Juan Carlos I of Spain

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Juan Carlos I of Spain
King of Spain
Juan Carlos I in 2013.
ReignNovember 22, 1975 – June 19, 2014 (38 years)
CoronationNovember 27, 1975[note 1]
InvestitureNovember 22, 1975
PredecessorFrancisco Franco
(Head of State of Spain)[note 2]
SuccessorFelipe VI
Born (1938-01-05) January 5, 1938 (age 88)
Rome, Italy
Spouse
​
(m. 1962)​
IssueSee Issue
HouseHouse of Bourbon
FatherJuan de Borbón
MotherMaría de las Mercedes de Borbón
ReligionCatholic
SignatureJuan Carlos I of Spain's signature

Juan Carlos I of Spain (Rome, January 5, 1938) was King of Spain from November 22, 1975, until June 19, 2014, the date of his abdication and of the accession of his son Felipe VI to the Headship of State. He holds the title of King for life and is a captain general of the Armed Forces in the reserve,[6][7][8] although he exercises no constitutional functions, only protocol ones as a member of the Royal Family. In June 2019, five years after his abdication, he announced his definitive withdrawal from public and institutional life.

He was proclaimed on November 22, 1975, after the death of Francisco Franco, in accordance with the Law of Succession to the Headship of the State of 1947. The Spanish Constitution, ratified by popular referendum on December 6, 1978 and promulgated on December 27 of the same year, expressly recognizes him as King of Spain and legitimate heir of the historic Bourbon dynasty, granting him the Headship of State. The Magna Carta confers on his dignity the rank of symbol of national unity. Prior to his proclamation, he had performed interim functions in the Headship of State during Franco's illness.

Throughout his reign, the King enjoyed high popular support in Spain and, to a lesser degree, in Ibero-America. However, in 2012 this trend changed drastically and support declined to the point that, in April 2013, 53% of the population disapproved of the way he performed his duties, compared with 42% who approved, although he continued to maintain a positive rating higher than the rest of the institutions of the Spanish political system. Nevertheless, three months after this figure, citizen confidence in Spain rose eight points to stand at 50% approval.

The King's role in the Spanish Transition and his intervention during the attempted coup d'état of 1981, his support for European unity and his contribution to strengthening diplomatic relations have been the subject of various international tributes, recognitions, prizes and awards, such as the Charlemagne Prize (1982),[9] UNESCO's Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize for the Search for Peace (1995),[10] the "Democracy Medal" of Yeshiva University (1997),[11] the "World Statesman" Award of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation (1997)[12] and the State Prize of the Russian Federation (2011),[13] among others.[14][15] On his role during the first years of his reign, Time magazine would publish that King Juan Carlos emerged "as one of the most improbable and inspiring heroes of freedom of the 20th century, defying an attempted military coup that sought to subvert Spain's young post-Franco democracy."[16]

On June 2, 2014, he announced his abdication of the Crown of Spain.[17] On June 19, 2014, he was succeeded by his son, Felipe, following the approval of Organic Law 3/2014, of June 18, as established by article 57.5 of the constitutional text.[18]

Biography

Early years

Baptized as Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón, Juan Carlos I is the paternal grandson of Alfonso XIII, son of the marriage between Juan de Borbón y Battenberg, Count of Barcelona, and María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orleans.

Juanito, as those closest to him call him to distinguish him from his father, Juan de Borbón,[19] was born, according to a statement from the Spanish Royal Household, in an apartment in the building located at number 122 of the viale dei Parioli in Rome (Italy), the city where his parents lived during the exile of the Royal Family, absent from Spain since the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931. He was baptized on January 26, 1938 in the chapel of the Order of Malta in Rome by the cardinal secretary of State of the Holy See, Monsignor Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII. His paternal grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenia, was his godmother, and his maternal grandfather, Carlos Tancredo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince of the Two Sicilies and Infante of Spain, his godfather. In 1942 he moved with the rest of his family to Lausanne, in Switzerland.

At a meeting held on August 25, 1948 between Franco and the Count of Barcelona in the Bay of Biscay, it was agreed that the Prince would move to Spain to pursue his studies there. On November 8, 1948, at ten years of age, Juan Carlos set foot on Spanish soil for the first time. He would study there during that academic year. After the summer of 1949, however, the deterioration of relations between Franco and Don Juan led the latter to decide that his son should not return to Spain for the time being.

After a year in Estoril (Lisbon), Juan de Borbón agreed that Juan Carlos should return to Spain in the autumn of 1950 to continue his studies, this time accompanied by his younger brother Alfonso. By the summer of 1954, Juan Carlos had completed his bachillerato (secondary education). He subsequently carried out his military training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza (1955–1957), at the Naval Military School in Marín in Pontevedra (1957–1958) and finally at the General Air Academy in San Javier in Murcia (1958–1959). He completed his education at the Complutense University of Madrid, where he studied Political and International Law, Economics and Public Finance.

During the Holy Week holidays of 1956, on March 29, Maundy Thursday, at the family residence in Estoril, still called Villa Giralda today, a revolver accidentally went off in the hands of Juan Carlos, who was already 18 years old, while he was playing in the attic of the house with his younger brother, Alfonso, which caused Alfonso's death.[20][21] The elder brother of the Count of Barcelona and uncle of Juan Carlos, Jaime de Borbón, would request a judicial investigation of the incident months later; a request described by the historian Paul Preston as one of unheard-of "insensitivity and pure malevolence," and which was most likely motivated by seeking political benefits for his own cause.[22][23]

Photographed in August 1962 in the Oval Office of the White House, together with Princess Sofía, the Spanish ambassador to the United States Antonio Garrigues and John F. Kennedy.

On September 13, 1961, the engagement of Juan Carlos to Princess Sofía of Greece, his third cousin, was officially announced. Eight months later, on May 14, 1962, the couple married in Athens according to the Orthodox and Catholic rites. Before the wedding, Franco had expressed his interest in having Juan Carlos and Sofía live in Spain,[24] so that, at the beginning of 1963, and despite the initial opposition of Juan de Borbón, the couple moved to Madrid to take up residence in the Palace of Zarzuela.

On March 5, 1966, a meeting of the Privy Council of the Count of Barcelona was held in Estoril to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the death of Alfonso XIII, to which Juan Carlos had been invited. The meeting was meant to be an act of reaffirmation of the dynastic rights of Juan de Borbón. Although two months earlier Juan Carlos had declared that he would "never" accept the Crown while his father was alive, he decided not to attend the meeting at the urging of his wife, Sofía of Greece, using an indisposition as a pretext. Juan de Borbón regarded that event as a breach of dynastic unity on the part of Juan Carlos.[24]

Prince of Spain (1969–1975)

Juan Carlos and Francisco Franco in 1969

By virtue of the Law of Succession to the Headship of the State of 1947, Franco established that the future king of Spain would be designated by him. In July 1969 he designated Juan Carlos as successor with the title of king, an appointment ratified by the Cortes Españolas on July 22, 1969, before which the young prince swore the same day to keep and enforce the Fundamental Laws of the Realm and the principles of the National Movement, that is, the Francoist ideology.[25] Nevertheless, he relied on the powers that those laws granted him to drive the change of regime and facilitate the advent of democracy.[26]

Following the dynastic rules, the succession should have fallen to his father, Juan de Borbón y Battenberg, third son and heir of King Alfonso XIII. However, the not very cordial relations between Juan and Franco determined the skip in the line of succession and the appointment of Juan Carlos as Prince of Spain, a newly coined title with which Franco sought to keep his distance from the liberal monarchy. This skip was accepted by Prince Juan Carlos, creating an internal conflict within the Royal House of Bourbon. The Count of Barcelona would not officially renounce his succession rights until 1977.

General Franco is truly a decisive figure historically and politically for Spain. He is one of those who got us out of and resolved our crisis of 1936. After that, he acted politically to keep us out of the Second World War. And because of this, over the last thirty years, he has laid the foundations for today's development (…). For me he is a living example, day by day, for his patriotic performance in the service of Spain and, because of this, I have great affection and admiration for him.

