![]() (Congreso.es)Ī stream of revelations about the former king’s love life, his affair with Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein and lavish lifestyle, combined with the 2018 conviction of his son-in-law for tax fraud and embezzlement, have severely damaged the Spanish Monarchy. Their investigation, which is in early stages, is looking into whether the former monarch received millions of dollars in kickbacks from Saudi Arabia during the construction of a high-speed railway there by a Spanish consortium.Ī separate Swiss judicial probe is looking into millions of euros (dollars) that were allegedly given to Juan Carlos by Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah and allegedly transformed by Juan Carlos to a former companion.Archive image of Juan Carlos I at the Spanish Congress in 2011. Executive power lies with the elected parliamentary government.ĭespite relocating outside of Spain, Juan Carlos has pledged via his lawyer to make himself available to prosecutors in Spain. Spain’s king has a mostly ceremonial role. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose monarchy-supporting Socialist Party is in a coalition government with the pro-republic, far-left Unidas Podemos (United We Can), has praised the Royal House's decision to take distance from the former king. The royal couple and their two daughters are currently vacationing on a nearby island. On Monday, he and Queen Letizia were scheduled to pay a visit to the Mediterranean island of Ibiza. In 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated the throne that then went to Felipe, who has taken steps to shield the monarchy from the scandals.įelipe VI has not publicly spoken about his father's departure earlier this month. He reigned for nearly four decades while Spain modernized and joined the European Union.īut criticism grew as his luxurious life and corruption scandals tarnishing members of the royal family offered a striking contrast with the suffering of Spaniards during the global financial crisis. Francisco Franco as the country's head of state. Juan Carlos facilitated Spain's transition to democratic rule in the 1970's, when the heir of the Bourbon dynasty replaced former Gen. UAE authorities have not responded to repeated questions regarding Juan Carlos’ stay in the country. ![]() The spokesman declined to say if the UAE, a federation of seven sheikdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, would be Juan Carlos' permanent residence. "That's where he currently remains,” the official, who wasn’t authorized to be quoted in media reports, told The Associated Press. ![]() But without any official confirmation, Spanish media had placed him in places as far afield as the Dominican Republic, Portugal, Switzerland or New Zealand.Įnding the swirl of speculation, a Royal House spokesman said Monday that Juan Carlos had asked to convey that he had traveled to UAE on Aug. 3, when he published a letter to his son, King Felipe VI, that said he was moving outside Spain due to the “public repercussions of certain episodes of my past private life.”Īt 82, the former king is the target of official investigations in Spain and Switzerland into possible financial wrongdoing.Ĭonservative Spanish newspaper ABC had published a photo of Juan Carlos stepping out of a plane at an airport in Abu Dhabi. The Spanish government and Royal House officials have been tight-lipped about Juan Carlos' location since Aug.
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