, Spain heldits first post-Franco democratic elections. Juan Carlos had played a role as middleman in order to channel $10 million fromthe Shah of Iran to Adolfo Suárez's election campaign, reportedly asking the Shah for the money to "save Spain from Marxism".[38][disputed –discuss] Suárez went on to win the election and become the first democratically elected leader of the new regime.[35]
Royal trips of King Juan Carlos I
In 1978, the government promulgated anew constitution that acknowledged Juan Carlos as rightful heir of the Spanishdynasty and king; specifically, Title II, Section 57 asserted Juan Carlos's right to the throne of Spain by dynastic succession in the Bourbon tradition, as "the legitimate heir of the historic dynasty" rather than as the designated successor of Franco.[39][40] The Constitution was passed by the democratically electedConstituent Cortes, ratified by the people in a referendum (6 December) and then signed into law by the King before a solemn meeting of the Cortes.[34]
An attempted military coup, known as 23-F, occurred on 23 February 1981, when theCortes were seized by members of theGuardia Civil in theparliamentary chamber. During the coup, the King, wearing his uniform as Captain-General of the Armed Forces, gave a publictelevision broadcast calling for unambiguous support for the legitimate democratic government. The broadcast is believed to have been a major factor in foiling the coup. The coup leaders had promised many of their potential supporters that they were acting in the King's name and with his approval, but were unable to demonstrate either, and the broadcast — coming just after midnight on the night of the coup — definitively showed the King's opposition to the coup makers.[8]
When Juan Carlos became king,Communist leaderSantiago Carrillo had nicknamed himJuan Carlos the Brief, predicting that the monarchy would soon be swept away with the other remnants of the Franco era.[41] After the collapse of the attempted coup however, in an emotional statement, Carrillo remarked: "Today, we are all monarchists."[42] Public support for the monarchy among democrats and leftists, which had been limited before 1981, increased significantly following the king's handling of the coup.[43]
However, this event remains controversial and has led to severalalternative theories that cast doubt on the sincerity of the King's defense of democracy. The King had close ties with the leader of the rebellion, who had served him as Secretary General of the Royal Household. Above all, Juan Carlos and the main political parties were aware of a plan to put GeneralAlfonso Armada in charge of the government, particularly in order to crack down on theBasque independence organizationEuskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA). Although Juan Carlos strongly condemned the coup attempt — more than six hours after the armed guards invaded Congress — it is still difficult to establish whether he acted out of democratic conviction or because the operation was not going as well as expected, with little support. The reasons for the trial of the coup plotters are still classified.[44] Antonio Tejero will claim that Juan Carlos knew about the coup.[45]
Thevictory of the PSOE in 1982 under González marked the effective end of the King's active involvement in Spanish politics. González governed for 14 years, longer than any other democratically elected Prime Minister. His administration helped consolidate Spanish democracy and thus maintained the stability of the nation.
On paper, Juan Carlos retained fairly extensivereserve powers. He was the guardian of the Constitution and was responsible for ensuring that it was obeyed. In practice, since the passage of the Constitution (and especially since 1982), he took a mostly non-partisan and representative role, acting almost entirely on the advice of the government. However, he commanded greatmoral authority as an essential symbol of the country's unity.
Under the Constitution, the King has immunity from prosecution in matters relating to his official duties. Consequently, he exercised most of his powers through the ministers; his acts as King (and not as a citizen) were not valid unless countersigned by a minister, who became politically responsible for the act in question.
As head of the Spanish state, Juan Carlos "held political power, gave his opinion and exerted his influence in the economic sphere, for example, in the area of company mergers or public policy during the transition period," analyses journalistAna Pardo.[44]
The honour of the royal family is specifically protected from insult by theSpanish Penal Code. Under this protection, Basque independentistArnaldo Otegi[46] and cartoonists fromEl Jueves were tried and punished.
The King gave an annual speech to the nation onChristmas Eve and was, as King, thecommander-in-chief of the Spanish armed forces.
