MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s former king Juan Carlos will travel to his country this weekend for the first time after going into exile in the United Arab Emirates in 2020 amid scandals, the mayor of Spain said on Tuesday. the coastal town where he will go to attend a regatta.
Juan Carlos, father of the current king and aged 84, said in March that he maintained his residence in the United Arab Emirates but would travel frequently to Spain after the Spanish and Swiss prosecutors dismissed a series of investigations into alleged fraud in his business dealings.
The former monarch, once celebrated for his role in restoring democracy to Spain, abdicated in 2014 in favor of his son Felipe following several scandals, including his affair with businesswoman Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn.
Juan Carlos could be tried in Great Britain in the context of a harassment case brought against him by his former mistress.
He will travel this weekend to Sanxenxo, in Galicia, in northwestern Spain, to watch a regatta, the mayor of the small coastal town, Telmo Martín, told public broadcaster TVE.
“After almost two years of absence among us, this will be an opportunity to show him the affection we have for him,” he said, adding that he did not know if Juan Carlos would participate in the regatta in which his boat was to take part.
The Royal Household said for its part that it could not confirm the visit and that it was up to the former monarch to make his plans public.
(Report Emma Pinedo, French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Kate Entringer)
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