— Interview given in 1969 in the gardens of the Palace of Zarzuela for French television.[27]

Juan Carlos I assumed the headship of the State on an interim basis from July 19 to September 2, 1974, and later from October 30 to November 20, 1975, owing to Franco's illnesses. On July 9, 1974, Franco was hospitalized for phlebitis in his right leg. Before leaving for the hospital, he called the President of the Government, Carlos Arias Navarro, and the President of the Cortes Españolas, Alejandro Rodríguez de Valcárcel, so that they could prepare the interim transfer of powers to the Prince. Even so, two days later, Juan Carlos, who did not want an interim transfer from Franco, tried to persuade Arias to make the dictator see that he should transfer power to him definitively. Faced with the refusal of the President of the Government, the Prince asked Franco not to sign the transfer decree. On July 19, the dictator's condition worsened, so Arias went to the hospital to have him approve the transfer. Franco's son-in-law, Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, tried to prevent Arias from entering the Head of State's room. He finally managed to gain access, after which he convinced the dictator to cede power on an interim basis, which provoked the fury of the Marquis of Villaverde and of the dictator's wife, Carmen Polo. Juan Carlos assumed the headship of the State on an interim basis for the first time.

Juan Carlos de Borbón, Prince of Spain, in 1971.

After a new worsening of Franco's health, on October 23, 1975, Valcárcel and Arias Navarro went to La Zarzuela to propose to the Prince that he again assume the headship of the State on an interim basis. Juan Carlos refused unless the substitution was definitive. On October 30, Franco suffered peritonitis. Informed of the seriousness of his condition by the medical team attending him, the dictator ordered his substitution by Prince Juan Carlos, which the latter accepted once he was certain that the dictator's illness was terminal.

Reign (1975–2014)

Main article: Reign of Juan Carlos I of Spain
Standard of King Juan Carlos I.

When Franco's death was announced (November 20, 1975), he swore to abide by the Principles of the National Movement, intended to perpetuate Francoism. He was proclaimed King of Spain by the Cortes Españolas as Juan Carlos I of Spain on November 22, 1975 and exalted to the throne on November 27 with an anointing ceremony called the "Mass of the Holy Spirit" (the equivalent of a coronation) held in the historic Church of San Jerónimo el Real in Madrid. Despite having sworn loyalty to the laws of the Movement, through his attitude he promoted and encouraged[28][26] the Law for Political Reform, which was voted on by the Congress of Deputies on November 18, 1976 and approved in a referendum with overwhelming support of 94%, which began the Spanish Transition to democracy.

On May 14, 1977, his father, the Count of Barcelona, renounced his historic dynastic rights and the headship of the Royal House in the person of Juan Carlos, once he had confirmed the impossibility of personally acceding to the throne. With this renunciation the historic dynasty was resumed; and in this way, following the proclamation of Juan Carlos I as King of Spain and with the renunciation of Juan de Borbón of his rights, Felipe became Heir to the Crown and assumed the title of Prince of Asturias on November 1, 1977. Don Juan made his renunciation at an event attended by, among many others, Landelino Lavilla in his capacity as Notary Major of the Realm; after the ceremony Don Juan declared that he was renouncing "with much love for Spain and affection for my son."[29][30]

On June 22, 1977, Juan Carlos I sent a letter to the Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, in which he confirmed his commitment to democracy, but saw the monarchy in danger, since Adolfo Suárez, the candidate who enjoyed his "full confidence" and whom he considered a support of the monarchical system, lacked the external sources of financing available to other ideologies such as the right, the communists and the socialists, emphasizing the Marxist ideology of the latter (the PSOE defined itself as such until 1979). Finally, the King asked the Shah, "in the name of the political party of President Suárez," for a loan of ten million dollars as his "personal contribution to the strengthening of the Spanish monarchy." The letter was revealed after the publication in 1991 of the diary of Asadollah Alam, minister of the Interior and prime minister of the Shah.[31][32]

First signature of Juan Carlos I as King of Spain, found in the record of the delivery of Francisco Franco's body to the Abbot of the Valley of the Fallen. It is the only time he signed with the classic formula "Yo, el Rey" ("I, the King").

During his reign the Spanish Constitution was approved, which defines the functions of the King, suppressing all political participation of the Crown and turning Spain into a parliamentary monarchy of the Western European type; likewise, article 57 of the Constitution recognizes him as the legitimate heir of the "historic dynasty."[30] The Constitution was ratified in the referendum of December 6 and the King sanctioned it on December 27.

The Crown, symbol of the permanence and unity of the Fatherland, cannot tolerate, in any way, actions or attitudes of persons who seek to interrupt by force the democratic process that the Constitution voted for by the Spanish people determined in its day through a referendum.

— Televised speech by King Juan Carlos in the early hours of February 24, 1981.

One of the most serious moments that King Juan Carlos I had to face was the attempted coup d'état of February 23, 1981, known as "23-F." That day, during the second vote on the investiture of the candidate for the Presidency of the Government, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, the Congress of Deputies was seized by forces of the Civil Guard under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero. Simultaneously, in the Captaincy General of the III Military Region (Valencia), Lieutenant General Jaime Miláns del Bosch occupied the streets of the city with tanks, and there were various attempts at other points, such as the seizure of the studios of Televisión Española at Prado del Rey (Madrid).

The televised intervention of Juan Carlos I disavowing the coup put an end to the insurrection, which had expected to count on the support of the Crown, and helped increase his charisma among political sectors that until then had not been very sympathetic to the monarchical form of government. After this conflict the monarchy was definitively consolidated.

On February 9, 2012, the German weekly Der Spiegel published a diplomatic cable declassified by Germany according to which the King had shown sympathy for the coup plotters during a meeting with the then German ambassador to Spain, Lothar Lahn.[33] In response, Rafael Spottorno, head of the King's Household, denied this attributed sympathy and stated: "Neither His Majesty nor the Royal Household are in the habit of assessing writings or opinions of third parties, which are the exclusive responsibility of their authors and which, in this case, do not square with the reality of events whose development and final outcome are public knowledge."[34]

On September 21, 1992, the then Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and Juan Carlos I of Spain inaugurated the M-30 Mosque, financed with 2 billion pesetas from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.

Juan Carlos I in 2003.

In 1992, amid speculation that Juan Carlos was having a romantic relationship with the Catalan Marta Gayá, both the head of the King's Household, Sabino Fernández Campo, and the President of the Government, Felipe González, expressed their concern that a campaign against the King might have been orchestrated.[35]

The publication in 1993 by the aristocrat José Luis de Vilallonga of El Rey, the last biography authorized to date by King Juan Carlos, stirred controversy, inasmuch as the Spanish edition omitted comments by Juan Carlos I about 23-F that did appear in other European editions of the book, just as it put into Vilallonga's mouth comments that in other editions were attributed to Juan Carlos himself.[36] Vilallonga had stated months earlier in an interview that the King had asked him, with respect to 23-F, that in the book "I [Vilallonga] say almost everything."[37]

Along with the economic crisis, I am also enormously concerned about the distrust that seems to be spreading in some sectors of public opinion regarding the credibility and prestige of some of our institutions. We need rigor, seriousness and exemplary conduct in every sense. All of us, above all persons with public responsibilities, have the duty to observe appropriate conduct, exemplary conduct.
When irregular conduct occurs that does not conform to legality or ethics, it is natural for society to react. Fortunately we live in a State governed by the rule of law, and any reprehensible action must be judged and punished in accordance with the law. Justice is the same for everyone.

— Christmas Eve message of King Juan Carlos of December 24, 2011.

On December 12, 2011, following reports in the media about the probable indictment for embezzlement, fraud, malfeasance, falsification and money laundering of the King's son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarin, Duke consort of Palma de Mallorca, La Zarzuela announced that it was removing him from all institutional events, on the grounds that his conduct had not been "exemplary."[38] In addition, during his traditional Christmas Eve message, the King insisted on the need for exemplary conduct on the part of all persons with public responsibilities, after which he stated that "justice is the same for everyone," which was interpreted as an allusion to the probable indictment of his son-in-law.[39] Even so, after his speech at the solemn opening of the 10th Legislature on December 27, King Juan Carlos regretted that his Christmas message had been personalized.[40] Two days later, the investigating judge José Castro indicted Iñaki Urdangarin.

