Since the end of all criminal investigations, Spain’s former King Juan Carlos has been allowed to travel back to his native Spain from exile. According to media reports, a first visit should lead him to a son and his family in Madrid.
Spain’s King Felipe VI, then Crown Prince, with his parents Sofia and Juan Carlos in June 2014.
(dpa) Spain’s King Felipe VI. has reportedly agreed to meet his controversial father, former king Juan Carlos, who lives in exile in Abu Dhabi, in Madrid. Felipe promised that during a phone call with his father, the Spanish state TV broadcaster RTVE and other media reported on Sunday, citing the royal family.
The king made the call from Abu Dhabi, where he flew on Sunday to offer condolences to the former Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Sajid, on the death of his father, long-time President Khalifa bin Sajid. He died on Friday at the age of 73.
Official confirmation is still pending
A date for the first trip of the Spanish old king to his homeland, which he left in the summer of 2020, and an official confirmation of the phone call were not initially known. At the beginning of March, after the end of all criminal investigations against himself, Juan Carlos announced that he wanted to remain in exile for the time being, but that he would soon be making sporadic visits to his homeland.
The influential daily newspaper “El Mundo”, which is close to the royal family, reported on Friday that Juan Carlos was angry because his son only wanted to allow a short visit to the royal residence Zarzuela near Madrid without an overnight stay. Like the left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Felipe is intent on averting damage to the royal family by being too close to Juan Carlos.
Spaniards would rather abolish monarchy
According to a survey conducted a good six months ago, a slim majority of Spaniards (53 percent) are convinced that the monarchy is an outdated institution that should be abolished. Certainly Juan Carlos is largely to blame for this.
After all, the 84-year-old only escaped criminal proceedings for financial irregularities because he was either protected by his immunity as king until his abdication in 2014 or the actions were statute-barred. Sánchez stressed that the ex-monarch owed the Spanish people an explanation.