In October 1990, Juan Carlos visited theChilean city ofValdivia amidst the beginning of theChilean transition to democracy. While he and the Queen were cheered by some, groups of indigenousMapuches approached the king some to protest past colonialism and others to have the King ratify past Mapuche-Spanish treaties. According toEl País political infighting between Mapuches prevented Juan Carlos from hosting an official meeting with Mapuche representatives.[47]
In July 2000, Juan Carlos was the target of an enraged protester when former priestJuan María Fernández y Krohn, who had once attackedPope John Paul II, breached security and attempted to approach the king.[48]
When the media asked Juan Carlos in 2005 whether he would endorse the bill legalisingsame-sex marriage that was then being debated in theCortes Generales, he answered"Soy el Rey de España y no el de Bélgica" ("I am the King of Spain, not of Belgium") – a reference to KingBaudouin of Belgium, who had refused to sign the Belgian law legalising abortion.[49] The King gave hisRoyal Assent to Law 13/2005 on 1 July 2005; the law legalising same-sex marriage wasgazetted in theBoletín Oficial del Estado on 2 July, and came into effect on 3 July.[50]
According to a poll in the newspaperEl Mundo in November 2005, 77.5% of Spaniards thought Juan Carlos was "good or very good", 15.4% "not so good", and only 7.1% "bad or very bad". Even so, the issue of the monarchy re-emerged on 28 September 2007 as photos of the king were burned in public inCatalonia by small groups of protesters wanting the restoration of the Republic.[51]
In November 2007, at theIbero-American Summit inSantiago, during a heated exchange, Juan Carlos interruptedVenezuelan PresidentHugo Chávez, saying, "¿Por qué no te callas?" ("Why don't you shut up?"). Chávez had been interrupting the Spanish Prime Minister,José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, while the latter was defending his predecessor and political opponent,José María Aznar, after Chávez had referred to Aznar as a fascist and "less human than snakes". The King shortly afterwards left the hall when PresidentDaniel Ortega of Nicaragua accused Spain of intervention in his country's elections and complained about some Spanish energy companies working in Nicaragua.[52] This was an unprecedented diplomatic incident and a rare display of public anger by the King.[53]
Juan Carlos detailed for the first time in 2011 the yearly royal budget of €8.3 million, excluding expenses such as the electricity bill, paid by the State.[54][55]
In April 2012, Juan Carlos faced criticism for an elephant-hunting trip inBotswana.[56][57][58] The public found out about the trip only after the King injured himself and a special aircraft was sent to bring him home.[59] Spanish officials stated that the expenses of the trip were not paid by taxpayers or by the palace, but by Mohamed Eyad Kayali, a businessman ofSyrian origin. Cayo Lara Moya of the United Left party said the King's trip "demonstrated a lack of ethics and respect toward many people in this country who are suffering a lot"[58] while Tomás Gómez of the Socialist party said Juan Carlos should choose between "public responsibilities or an abdication".[60] In April 2012, Spain's unemployment was at 23% and nearly 50% for young workers.[61]El País estimated the total cost of a hunting trip at €44,000, about twice the average annual salary in Spain.[61] A petition called for the king to resign from his position as honorary president of the Spanish branch of theWorld Wide Fund for Nature.[60] The WWF itself responded by asking for an interview with the King to resolve the situation.[62] In July 2012,WWF Spain held a meeting in Madrid and decided with 226 votes to 13 to remove the King from its honorary presidency.[63][64] He later apologised for the hunting trip.[65]
Up until the Botswana elephant trip, Juan Carlos had enjoyed a high level of shielding from media scrutiny, described as "rare among Western leaders".[38]
Spanishnews media started to speculate about the King's future in 2013, following public criticism over his taking an elephant hunting safari in Botswana and an embezzlement scandal involving his daughter,Infanta Cristina, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, and her husbandIñaki Urdangarin. The King's private secretary,Rafael Spottorno, denied in a briefing that the "abdication option" was being considered.[69]
Juan Carlos I signing his abdication law. Next to him, prime ministerMariano Rajoy, countersigner of the law. (18 June 2014).