During his testimony before the investigating judge in Palma on 25, 26 and February 27, 2012, Urdangarin stated that the King had asked him to abandon his business dealings in March 2006. However, on April 16, 2012, three emails written by Urdangarin and provided to the investigating judge by his former partner, Diego Torres, were made public, which would implicate the King in business dealings in favor of his son-in-law after that date.[41]

I am very sorry. I made a mistake and it will not happen again.

— Words of King Juan Carlos after being discharged from the hospital on April 18, 2012.

On April 14, 2012, Juan Carlos I suffered a hip fracture during an elephant hunt to which he had been invited in Botswana, which drew criticism from various quarters because it occurred in the worst week of the economic crisis and after a speech in which the King had asked Spaniards for "rigor" and "sacrifices." While the People's Party and the Socialist Party did not wish to comment publicly on the mishap,[42] Plural Left, Union, Progress and Democracy and Republican Left of Catalonia announced that they would question the Government on this matter in the Congress of Deputies.[43] The Lehendakari, Patxi López, stated that a public apology from the Monarch "would not be a bad thing."[44] On April 18, upon leaving the hospital where he had undergone surgery, the King publicly apologized for those events, a situation without precedent since the beginning of his reign,[45] described as an absolutely new episode in the entire history of royalty.[46]

In 2013, after the "close relationship" that the King maintained with the German businesswoman Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein came to light, some media outlets made public that the King's Household, using two million euros from public funds of Patrimonio Nacional, had extensively remodeled the La Angorrilla estate—a place very close to the Palace of Zarzuela, where Corinna had reportedly lived for several years.[47]

Presidents of the Government during his reign

  • Carlos Arias Navarro (1974–1976): presided over the first democratic reforms. His continual disagreements with the pace and intensity of the changes driven by the Monarch and his insistence on preserving the legacy of the dictator Francisco Franco finally led to his dismissal. On July 1, 1976, after a tense meeting with the King, Arias Navarro finally submitted his resignation.
  • Adolfo Suárez (1976–1981), UCD: supported by a group of politicians of his generation, who had arrived at democratic convictions by various paths, between 1976 and 1979 he dismantled the Francoist regime through the strategy of successive and profound internal reforms strictly in accordance with the letter of the Laws of the Movement. Key milestones of his period were the approval of the Political Reform Bill and the first free general elections (1977), from which emerged constituent Cortes that drafted and approved the Spanish Constitution (1978), still in force. He resigned in 1981, weary of the growing pressure from the left-wing parties and of the tensions within his own party, UCD.
  • Felipe González (1982–1996), PSOE: the most notable events of his long presidency were entry into NATO, which he had previously opposed and which was confirmed by a referendum in 1986, entry into the European Economic Community (today's European Union) and the holding of the Barcelona Olympic Games and the Universal Exposition of Seville in 1992. In the social sphere, abortion was decriminalized in certain cases; and the Welfare State was expanded, thanks to the extension to the whole population of public services such as Health care, compulsory and free education up to age 16, the expansion of unemployment insurance and a notable increase in pensions. With the support of European funds, highways were built and the first AVE line was inaugurated (Madrid–Seville, in 1992). His government, electorally supported by successive absolute majorities (1982, 1986 and 1989), was tarnished in its last years by a deep economic crisis, an almost generalized state of corruption and the scandal of the GAL, a plot of state terrorism against ETA. As regards his relations with the Monarch, the outside perception is that they were quite cordial, although there were isolated incidents such as a scandal of illegal espionage perpetrated by the CESID on various figures, among whom was the King.
  • José María Aznar (1996–2004), PP: In general terms, both with Felipe González and with José María Aznar, as the Transition to democracy gave way to several decades of democratic normality, it was observed that the political role of the King was diminishing. The government action of the PP in its 1st Legislature had a centrist orientation to give a sense of continuity with respect to the preceding socialist stage. For this reason, the new popular government maintained a social policy that would ensure the Welfare State, began a dialogue with the trade unions and a rapprochement with the nationalist parties. The abolition of compulsory military service was promoted and the fight against ETA terrorism was intensified. In international policy, the government's priority objective was the achievement of Spain's monetary integration into the euro. On March 14, 2004, general elections were called, in which Aznar had decided not to run, and his party put forward a new candidate, Mariano Rajoy. Three days earlier, Madrid suffered the worst terrorist attack—of jihadist orientation—in the history of Spain and of the European Union: 11-M, which left a toll of 192 dead. On this day of mourning, the King addressed a speech to the country in the midst of national shock.[48]
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero taking the oath of office for the second time before the King and Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Sofía.
  • José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (2004–2011), PSOE. Those elections were won, despite all the forecasts being against it, by the PSOE, and Rodríguez Zapatero was invested as the fifth President of the Government of the democratic period. His government unfolded in a context of economic expansion until 2008 and of the worst economic crisis in the history of Spain from then on. On October 20, 2011, one of the events most awaited by Spanish society since the establishment of a parliamentary monarchy took place: the terrorist group ETA declared the "definitive cessation of armed activity." From 2008, the government acted against the economic crisis with several measures: among others, the so-called Plan E of public investment in infrastructure, a labor reform that made dismissal easier, the bailout of some banks, the withdrawal of some social measures, the increase in VAT, a 5% cut in the salaries of civil servants and the raising of the retirement age. In the social sphere, same-sex marriage (2005), the Dependency Law (2006) and the Gender Equality Law (2007) were approved.
The former Presidents of the Spanish Government José María Aznar, Mariano Rajoy, Felipe González and Rodríguez Zapatero together with King emeritus Juan Carlos I in June 2015 in Madrid.
  • Mariano Rajoy (2011–2014), PP. On November 20, 2011, Rajoy won the early general elections by an absolute majority. In the economic sphere, his government adopted harsh measures to confront the worsening of the economic crisis. Among them were the reduction of public spending through salary freezes for civil servants (abolition of the extra Christmas pay), cuts in education, Health care and social benefits, increases in personal income tax (IRPF) and VAT (21 %), the financial cleanup of the banks with public (Bankia) and European aid (the EU contributed 100,000 million euros for the bailout of Spanish banking in exchange for new adjustments), the labor reform to make employment more flexible and dismissal cheaper, and the payment of public debts to suppliers. From 2012, a conflict began, planned through the Sovereigntist Plan of the Catalan government presided over by Artur Mas, which aspired to the independence of Catalonia.

Abdication

Main article: Abdication of Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos de Borbón on horseback during his time at the General Military Academy, by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau (2014). Royal Guard Museum, Royal Palace of El Pardo.

On June 2, 2014, Juan Carlos I expressed his willingness to abdicate in favor of his son Felipe, who assumed the office with the name of Felipe VI. The abdication took place in accordance with the formula set out in the Magna Carta, specifically in its second title (On the Spanish Crown), in favor of his son. As the constitution stipulates, an organic law is necessary to carry out such a succession, which was approved by the Cortes Generales and sanctioned in a solemn ceremony.[49] In the Congress of Deputies the law was broadly supported: of the 350 seats in the chamber, it received 299 votes in favor, 23 abstentions and 19 votes against.[50] In the Senate it received broad support: 233 votes in favor, 5 against and 20 abstentions out of a possible 266.[51]

On the same day the announcement was made public, the main republican parties, such as IU, BNG and ERC, as well as anti-monarchist and radicalist social movements,[note 5] such as the Coordinadora 25-S and the 15-M Movement, called demonstrations in the main capitals of the country and in other municipalities, spread through social networks, to demand the republic and the holding of a referendum on the form of State,[55][56][57] which were attended by tens of thousands of people. Numerous republican tricolor flags could be seen at these demonstrations. In Catalonia, the demonstrations were mainly called by ERC, through an appeal to support an independent Catalan republic; at these demonstrations, alongside the tricolor, Catalan pro-independence flags and banners in favor of the secession of Catalonia were seen.[58][59][60] A similar situation occurred in Galicia, where the demonstrations were supported by, among others mentioned, the BNG and Nós–Unidade Popular, both in favor of the self-determination of Galicia; Galician pro-independence flags and slogans in favor of an independent Galician republic were seen.[61][62] On Saturday, June 7, demonstrations were again promoted, among others by the platforms and parties already mentioned, in more than 40 Spanish cities, reiterating the earlier demand. Attendance at this call was considerably lower than at the one held on the 2nd.[63] Participation in both demonstrations was far lower than in other calls in favor of the republic since the restoration of the monarchy.[64]

Assessment

Citizen confidence

One-hundred-peseta coin from 1988 with the portrait of Juan Carlos I.
Bust of Juan Carlos I located in the city hall of Vigo.

