Former Spanish king
Harassment lawsuit by ex-lover: Juan Carlos initially fails in court
Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and Juan Carlos had a relationship from 2004 to 2009
© Mikhail Metzel/epa efe Kai Foersterling / Picture Alliance
Spain’s former King Juan Carlos is being sued for molestation by his ex-lover Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. The 84-year-old relied on his immunity – but the court rejected the application.
Former King Juan Carlos of Spain has failed in a London court to have a harassment lawsuit from his former lover dismissed over his immunity as a member of the royal family. “Whatever the status of the accused under Spanish law and the constitution, he is no longer a ‘sovereign’ or ‘head of state’,” London’s High Court said on Thursday not granting personal immunity to Juan Carlos.
The court set the next hearing on the harassment allegations by Danish businesswoman Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn against Juan Carlos for next Tuesday. Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn has sued Juan Carlos in London for damages for harassment. Her attorney, Robin Rathmell, said the court’s decision against the immunity request “shows that this defendant cannot hide behind any position, power or privilege to prevent this trial.”
Juan Carlos denies the allegations
Juan Carlos, who was Spain’s head of state from 1975 until his abdication in 2014, has had the allegations “strongly” rejected. In addition, his lawyers had argued in a motion in December that English courts were not authorized to judge Juan Carlos.
According to court documents, the then king and the plaintiff had an “intimate love affair” between 2004 and 2009. Juan Carlos showered Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn with gifts such as artwork, jewelry and money even after they broke up. When Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn refused to rekindle the relationship, he had displayed a “pattern of behavior” that “equated to harassment”.
The plaintiff said she had been threatened, her property had been broken into, and Juan Carlos had “requested the return of gifts.” Further “covert and open surveillance measures” as well as “trespassing and criminal damage” of their property in England would have put them in “fear and terror”.
Gunshots and a hole in the bedroom window
Shots were fired and security cameras at the front gate of their property were damaged. In the summer of 2017, a hole was drilled in her bedroom window while she slept at her home in Shropshire, north-west England.
Juan Carlos, once valued and revered for his role in Spain’s transition from a fascist dictatorship to democracy, has been plagued by numerous scandals since his abdication. Among other things, it was about questionable gifts of money in the millions from Saudi Arabia and allegations of money laundering, in which his ex-lover is said to be involved. Both deny the allegations.
Juan Carlos went into exile in Abu Dhabi in August 2020 on suspicion of embezzlement. In early March, the Spanish judiciary dropped its investigation for lack of evidence, the statute of limitations and the sanctity enjoyed by Juan Carlos as head of state.
Although this clears the way for his return, the ex-monarch said he will continue to live in the UAE capital. Here he “found peace”, he wrote in a letter published by the royal family in Madrid to his son, King Felipe VI. At the same time, Juan Carlos announced that he would “of course return to Spain frequently”.