On the morning of 2 June 2014, Prime MinisterMariano Rajoy made a televised announcement that the King had told him of his intention to abdicate. Later, the King delivered a televised address and announced that he would abdicate the throne in favour of the Prince of Asturias.[70] Royal officials described the King's choice as a personal decision which he had been contemplating since his 76th birthday at the start of the year.[71] The King reportedly said, "No quiero que mi hijo se marchite esperando como Carlos." (English: "I do not want my son to wither waiting likeCharles.")[72][73]
As required by the Spanish constitution, any abdication would be settled by means of anorganic law.[74] A draft law was passed in parliament with 299 in favour, 19 against and 23 abstaining.[75] On 18 June, he signed the organic law, which made the abdication effective when it was published in theBoletín Oficial del Estado at midnight.[76][77] Felipe was enthroned the following morning, and Juan Carlos's granddaughterLeonor became the newPrincess of Asturias. Juan Carlos was the fourth European monarch to abdicate in just over a year, followingPope Benedict XVI (28 February 2013),Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (30 April 2013), andKing Albert II of Belgium (21 July 2013).[78]
The Spanish constitution at the time of the abdication did not grant an abdicated monarch thelegal immunity of a head of state,[79] but the government changed the law to allow this.[80] However, unlike his previous immunity, the new legislation left him accountable to thesupreme court, in a similar type of protection afforded to many high-ranking civil servants and politicians in Spain. The legislation stipulates that all outstanding legal matters relating to the former king be suspended and passed "immediately" to the supreme court.[81]
Republican demonstration in thePuerta del Sol on the day that Juan Carlos announced his decision to abdicate
The Spanish press gave the announcement a broadly positive reception, but described the moment as an "institutional crisis" and "a very important moment in the history of democratic Spain".[82] Around Spain and in major cities (including London) the news was met byrepublican celebration and protests, calling for the end of the monarchy.[83][84]
Catalan leaderArtur Mas said that the news of the King's abdication would not slow down the process of independence forCatalonia.[82]Iñigo Urkullu, the President of the Basque government, concluded that the King's reign was "full of light yet also darkness" and said that his successor Felipe should remember that "the Basque Question has not been resolved".[85] Other regional leaders had more positive evaluations of Juan Carlos following his decision to abdicate:Alberto Núñez Feijóo ofGalicia called him "the King of Democracy" who "guaranteed the continuation of constitutional monarchy"[86] andAlberto Fabra of theValencian Community said that Spaniards are proud of their king who had been "at the forefront of protecting our interests inside and outside of our borders".[87]
British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron stated: "I would like to use this opportunity to make a tribute to King Juan Carlos, who has done so much during his reign to aid the successful Spanish transition to democracy, and has been a great friend of theUnited Kingdom."[88] The President of theEuropean Commission,José Manuel Barroso, said that Juan Carlos was a "believer in Europeanism and modernity...without whom one could not understand modern Spain".[89]
The Spanish public also gave a broadly positive opinion not only of the abdication but of his reign as a whole. According to a poll taken byEl Mundo, 65% saw the King's reign as either good or very good, up from 41.3%. Overall, 55.7% of those polled in the 3–5 June survey by Sigma Dos supported the institution of the monarchy in Spain, up from 49.9% when the same question was posed six months prior. 57.5% believed the Prince could restore the royal family's lost prestige. An overwhelming majority of Spaniards believed the new King, Felipe VI, would make a good monarch and more than three-quarters believed King Juan Carlos had been right to hand over the throne to his son.[90]
After abdication, Juan Carlos continued to have a role as institutional representative of the Crown.
From June 2014 to June 2019, he attended several Latin American presidential inaugurations such as the second inauguration ofJuan Manuel Santos as president of Colombia,[91] the inauguration ofTabaré Vázquez as president of Uruguay,[92] and theinauguration of Mauricio Macri as president of Argentina.[93] He also represented theCrown in different cultural[94] and sports[95] events, funerals,[96][97] and awards ceremonies.[98] Finally, the former sovereign was also present in the events about the 40th anniversary of theSpanish Constitution of 1978.[99]
On 27 May 2019, King Juan Carlos announced by a letter to his son Felipe his intention to retire from public life on 2 June 2019, five years after he announced his abdication.[100][101][102]
The construction ofa high-speed railway in Saudi Arabia was allegedly coordinated with kick-backs to Juan Carlos during the late 2000s.