According to opinion polls, during most of his reign the King enjoyed a very high level of popularity in Spain[65] and in certain parts of Ibero-America, where he came to be considered the most popular leader in 2008.[66] His figure, considered a guarantee of order and stability, always enjoyed high popular support, even during the first years of the economic crisis that began in 2008, while a deep citizen disenchantment with the rest of the institutions of the State was taking place.[67]

However, this trend underwent its first drastic change in April 2012, after a hunt carried out in Botswana during the worst moments of the economic crisis. At that time, the support of the population, which stood at 74%, fell to 52%.[68] Although the approval percentage grew slowly and stood at 58% in December of the same year,[69] in 2013 this percentage plummeted. In April of that year, for the first time, and despite continuing to be the best-rated figure of the Spanish political system—above the City Councils, Parliament, the Government, the political parties and the political representatives—, the majority of the population, 53%, disapproved of the way the King performed his duties, compared with 42% who approved.[70] Nevertheless, two months after this figure, citizen confidence rose eight percentage points to stand at 50% approval. Despite being far from the figures obtained in previous years, citizen support remained higher than that obtained by the rest of the institutions of the Spanish political system and also higher than that obtained by other heads of State in their respective countries (as in the United States, France or Italy).[71]

In an opinion poll conducted in June 2014, a few days after his abdication was announced, King Juan Carlos obtained a 6.9 out of 10 when rating the respect his figure inspired among citizens.[72]

Historians' point of view

According to José Álvarez Junco:[73]

King Juan Carlos played his role positively during the Transition. He could have tried to accumulate power, because that is what Francoist legislation offered him, but he understood, which shows his intelligence, that public opinion was not going to allow it, and he offered the contending political forces to limit himself to a moderating role.
The parties understood that, at that moment of radical confrontation, it could be useful to have an arbiter. Because the political scene, in 1975–1976, was paralyzed... The King helped to get out of that situation, facilitating agreement: he guaranteed the opposition a democratic and open process and those loyal to the regime order and the absence of revolutionary changes, purges and reprisals. Thanks to his attitude, certainly, and to the good sense and fears of many others, the end of the dictatorship was less traumatic than feared. Public opinion was grateful to him for it and there arose, not a deep-rooted monarchism, but a broad current of Juancarlist goodwill. A goodwill that has diminished in recent times, as we all know, because of various mistakes made by himself and his family by marriage.

According to Santos Juliá:[74]

The abdication of King Juan Carlos I closes the best and most fruitful period of constitutional monarchy in Spain.[...]
The length of the reign of Juan Carlos I has broken that sort of curse that has brought Spain to first place in the ranking of deposed kings. The reason is that, for the first time in our history, the monarchy has been definitively reconciled with democracy, and not because he has been a democratic king but because the Constitution of 1978 consigned to oblivion a constant of the Spanish constitutions of the 19th century: that the King was, together with the Cortes, sovereign.
Royal sovereignty having been liquidated, all Spaniards having thus become the sole subject of sovereignty, Spain entered a process of building a democratic State that proceeded to a profound distribution of territorial power with the development of regional autonomies.

According to Juan Pablo Fusi:[75]

The historical significance of the figure of Juan Carlos I seems indubitable, evident: against the continuist projects of the Franco dictatorship (1939–1975)—which, with the appointment in 1969 of Don Juan Carlos as heir with the title of king, believed it had guaranteed the prolongation of Francoism in a monarchy of July 18—, the monarchy of King Juan Carlos saw the restoration of democracy in Spain.[...]
With the Constitution of 1978, Spain was configured as a democratic monarchy—in which the King lost all executive power—and as a State of autonomies that conferred a high degree of self-government on nationalities (Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia) and regions. Despite the terrorism of the Basque organization ETA—850 dead between 1975 and 2011—, Spanish democratization crystallized into a stable and plural regime, integrated into the European Union since 1985, and (until the crisis of 2008) into one of the most dynamic economies in Europe.[...]
The historical change had been extraordinary. For Spanish democracy, in 1931 the monarchy had been the problem; in 1975, the monarchy had been the solution.

According to Victoria Prego, author of the book Así se hizo la Transición (1995):[76]

[...]By means of the Constitution the King returns to the people all the powers he had inherited from General Franco and then becomes a "constitutional King," that is, one who reigns but does not govern.
The King would still have to intervene very directly in the events of national life one last time. The attempted coup d'état of February 1981 was brought to failure by the attitude of Don Juan Carlos. Let us not forget that most of the captains general of the military regions placed themselves under the orders of His Majesty. For whatever His Majesty might order. So that if the King had really encouraged the coup, it would undoubtedly have triumphed. There the King won the respect and affection of all Spaniards without exception, who definitively saw in him the man dedicated to the service of Spain and of the freedoms of Spaniards.[...]
His last mistakes will not occupy a first-rank place in the History of Spain. What will occupy it is his contribution to the freedom and well-being of Spaniards and his sustained struggle for democracy in our country to become definitively established. As, despite all the problems that afflict it today, it has.

According to Charles Powell:[77]

After Franco's death on November 20, 1975, the King's actions followed the dual logic of what the political scientist Giuseppe di Palma has defined as retrospective (or "backward") legitimation and prospective (or "forward") legitimation. On the one hand, the anti-Francoist opposition only accepted the Monarchy insofar as it contributed to bringing democracy and proved to be compatible with it... At the same time, the sectors of society most reluctant to change would only accept democracy if it was compatible with the Monarchy... This dual task implicitly carried a certain contradiction, since prospective legitimation required the identification of the Monarchy with democratic values and retrospective legitimation with the authoritarian past.[...]
To a certain extent, this ambiguity was what made possible the attempted coup d'état of February 23, 1981... The conduct of some captains general during the crisis showed that their relationship with the King was still preconstitutional in nature, and that for an important sector of the Armed Forces their only effective link with the State came through Don Juan Carlos, and not so much because he was the Monarch as because he was Franco's successor. By publicly disavowing the coup in the televised message in the early hours of February 24, placing the defense of the Constitution above any other consideration, the King not only put an end to that latent contradiction, but also won for the monarchy, now definitively, that democratic legitimacy whose pursuit had inspired his conduct since 1975.

Criticism

Some NGOs and social movements maintained that, on his visits to Morocco, the King acted as an intermediary for the Spanish Government in the sale of arms to that country[78] which would have been used to repress the Sahrawi people.[78] He has also been criticized for his well-known friendship[79] with the royal families of Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates, countries with authoritarian regimes, most notably the case of Saudi Arabia, whose absolute monarchy controls all the bodies of the State[80] and has for years been accused of massive corruption[81] and of constituting a feudal[81] and not free regime.[82]

Criticism of the King has also often included the Spanish media, which according to their critics give a deliberately positive image of his figure,[83] which some foreign media have even described as a genuine cult of personality.[84]

Other criticisms referred to the criminal non-liability of the Monarch, enshrined in the Spanish Constitution, which made him unaccountable for any crime he might commit.[85][86] In addition, various authors have pointed to the taboo existing in the Spanish mass media surrounding the figure of the King.[87] His role in 23-F, the failed coup d'état that took place in 1981, has also been criticized in some sectors, since the King would have known of its existence beforehand or might even have been a participant.[88] Likewise, some authors considered inappropriate the ¿Por qué no te callas? ("Why don't you shut up?") that the King blurted out to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez at the XVII Ibero-American Summit.[89]

In 2007, The Times, one of the most important newspapers in the United Kingdom, criticized the King's "lavish lifestyle" and the "idealization" that had been made of his figure for 30 years, while calling him a "playboy."[90]

