TV documentary “Juan Carlos – Love
The secret double life of the ex-king
“It was a very meaningful relationship for both of us,” says Princess Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein in the documentary “Juan Carlos – Love, Money, Betrayal” about the former Spanish King Juan Carlos.
© NDR/gebrueder beetz film production/STV
In “Juan Carlos – Love, Money, Betrayal” Princess Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein tells her version of the love story that became a crime thriller.
Ten years ago, King Juan Carlos I (86) cleared the way for his son Felipe (55), who has been King of Spain since June 19, 2014. The change of throne was preceded by a drama, which is shown, among other things, in the new documentary “Juan Carlos – Love, Money, Betrayal”.
Love story, crime novel, thriller and biopic
The film “tells the tragic love story between the former King of Spain and the German Princess Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who almost became Queen of Spain,” says the broadcaster’s announcement for the TV documentary, which will air on January 15th will be broadcast on Erste at 8:15 p.m. However, that is a pretty soft formulation for the hard stuff that the viewers will be served over the next hour and a half.
Because in some places the film resembles a crime thriller, in others a thriller and then again a historical biopic. The main characters are the former King of Spain and his long-term affair Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who celebrates her 60th birthday on January 28th. The love and business relationship first becomes “a friendship” (Sayn-Wittgenstein), then a drama about money and betrayal. The sensitive documents that are supposed to prove everything are stored in boxes in a London bunker, as can be seen in the film.
Elephant hunting with dramatic consequences
The documentary deals with the beginning of secret love; At the first meeting at a hunting event, he was impressed by their handling of the rifle – both are passionate hunters. An elephant collapsing with a terrible groan after being shot in Botswana in 2012 is shown several times in the film. Juan Carlos ultimately stumbled upon him in a figurative sense.
Sayn-Wittgenstein herself, her ex-husband, close confidants and former confidants of the king, journalists as well as a former secret service agent and a former FBI investigator talk about countless, sometimes dramatically ending, affairs of a “great seducer” and “woman magnet” – even Princess Diana (1961-1997) and her accidental death play a role here – as well as greed, corruption and abuse of power.
In addition to the king’s hidden double life, archive footage is also shown that shows Juan Carlos as a courageous liberator of the Spanish people and guarantor of democracy after the end of the Franco regime. For this he was greatly revered nationally and internationally for a long time…