Recordings of the former King's alleged mistressCorinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn speaking with a former police chief were leaked to the press in mid-2018.[103] Sayn-Wittgenstein claimed that Juan Carlos receivedkick-backs from commercial contracts in theGulf States – particularly in the late-2000s construction of the €6.7 billionHaramain high-speed railway inSaudi Arabia – and maintained these proceeds in abank account in Switzerland.[103][104] She alleged that he purchased properties in Monaco under her name to circumvent thetax treatment of lawful residents, stating "[not] because he [loved] me a lot, but because I reside in Monaco."[103] She further claimed the head of theSpanish intelligence service warned her that her life, and those of her children, would be at risk if she spoke of their association. The allegations drew demands for Juan Carlos to be investigated for corruption in early June 2019.[102][105]
Swiss authorities began investigating Juan Carlos in March 2020 in relation to a $100 million gift to Sayn-Wittgenstein in 2012.[106] This donation was linked to alleged kick-back fees from Saudi Arabia.[106][107] Sayn-Wittgenstein reportedly told the head Swiss prosecutor on 19 December 2018 that Juan Carlos had given her €65 million out of "gratitude and love", to guarantee her future and her children's, because "he still had hopes to win her back".[108] A letter written by Juan Carlos to his Swiss lawyers in 2018 stated the gift was irrevocable, despite his having asked in 2014 for the return of the money.[109] On 14 March 2020,The Telegraph reported that his son Felipe, King of Spain since 2014, appeared as second beneficiary (after Juan Carlos) of the Lucum Foundation, which had received a €65 million donation by KingAbdullah of Saudi Arabia.[110] On 15 March 2020, theRoyal Household declared that Felipe VI would renounce any inheritance from his father. Additionally, the Household announced that the former king would lose his public stipend from the State's General Budget.[111][112]
A further investigation by Swiss authorities was undertaken regarding €3.5 million paid from the Lucum Foundation to the Bahamas-based bank Pictet & Ciein for a society called Dolphin, which was controlled by the lawyer Dante Canónica, who also controlled Lucum.[116]
In December 2021, the Swiss prosecutors dropped all cases due to the impossibility of proving any illegality.[117]
Spanish prosecutors opened an investigation into the use by Juan Carlos and other members of the royal family of credit cards used between 2016 and 2018 which were paid for by an overseas account to which neither Juan Carlos nor any member of the royal family were signatories, leading to accusations that the funds are undisclosed assets of Juan Carlos, and as the card drawings exceeded €120,000 in one year, comprised undisclosed income and was therefore a tax offence in Spain.[118] Mexican millionaire and investment banker Allen Sanginés-Krause has been named as the owner of the cards, a friend of Juan Carlos to whom he donated sums of money using Air Force Colonel Nicolás Murga Mendoza as an intermediary.[119]
In December 2020, Juan Carlos reportedly paid €678,393.72 to Spain's tax agency for the concept of defrauded money in an affair of "opaque credit cards" used between 2016 and 2018 by himself, his wife and some grandchildren, intending to avoid further scrutiny from the Supreme Court's prosecutor, the payment being an admission of fraud.[120][121][122]
Swiss and Spanish prosecutors also investigated several accounts related to the former King, such as an account in Switzerland with almost €8 million[123] and an attempt to withdraw nearly €10 million fromJersey, possibly from a trust set up by or for Juan Carlos in the 1990s.[124][125] Juan Carlos claims he is "not responsible for any Jersey trust and never has been, either directly or indirectly".[126]
In March 2022, Spanish prosecutors closed all cases against him[127] following the same decision from Swiss prosecutors in December 2021.[117]
Founded in Liechtenstein in 2003 and owned by Álvaro de Orleans-Borbón, a distant cousin of Juan Carlos who lives in Monaco received a large sum of money from Switzerland, Juan Carlos is named as the third beneficiary.[128] In 2009 Álvaro de Orleans-Borbón paid a cheque from Mexico for €4.3 million into the account which the Swiss adjudicated belonged to Juan Carlos.[129] Juan Carlos appears to have drawn down funds from the Zagatka foundation to spend €8 million between 2009 and 2018 on private flights, withAir Partner receiving around €6.1 million.[130] Zagatka used commissions due to Juan Carlos and paid to Zagatka to invest millions, mainly in Ibex35 companies between 2003 and 2018.[131]
On 25 February 2021, Juan Carlos paid 4 million euros to theSpanish Tax Agency to avoid new tax offenses in relation with these flights.[132]
A Panamanian Lucum foundation had Juan Carlos as the first beneficiary andKing Felipe VI as a named second beneficiary,[128] although Felipe has subsequently relinquished any inheritance from his father Juan Carlos.[133] Lucum received $100 million from the Saudi royal house in 2008.[133] Swiss prosecutors are concerned about who at the Swiss bankMirabaud & Cie knows who the account was for and what was discovered about the source of the funds from the Ministry of Finance of Saudi Arabia.[134] They are also concerned about a transfer of €3.5m from Lucum to an account held by Dante Canónica in the Bahamas.[133] In 2012 the Mirabaud bank, which had concealed from its employees the beneficial owner of the account,[135] asked for the account to be closed, due to possible adverse publicity; this was when the bulk of the funds were transferred toCorinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.
