Spanish royal family
Old King Juan Carlos celebrates his 84th birthday in exile
Juan Carlos hopes to return to Spain one day. Photo: Francisco Flores Seguel / Agencia Uno / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Juan Carlos secretly left Spain a year and a half ago. Since then, the controversial old king has lived in exile.
The Spanish old king Juan Carlos, beset by corruption allegations, spent his birthday away from home for the second time in a row. Whether and how the father of King Felipe VI. (53) celebrated his 84th birthday in exile in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, was initially not known.
According to media reports, Juan Carlos has so far only been visited by his two daughters, Infanta Elena (58) and Cristina (56). Since his hasty departure from Spain in August 2020, he is unlikely to have personally met his wife Sofia (83), Felipe or one of his many grandchildren around the 16-year-old Crown Princess Leonor.
Avoided the public as much as possible
Juan Carlos has been in exile for a year and a half. He had secretly left his home on August 3, 2020 in order – as it was said in a letter published later – to “facilitate” Felipe’s work against the background of the allegations. Since then, the man, who was head of state of Spain between 1975 and 2014, has rarely appeared in public. In December, however, he was in the stands at a match between the Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal in Abu Dhabi. There are practically no statements from the royal family.
The Spanish authorities opened a total of three investigations against Juan Carlos. It concerns the suspicion of money laundering and tax fraud, alleged bribery payments, allegedly undeclared donation income and also secret bank accounts abroad. To avert criminal proceedings for tax fraud, Juan Carlos paid more than five million euros in tax debts about a year ago, as his lawyer confirmed at the time.
Split opinions in Spain
Opinions on Juan Carlos are divided in Spain. The newspaper “El Mundo” published a survey, according to which around 33 percent are in favor of a return and around 28 are against. Another 28 percent would only approve of a return if he finally made a statement on the many allegations.
Spanish media reported that Juan Carlos missed Spain and his family more and more, but was confident that he would be able to return soon. Rumors of the end of the investigation against him had recently fed the hopes of “Emérito”, the retired king, and his supporters.
But the investigation was extended for another six months in early December. “One thing is now certain: for the time being he cannot return,” commented the royal house expert of the newspaper “La Vanguardia”, Mariángel Alcázar. It is said that King Felipe refused to allow his father to return before the investigation was over.