According to a journalistic investigation by the newspaper Público, which had access to classified documents, published in 2014, King Juan Carlos I would have acted as an intermediary between the military dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla in Argentina and the government of Spain presided over by Adolfo Suárez from 1976.[91] According to the investigation and the confidential documents, Spain would have provided economic aid through commercial and diplomatic agreements.[91] In turn, the King would also have acted as an intermediary between the Argentine dictatorship and major Spanish businessmen and bankers, among whom would be Emilio Botín Sr., owner of Banco Santander.[91] Argentina's need to obtain foreign currency would have stemmed from the great expenses that its programs of political repression entailed in those years (see Death flights and Disappeared during the National Reorganization Process).[91] The investigation also pointed to the exchange of gifts and decorations between senior officials of both nations[92]—for example, in 1978 the King awarded Videla the Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit and the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, while the then Prince Felipe (Felipe VI) was named Honorary Midshipman (Guardiamarina Honoris Causa) by the Argentine Navy in 1981—.[92] Spain would also have given courses to 33 Argentine military officers between 1976 and 1983 (already in democracy) who took part in the repression in their country.[93]

Personal fortune

In September 2012 the newspaper The New York Times published an article titled "A Chastened King Seeks Redemption, for Spain and His Monarchy."[94] In the text, released five days after[95] the Monarch visited the newspaper to explain the Spanish situation and improve the country's image,[96] it was stated, among other data, that "the fortune of the Spanish Royal Family has been estimated at up to 2.3 billion dollars [almost 1.8 billion euros]." Sources at the New York newspaper later indicated that the calculation had not been the product of its own investigation, but was based on an average of figures already published.[97]

The only publications that, up to that date, had included a figure for the fortune of the King of Spain had been the magazines Eurobusiness (2000 and 2002) and Forbes (2003). Indeed, the latter justified the inclusion of the Spanish Monarch in its 2003 lists by the figure that Eurobusiness had published a year earlier.[98] Eurobusiness was the first to speak of 1,790 million euros, in the list it published in 2002 of the 400 richest people in Europe. Although in the previous supplement, published in 2000, the King had already appeared with an estimated fortune of some 1,681 million, the figure went unnoticed and reactions did not come until the 2002 issue was published,[99] which stated:[99]

The family of King Juan Carlos inherited a significant number of properties in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, including one on the island of Majorca [...]. It also recovered works of art. But the most important source of the Spanish Royal Family's fortune comes from a foundation organized, in the late 1940s, for the restoration of the monarchy by General Franco. The King has a personal fortune valued at 545 million euros and controls family assets worth another 1,136 million euros.

On that occasion the Government and the King's Household did become aware of the information and reacted by denying it. The Spanish ambassador to the United Kingdom, the country in which the magazine was published, sent a letter to its editor in which he conveyed "the astonishment of the Household of His Majesty the King of Spain" and described Eurobusiness's estimate as "preposterous," adding a possible explanation for the magazine's "erroneous" calculation:[99]

The preposterous figure of 1,700 million euros can only be explained by your having understood, erroneously, that the public assets owned by Patrimonio Nacional, of the Spanish State, are the private property of His Majesty the King, which is evidently inaccurate [...] His Majesty files annually, like the rest of the Spaniards obliged to do so, the corresponding income and wealth tax returns.

On the question of whether the real estate of Patrimonio Nacional was included in the estimate of the fortune, the article in The New York Times states: "a sum [the 2.3 billion dollars] that his defenders say was inflated by the inclusion of government properties."[94]

The Spanish general press that analyzed the information about the supposed fortune aligned its theses with the Government's verdict, describing the figure as "exorbitant" and "implausible,"[99] as an "incorrect calculation," a "mistaken figure" and "inflated"[98] or as "shocking."[100] However, in Spain, other voices, such as the economist and professor at the UPM, as well as former managing director of Campsa, Roberto Centeno, accepted the New York Times figure as valid, and accused the Monarch and his former administrator, Manuel Prado y Colón de Carvajal, of collecting commissions on the oil imported by the State from Middle Eastern countries—from 1 to 2 dollars per barrel—since the late 1970s.[101] In 2015 a conversation was leaked, recorded by the National Intelligence Center, in which the businessman Javier de la Rosa claimed that the broker Arturo Fassana, implicated in several corruption and money-laundering schemes, had at some point "kept" 300 million for Juan Carlos I.[102]

Manuel de Prado y Colón de Carvajal

The Spanish engineer, economist and writer Roberto Centeno González, whose professional career has unfolded in various public companies of the Spanish State (Butano, SA, ENAGAS, CAMPSA, Saras Energía, ERG Petróleos and ENEROIL), has stated that after taking charge of contracting a shipment of Kuwaiti oil, the then Minister of Finance, Francisco Fernández Ordóñez, reprimanded him so that he would not again formalize any oil supply contract in the Near East, because that territory was reserved for Manuel Prado y Colón de Carvajal. Thus, as Centeno himself tells us,[103] Fernández Ordóñez went so far as to tell him the following: "Look, Manolo Prado has been here; he found out you were in Kuwait and he threw a fit you can't imagine; he told me that Saudi Arabia and the Emirates are exclusively his and nobody but him can negotiate even a single barrel, so don't you dare do anything like that again."

He concludes by saying that Juan Carlos I, through his representative and private administrator Manuel de Prado, "had the monopoly of our extra supplies during the [oil] crisis," and that "the Treasury paid for the oil whatever the invoice said, without making any inquiry, much less committing the vulgarity of saying that it could be bought more cheaply when the fixer was Prado."[104]

Private and family life

Descendants

On May 14, 1962, he married Princess Sofía of Greece and Denmark in Athens. They had three children:

Private life

Following the controversy that arose from the King's hunting trip in Botswana in April 2012, certain journalistic circles suggested that the King and Queen were leading separate lives,[105][106] a point that has not been confirmed by the Royal Household. The Spanish press, foreign newspapers such as Bild, La Stampa and Middle East Times International, as well as the journalist Pilar Eyre in her book La soledad de la Reina and the former director of the newspaper ABC, José Antonio Zarzalejos, also pointed to a possible romantic relationship of several years between the King and Corinna Larsen,[107] which the latter denied. He has also been credited with other significant extramarital affairs with other women, such as Barbara Rey or the Majorcan Marta Gayá.[108] [109] The official residence of the Royal Family is the Royal Palace of Madrid, but it is reserved for official ceremonies. The King and Queen reside in the Palace of La Zarzuela, and the family of King Felipe also resides within the grounds of La Zarzuela, in a recent building called the Pabellón del Príncipe (Prince's Pavilion). Infanta Elena lives in a private residence in Madrid, and Cristina has lived in Geneva since the summer of 2013.

During the summer season, the Royal Family resides in the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca, while the Royal Palace of La Almudaina is reserved for official ceremonies.

Hobbies

King Juan Carlos took part as a sailor in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, competing in the Dragon class with his boat Fortuna. His two crew members were Félix Gancedo and Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba.[110] He later joined the Bribón team. After several decades of top-level competition, including a brief retirement between 2011 and 2016, Juan Carlos I became world sailing champion in 2017, at the age of 79, in the 6-meter classic boat category at the World Championship in Vancouver (Canada).[111]

He is also an amateur radio operator (his call sign is EA0JC),[112] and is fond of skiing and hunting. This last hobby has given rise to various controversies,[113] in addition to the one unleashed by his trip to Botswana in 2012. Thus, on October 8, 2004, he took part in a bear hunt in Romania.[114] In 2006, various media outlets in Russia accused him of having hunted a drugged bear, which led the Russian authorities to open an investigation. This was denied by the Royal Household.[115] As a result of these controversies, on July 21, 2012, the Spanish branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) decided to remove the post of Honorary President from its statutes, a post the King had held since the organization's founding.[116]

He was awarded the Charlemagne Prize in 1982 and the Simón Bolívar Prize in 1983, and has received honoris causa doctorates from universities such as Bologna (1988), Oxford (1986), Cambridge (1988), Harvard (1983) and the Sorbonne (1985).