In 2020, Sayn-Wittgenstein, resident in the United Kingdom, filed an harassment case in London against Juan Carlos, claiming he'd pressured her to return the money given to her after their break up in 2012. In 2022, Juan Carlos won an appeal that he had immunity from those allegations relating to 2012–2014 when he was still King.[136]
In 2023, the High Court of England and Wales threw out the case on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction in the matter, but made no judgement as to the substance of the allegations.[137]
Satirical mural inBenimaclet,València, about Juan Carlos's relocation to Abu Dhabi. (The caption 'Juancar? Who is Juancar? My name isGuy Incognito', is a reference to an episode ofThe Simpsons)
On 3 August 2020, theRoyal Household announced Juan Carlos wished to relocate from Spain because of increased media press about his business dealings in Saudi Arabia, and he had left a letter to his son saying so.[138][139] By the time the letter had been made public, he had already left the country.[140] Journalists speculated that he might have fled to theDominican Republic,[141]Portugal,[6]France,[142] andItaly,[142] and, later, as of 7 August, theEmirates Palace inAbu Dhabi.[143] The Royal Household initially declined requests to publicly disclose Juan Carlos's location;[144][145] on 17 August, the Royal Household confirmed that, since 3 August, Juan Carlos had been in theUnited Arab Emirates, where he arrived by taking a private plane fromVigo Airport.[146][147]
Since then, he has visited Spain regularly, mainly the town ofSanxenxo, in the north of Spain, to do one of his favorite activities, sailing.[148][149][150][151] He was also present at the private celebration that the Spanish royal family made at theRoyal Palace of El Pardo to celebrateLeonor's 18th birthday.[152]
Juan Carlos, Sofía and their three children in 1975
Juan Carlos is also allegedly the father ofAlbert Solà, born in Barcelona in 1956, also of a woman born in Catalonia in 1964,[153][154] and of Ingrid Sartiau, a Belgian woman born in 1966 who has filed a paternity suit,[155] but completesovereign immunity prevented that suit prior to his abdication.[156]
Juan Carlos is alleged to have had several extramarital affairs, which adversely affected his marriage.[157] In 2021, the former police officialJosé Manuel Villarejo testified that Juan Carlos was given hormones to reduce his sex drive, as it was seen as a state problem.[158][159][160]
In 1972, Juan Carlos, a keen sailor, competed in theDragon class event at theOlympic Games, finishing15th. During theirsummer holidays, the whole family spends time atMarivent Palace (Palma de Mallorca) and on the yachtFortuna, where they would take part in sailing competitions. The king has manned the Bribón series of yachts. In winter, the family often wentskiing inBaqueira-Beret andCandanchú (Pyrenees). At present, his hobbies include classic sailing boats.[161] He alsohunts bears; in October 2004, he angeredenvironmental activists by killing nine bears in central Romania, one of which was pregnant.[162] It was alleged by the Russian regional authorities that in August 2006 Juan Carlos shot a drunken tame bear (Mitrofan the Bear) during a private hunting trip to Russia; the Office of the Spanish Monarchy denied this claim.[163]
Abenign 17–19 mm tumour was removed under general anaesthetic from King Juan Carlos's rightlung in an operation carried out in theHospital Clínic de Barcelona in May 2010.[165] The operation followed an annual check-up, and Juan Carlos was not expected to need any further treatment.[166] He was treated in Clinica Planas.[167]