Juan Carlos I with his wife, Sofía of Greece.

Health

He has had to undergo several surgical operations over recent decades. On the night of June 21–22, 1981, he had to undergo emergency surgery after striking a glass door as he was about to swim in the pool at La Zarzuela, which caused a cut to his radial nerve.[117] On January 3, 1983, he suffered a fissure of the pelvis while skiing in Gstaad (Switzerland), which kept him on leave for three months.[118] On July 19, 1985, he had to undergo surgery again to remove a fibrosis resulting from that skiing accident.[119] On December 28, 1991, he suffered another skiing accident in Baqueira Beret, after which he had to undergo knee surgery, which kept him on leave for four months.[120]

On May 8, 2010, a benign tumor was removed from his lung at Barnaclínic, a private healthcare entity linked to the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona. On April 14, 2012, he had to undergo emergency hip surgery at the Hospital Quirón San José in Madrid, after a fracture that occurred during an elephant hunt to which he had been invited in Botswana. On November 23, 2012, the King underwent surgery again at the Hospital Quirón San José in Madrid, this time to receive a prosthesis in his left hip joint.[121]

On March 3, 2013, the Monarch underwent surgery at the Clínica La Milagrosa in Madrid, in this case for disc disease and lumbar canal stenosis.[122] On September 24, 2013, the King had surgery on his left hip at the Hospital Universitario Quirón in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid. The operation was led by Dr. Miguel Cabanela.[123] On November 21, 2013, the Monarch had surgery on his left hip once more, to replace the provisional prosthesis implanted in the previous operation with a permanent one. This operation was also performed at the Hospital Universitario Quirón in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid.[124]

Titles, honors and appointments

Personal coat of arms of King Juan Carlos I.[note 7][125]

During his reign

The Spanish Constitution, in Title II, Article 56, paragraph 2, designated the title of King for Juan Carlos I, who could make use of other titles and dignities, generally referring to historical entities, which have traditionally been associated with the Spanish Crown:[126]

However, most of these titles are of a merely honorary character. Other titles and dignities associated with the holder of the Crown are the following:

After his reign

After abdicating, Juan Carlos and Sofía retain the title of King and Queen on an honorary and lifelong basis, and receive the style of "Majesty" and honors analogous to those established for the heirs to the Crown.[130]

Honors named after the King

Main article: Honors named after King Juan Carlos I

Numerous places, infrastructures and objects have been named in honor of King Juan Carlos I, both in Spain itself and in the rest of the world. Among the most significant are the Juan Carlos I Antarctic Base on Livingston Island (South Shetland Islands), the Strategic Projection Ship Juan Carlos I (belonging to the Spanish Navy), the Juan Carlos I Park in Madrid, the King Juan Carlos University in Móstoles, and the Centro Rey Juan Carlos I de España (The King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center) in New York (United States).

Film and television

Over the years, the figure of Juan Carlos I has become a character in films and television films in Spain, among which the following may be mentioned:

Kinship with other European monarchs

Monarch Family relationship Closest ancestors
Felipe VI of Spain son
Margrethe II of Denmark
Harald V of Norway
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Third cousin
Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Third cousin
Philippe of Belgium
Henri of Luxembourg
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein
Albert II of Monaco

Ancestors

Ancestors of Juan Carlos I of Spain

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ↑ Religious ceremony of exaltation to the Throne known as the "Mass of the Holy Spirit,"[1] although commonly called the "coronation mass."Preston 2012
  2. ↑ After the death of Francisco Franco on November 20, 1975, the headship of the State was assumed on an acting basis for two days by the Council of the Regency, until Prince Juan Carlos took the oath as king.
  3. ↑ The Royal Palace is the official seat and residence of the kings of Spain, intended for the exercise of the functions of high representation that the Constitution entrusts to them.[2] The Palace of Zarzuela is the private residence of the monarchs.
  4. ↑ Majesty is the protocol style designated by Royal Decree 1368/1987.[3] In spoken language, however, señor ("sir") is used.[4] If the majestic dignity is used, the verb form employed must be the second person plural; on the contrary, if señor is used, the third person singular is employed.[5] In no case may he be addressed as usted.[4]
  5. ↑ The term radicalist is used in accordance with the second meaning recorded by the RAE,[52] insofar as they want a profound remodeling of the current system, such as the opening of a full constituent process, and other broad reforms[53][54]
  6. ↑ Infanta Cristina was also Duchess of Palma de Mallorca until 2015, the year in which her title was revoked by order of her brother, King Felipe VI.
  7. ↑ This version shows the inescutcheon with the same shape as the shield; its shape is not mentioned in the blazon, but in most designs of the royal arms since the 18th century the inescutcheon is depicted as oval; the enté en pointe is shown more exaggerated.
  8. ↑ Owing to the great number of titles associated with the Hispanic Monarchy, only the most important were written, the list ending with an «etc.» or «&c.», thereby referring to secondary and disused titles. These are:

References

  1. ↑ Zugasti, Ricardo (2007). "Juan Carlos I y el acercamiento a Europa en la prensa española de la transición (1975-1977)" (PDF). Comunicación y hombre (in español) (3): 112.
  2. ↑ "Reales Sitios" (in español). Casa de Su Majestad el Rey. Retrieved October 6, 2015. En la actualidad el Palacio Real de Madrid es la sede oficial de su Majestad el Rey para el ejercicio de las funciones de alta representación que la Constitución le otorga
  3. ↑ "Real Decreto 1368/1987, de 6 de noviembre, sobre régimen de títulos, tratamientos y honores de la Familia Real y de los Regentes" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado no. 271, November 12, 1987 (in español). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 33717. November 6, 1987.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Serna Ramos, María de la (May 8, 2016). "Señor rey don Juan Carlos". El Huffington Post (in español).
  5. ↑ Martínez-Fornés, Almudena (September 21, 2015). "Al Rey solo le tutea su familia; los demás le tratan de «Señor» o «Majestad»". ABC (in español).
  6. ↑ Presidencia del Gobierno (June 19, 2014). "Real Decreto 470/2014, de 13 de junio, por el que se modifica el Real Decreto 1368/1987, de 6 de noviembre, sobre régimen de títulos, tratamientos y honores de la Familia Real y de los Regentes" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado no. 149, June 19, 2014 (in español). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. ISSN 0212-033X.
  7. ↑ Jefatura del Estado (July 19, 1989). "Ley 17/1989, de 19 de julio, Reguladora del Régimen del Personal Militar Profesional" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado no. 172, July 20, 1989 (in español). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. Disposición transitoria primera. Situación de segunda reserva de los Oficiales Generales. [...] 2. Al cumplir la edad de retiro fijada en el artículo 64 de esta Ley, pasarán a la situación de segunda reserva, en las condiciones mencionadas en el apartado anterior, los Oficiales Generales que tengan dicha categoría en la fecha de entrada en vigor de la misma
  8. ↑ González, Miguel (June 17, 2014). "El Rey será capitán general en la reserva y no se 'jubilará' del Ejército". El País (in español).
  9. ↑ Crespo MacLennan, Julio (2004). España en Europa, 1945-2000. Del ostracismo a la modernidad. Ed. Marcial Pons Historia
  10. ↑ «El Rey, premio de la Paz de la Unesco por "evitar la guerra civil" según Kissinger», El País, January 11, 1995
  11. ↑ «El Rey reitera en Nueva York la autocrítica por el decreto de expulsión de los judíos», El País, April 9, 1997
  12. ↑ «El Rey alerta contra actitudes intolerantes», El País, April 11, 1997
  13. ↑ «Viaje de trabajo de Su Majestad el Rey a la Federación de Rusia», Casa de Su Majestad el Rey. Retrieved July 20, 2012
  14. ↑ «La familia Kennedy se une a los homenajes que recibe el Rey en Estados Unidos», El País, April 12, 1997
  15. ↑ «Sarkozy elogia la aportación del Rey Juan Carlos a la democracia en España», El Día, May 2, 2008
  16. ↑ «Beyond Soccer: The Poignance (and Royalty) of Spain’s Soft Power», Time, July 5, 2012 (in English)
  17. ↑ Ana, Romero. "El Rey abdica" (in español). El Mundo. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  18. ↑ "El Rey renuncia y abre el proceso sucesorio" (in español).
  19. ↑ Preston, Paul (2004). "In Search of a Lost Crown, 1931-1948". Juan Carlos: A People's King. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780002556323.
  20. ↑ El Rey Juan Carlos I y Froilán: Accidentes reales con armas de fuego
  21. ↑ Apezarena, José and Castilla, Carmen (1993). Así es el príncipe: vida del futuro rey de España. Ediciones Rialp
  22. ↑ Preston, Paul (2004). "The Tribulations of a Young Soldier, 1955-1960". Juan Carlos: A People's King. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780002556323.
  23. ↑ Review of Paul Preston's work found on Google Books[1]
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Preston, Paul (2004). "A Life Under Surveillance, 1960-1966". Juan Carlos: A People's King. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780002556323.
  25. ↑ "Juan Carlos I jura como sucesor de Franco" (in español). YouTube. Video uploaded on December 12, 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2014. 22 de julio de 1969. El príncipe Don Juan Carlos jura como sucesor a Franco y manifiesta que la legitimidad que acepta es la del 18 de julio de 1936. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 The situation gave a certain advantage to the reformist project of Juan Carlos and Fernández-Miranda(...) The King used his prerogative of appointing procuradores to replace the Francoists who were dying with trusted liberals (...)The presidency of the Commission of Fundamental Laws passed from the veteran Falangist Raimundo Fernández Cuesta to the liberal Opus Dei member Gregorio López Bravo. This commission had begun to study bills on assembly and association and a reform of the penal code...Juan Carlos Paul Preston
  27. ↑ Crónica 2013 S.L., ed. (July 18, 2016). "Por qué las declaraciones virales de Juan Carlos I sobre Franco son más actuales de lo que parece". el debat (in español). Retrieved October 8, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)
  28. ↑ Palacio Atard, Vicente (1988). Real Academia de la Historia (ed.). Juan Carlos I y el advenimiento de la democracia (in español). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 108. ISBN 84-239-6260-1. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  29. ↑ "14 de mayo: don Juan renuncia a sus derechos dinásticos" (in español).
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 On the other hand, it is a decided reaffirmation of the dynastic legitimacy of the current king, more than in the face of old dynastic disputes—no longer raised today—as regards the person of Juan Carlos, who, as a consequence of the renunciation of succession rights made by his father, Juan de Borbón, in 1977, became, in the Monarchy reinstated in 1978, the legitimate king of Spain, continuer of the historic dynasty.[2]
  31. ↑ "Los días en que hablé con Suárez del Rey y sobre su enfermedad: Artículo sobre el libro del periodista Carlos Herrera, en el que se hace referencia a la carta enviada por el Rey" (in español).
  32. ↑ "Artículo "El Plural" (2011). De cuando el Rey pedía dinero para UCD con el fin de frenar al PSOE "marxista" Que contiene el texto traducido de la misiva" (in español).
  33. ↑ "Did Spanish King Sympathize with Coup Attempt?". Der Spiegel. February 9, 2012.
  34. ↑ "diariodenavarra" (in español).
  35. ↑ Preston, Paul (2004). "Living in the Long Shadow of Success, 1981-2002". Juan Carlos: A People's King. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780002556323.
  36. ↑ La edición española del libro El Rey omite declaraciones de don Juan Carlos sobre el 23-F, El Mundo, April 25, 1993, p. 14.
  37. ↑ «El Rey dice que su padre supo siempre que no iba a reinar», El Mundo, January 11, 1993, p. 10.
  38. ↑ "Zarzuela aparta a Urdangarín de sus actos oficiales porque su comportamiento "no le parece ejemplar"" (in español). RTVE. December 12, 2011.
  39. ↑ "El Rey, sobre el 'caso Urdangarin': "La justicia es igual para todos"" (in español). El País. December 26, 2011.
  40. ↑ "El Rey lamenta que se haya personalizado su discurso de Navidad" (in español). El País. December 27, 2011.
  41. ↑ "El rey y la infanta mediaron en negocios de Urdangarin, según revelan 'El Mundo' y 'El País'" (in español). RTVE. April 17, 2012.
  42. ↑ Respaldo o silencio en público, inquietud creciente en privado, El País, April 15, 2012.
  43. ↑ Cuatro partidos preguntan al Gobierno en el Congreso por el viaje del Rey, El País, April 16, 2012.
  44. ↑ Rubalcaba afirma que "lo leal es hablar en privado con el Rey" de sus errores, El País, April 16, 2012.
  45. ↑ El rey se disculpa: "Lo siento mucho, me he equivocado. No volverá a ocurrir", 20 minutos, April 18, 2012.
  46. ↑ "Lo siento mucho, me he equivocado y no volverá a ocurrir" Univision, April 18, 2012.
  47. ↑ Lobo, José Luis (March 7, 2013). "La Casa del Rey pagó con fondos públicos la reforma de la casa de Corinna en El Pardo" (in español). El Confidencial. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  48. ↑ Speech of the King on the attacks of March 11, 2004, hosted on Wikisource
  49. ↑ "El Rey sanciona la ley orgánica de su abdicación en Felipe VI". El País (in español). June 18, 2014.
  50. ↑ "El Congreso aprueba la ley orgánica de abdicación" (in español).
  51. ↑ "El Senado aprueba definitivamente y por amplia mayoría la ley de abdicación del rey" (in español). RTVE. June 17, 2014.
  52. ↑ "definición de radicalismo" (in español).
  53. ↑ "Plataforma 25s" (in español).
  54. ↑ "Propuestas 15M" (PDF) (in español).
  55. ↑ Decenas de miles de personas reclaman un referéndum sobre la monarquía por toda España. 20minutos.es, June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  56. ↑ Decenas de miles de voces republicanas en las plazas. Joaquín Vera, Rafael J. Álvarez, Quico Alsedo, El Mundo, June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  57. ↑ Miles de personas reclaman un referéndum sobre la Monarquía. Àngels Piñol, Jesús Sérvulo González, El País, June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014
  58. ↑ "periodismo digital" (in español).
  59. ↑ "Partidos de izquierda convocan manifestaciones por la república" (in español).
  60. ↑ "ERC responde a la abdicación del Rey" (in español).
  61. ↑ "Miles de personas salen a la calle en Galicia" (in español).