In April 2012, the King underwent surgery for a triple fracture of the hip at the San Jose Hospital,Madrid, following a fall on a private elephant-hunting trip to Botswana.[168] He also underwent a hip operation in September 2013 at Madrid's Quirón hospital.[169] In April 2018, Juan Carlos was admitted to hospital for a surgery on his right knee.[170]
His life between 1948 and 1993 is dealt in the 2014 miniseriesEl rey [es].[172]
As of 2021, there are four television projects in development set to portray the former king, some of which span along a wider time period of the Royal Household:Palacio real. Brillo y tragedia de la monarquía española (Diagonal TV),El rey (The Mediapro Studio),El emérito (Mandarina Producciones) andXRey (Starzplay, Sony Pictures TV and The Weekend Studio).[173][174]
In 1969, Juan Carlos was named as General Franco's successor and was given the title of 'Prince of Spain'. Upon the death of Franco in 1975, Juan Carlos acceded to the throne of Spain. The currentSpanish constitution refers to the monarch by the simple title "King of Spain". Aside from this title, the constitution allows for the use of other historic titles pertaining to the Spanish monarchy, without specifying them.[175] This was also reiterated by a decree promulgated on 6 November 1987 concerning titles of members of the royal family.[176] Since his abdication in 2014, King Juan Carlos has retained, by courtesy, the title of king and style of "majesty" that he enjoyed during his reign.[80][177][178] Likewise, he maintains his military rank in reserve.[179][180]
Theblazoning of thecoat of arms of the King of Spain is set out in Title II, Rule 1, of Spanish Royal Decree 1511 of 21 January 1977, by which the Rules for Flags, Standards, Guidons, Banners, and Badges were adopted.[181]
The coat of arms used as Prince of Spain which was virtually identical to the one later adopted when he became King, differed only that it featured the crown of heir to the throne, decorated with only fourhalf-arches."
^In the original Spanish:Juro por Dios y sobre los Evangelios cumplir y hacer cumplir las Leyes Fundamentales del Reino y guardar lealtad a los Principios del Movimiento Nacional.[28]
^"Juan Carlos I desvela en el documental de TVE la última petición que le hizo Franco" (in Spanish). Público. 7 August 2020. Retrieved13 February 2021."Descubrimos que mi hermano era disléxico. Estudiar le costó mucho, era difícil para él. [...]", relata en el documental su hermana Pilar. ["We discovered that my brother was dyslexic. Studying costed him dearly, it was hard for him. [...]", his sister Pilar tells in the documentary.]
^abcdefBernecker, Walther (January 1998). "Monarchy and Democracy: The Political Role of King Juan Carlos in the SpanishTransición".Journal of Contemporary History.33 (1):65–84.doi:10.1177/003200949803300104.S2CID157966975.
^Powell, Charles (1996).Juan Carlos of Spain. St Anthony's Series. Oxford, UK: MacMillan Press. pp. 1–5, 9,13–14,27–28,50–51,221–222.ISBN0-333-54726-8.
^Title II, Section 57, Subsection 1: "The Crown shall be inherited by the successors of H.M. Juan Carlos I de Borbón, the legitimate heir of the historic dynasty." "La Corona de España es hereditaria en los sucesores de S. M. Don Juan Carlos I de Borbón, legítimo heredero de la dinastía histórica."
^"Spain's ex-King Juan Carlos leaves country".BBC News. 4 August 2020. Retrieved4 August 2020.Spain's Supreme Court has said it aims to establish Juan Carlos's connection with the Saudi project after his abdication in June 2014. At that point he lost his immunity from prosecution.
The generations indicate descent fromCarlos I, under whom the crowns of Castile and Aragon were united, forming the Kingdom of Spain. Previously, the title Infante had been largely used in the different realms.
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