  62. ↑ "Manifestación en vigo" (in español).
  63. ↑ "Manifestaciones en varias ciudades españolas piden un referéndum sobre la Monarquía" (in español). June 7, 2014.
  64. ↑ "Miles de manifestantes reclaman la república en decenas de ciudades" (in español). June 8, 2014.
  65. ↑ Biografía del Rey Juan Carlos I de Borbón Quien.net.
  66. ↑ «Juan Carlos I líder más valorado en el conjunto de Iberoamérica», El Mundo, July 9, 2008
  67. ↑ «Los españoles dicen no al Gobierno y a la oposición», El País (March 27, 2011). Retrieved April 7, 2013
  68. ↑ «Un anacronismo que funciona», El País (August 25, 2012). Retrieved April 7, 2013
  69. ↑ «La Corona mantiene su apego popular», El País (January 6, 2013). Retrieved April 7, 2013
  70. ↑ «El apoyo al Rey se desploma, sobre todo entre los jóvenes», El País (April 7, 2013). Retrieved April 7, 2013
  71. ↑ «El desplome de la política», El País (August 17, 2013). Retrieved February 9, 2014
  72. ↑ «Los españoles y la abdicación del Rey», El País (June 6, 2014). Retrieved February 9, 2014
  73. ↑ José Álvarez Junco (June 2, 2014). "Monarquismo o juancarlismo" (in español). El País. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  74. ↑ Santos Juliá (June 2, 2014). "Último servicio a la democracia" (in español). El País. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  75. ↑ Juan Pablo Fusi (June 3, 2014). "Juan Carlos I: Monarquía y democracia" (in español). La Vanguardia. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  76. ↑ Victoria Prego (June 3, 2014). "Un Rey en el que muy pocos creyeron" (in español). El Mundo. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  77. ↑ Charles Powell (June 3, 2014). "Un Rey para la Democracia" (in español). ABC. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  78. ↑ 78.0 78.1 ""El rey Juan Carlos trabaja como intermediario en la venta de armas"". Diagonal (in español). July 18, 2013.
  79. ↑ Fernández, Lara (November 4, 2011). "El Rey afianza su amistad con los jeques de los 'petrodólares'" (in español). El Confidencial. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  80. ↑ Campbell, Christian (2007). Legal Aspects of Doing Business in the Middle East. Lulu Enterprises Incorporated. p. 265. ISBN 978-1-4303-1914-6. {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help)
  81. ↑ 81.0 81.1 Fisk, Robert (May 14, 2003). "Robert Fisk: The corrupt, feudal world of the House of Saud". The Independent (Web Archive). Archived from the original on October 10, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  82. ↑ Freedom House (2012). "Freedom in the World". Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  83. ↑ Castro Torres, Carmen (2010). La prensa en la transición española, 1966-1978 (in español). Alianza Editorial. p. 392. ISBN 978-84-206-8320-1.
  84. ↑ Ros, Elianne (November 18, 2013). "Severo retrato de Juan Carlos en la televisión francesa" (in español). Canal+ / El periódico (París). Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  85. ↑ "Si el rey hubiera matado a su chófer habría sido declarado inmune". Público (in español). August 31, 2012.
  86. ↑ "Garzón pide que la Constitución incluya la responsabilidad penal del Rey". El País (in español). July 17, 1999.
  87. ↑ "Paul Preston: "Durante mucho tiempo en España era tabú hablar mal de la Familia Real"". Cadena SER (in español). November 10, 2012.
  88. ↑ "El Rey sabía que se iba a producir el golpe del 23-F, según unas supuestas memorias de Fernández Campo". El Periódico (in español). February 22, 2013.
  89. ↑ Juan Carlos Monedero (April 14, 2013). "No serás rey, Felipe". Público (in español).
  90. ↑ Colomer, R. (August 31, 2007). "The Times critica el "lujoso estilo de vida" del Rey y le califica de "playboy"" (in español). The Times (reported in Spanish by Libertad Digital).
  91. ↑ 91.0 91.1 91.2 91.3 Albin, Danilo (October 20, 2014). "España financió a la dictadura de Videla" (in español). Público. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  92. ↑ 92.0 92.1 Albin, Danilo (October 21, 2014). "La dictadura de Videla y España intercambiaron, apoyos, medallas y regalos" (in español). Público. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  93. ↑ "España dio cursos a torturadores de la dictadura de Videla" (in español). La Gaceta. October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  94. ↑ 94.0 94.1 «Chastened King Seeks Redemption, for Spain and His Monarchy», The New York Times (September 28, 2012). Retrieved December 16, 2012
  95. ↑ «“Un Rey escarmentado que busca la redención por España”», El País (September 29, 2012). Retrieved December 16, 2012
  96. ↑ «El Rey visita el ‘New York Times’ para explicar la situación económica española», El País (September 24, 2012). Retrieved December 16, 2012
  97. ↑ «¿A cuánto asciende la fortuna personal del Rey? 'The New York Times' reabre el debate», El Confidencial (October 3, 2012). Retrieved December 16, 2012
  98. ↑ 98.0 98.1 «Por qué el 'New York Times' infló la fortuna del Rey», El Economista (October 6, 2012). Retrieved December 16, 2012
  99. ↑ 99.0 99.1 99.2 99.3 «La falsa fortuna del Rey», El Mundo (July 21, 2002). Retrieved December 16, 2012
  100. ↑ «La fortuna del Rey por Alfonso Ussía», La Razón (October 8, 2012). Retrieved December 16, 2012
  101. ↑ "El catedrático Centeno amplía su denuncia: el rey Juan Carlos se llevaba "1 o 2 dólares por barril de petróleo"" (in español). Radio 3W. December 12, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2015. La cifra no la recuerdo exactamente, pero había un sobrecoste. Es decir, entre comprarlo directamente, que estábamos hablando de treinta y tantos dólares de aquellos años (si le ponemos la inflación ahora no sé cuánto saldría, desde luego el doble o el triple)… Pero, en fin, había comisiones que podían oscilar entre 1 y 2 dólares por barril y eso es una barbaridad por la cantidad de barriles de petróleo que caben en un superpetrolero. Un petrolero de 200.000 toneladas lleva entre 1.400.000 o 1.600.000 barriles. Entonces estamos hablando de que un petrolero le puede producir en aquel momento un beneficio de 2 millones de dólares del año 1979. Eso son palabras mayores
  102. ↑ Javier G. Negre; Quico Alsedo (April 16, 2014). "De la Rosa, al 'pequeño Nicolás': 'Llevaba por la noche el dinero en efectivo al despacho de Jordi Pujol'" (in español). El Mundo. Retrieved April 17, 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  103. ↑ Libertad Constituyente TV (April 20, 2017). "RLC (2017-04-20) España rota por la corrupción de los partidos estatales de este Régimen" (in español). Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  104. ↑ "El juancarlismo deja España al borde del abismo. Blogs de El Disparate Económico". El Confidencial (in español). Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  105. ↑ «Los 15 minutos de la Reina» in El País, April 22, 2012
  106. ↑ Pilar Urbano: «El rey ha reventado la confianza de los españoles», Levante-EMV, April 20, 2012.
  107. ↑ "La princesa Corinna, la amiga del rey que está en boca de todos" (in español). 20 Minutos. April 21, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  108. ↑ https://www.elespanol.com/reportajes/grandes-historias/20170120/187482023_0.html
  109. ↑ http://www.elmundo.es/loc/casa-real/2017/12/23/5a39457022601d4a358b45b2.html
  110. ↑ "Nauta360 13-08-2013" (in español).
  111. ↑ "El rey Juan Carlos, campeón mundial a los 79 años". El País (in español). September 22, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  112. ↑ "La Radioafición" (in español).
  113. ↑ Un gran aficionado a la vela y a la caza, El País, April 14, 2012.
  114. ↑ «Disparos» contra el Rey de Rumanía, El Mundo, October 17, 2004.
  115. ↑ Medios rusos atribuyen al Rey la caza 'amañada' de un oso, El País, October 20, 2006.
  116. ↑ "WWF deja al Rey sin la presidencia de honor" (in español). El País. July 21, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  117. ↑ El Rey no sufrirá secuelas físicas por las lesiones sufridas con el cristal de una puerta en la Zarzuela, El País, June 23, 1981.
  118. ↑ El rey Juan Carlos podrá hacer vida normal a finales de marzo, según el equipo médico, El País, February 19, 1983.
  119. ↑ El Rey se sometió ayer en Barcelona a una ligera intervención quirúrgica, El País, July 19, 1985.
  120. ↑ El Rey deberá ser operado en una rodilla tras sufrir un accidente mientras esquiaba en Baqueira, El País, December 30, 1991.
  121. ↑ "Comunicado intervención quirúrquica" (in español).
  122. ↑ "Comunicado intervención quirúrquica" (in español).
  123. ↑ "Comunicado Casa Real" (in español).
  124. ↑ "La Voz de Galicia" (in español).
  125. ↑ Andoni Esparza Leibar (2006). "El escusón y algunas reflexiones sobre la España externa" (PDF). Emblemata (in español). 12: 231–274. ISSN 1137-1056.
  126. ↑ "Royal Styles Spain. En heráldica.org".
  127. ↑ "Nombramientos de Honor de la Cofradía" (in español).
  128. ↑ "EL PRENDIMIENTO: "NUESTRA DECISIÓN DE DEJAR DE SUBIR AL CALVARIO FUE ACERTADA"" (in español). Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  129. ↑ as.com (ed.). "Casillas recibe la Gran Cruz del Mérito el día 10 de noviembre" (in español). Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  130. ↑ "Real Decreto 470/2014, de 13 de junio, por el que se modifica el Real Decreto 1368/1987, de 6 de noviembre, sobre régimen de títulos, tratamientos y honores de la Familia Real y de los Regentes" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in español).
  131. ↑ "Fórmula TV" (in español).

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