After a not at all discreet return, Juan Carlos I returned to Abu Dhabi with the idea that he is still accepted in his countrydespite the fact that several expected a request for forgiveness.
(Read: The return of the emeritus king makes the Spanish Crown uncomfortable)
The presence in Spain of King Emeritus Juan Carlos I raised a wide controversy that unleashed all kinds of opinions among the mediapolitical parties and citizens.
(You are interested in: Juan Carlos I: this was the visit of the king emeritus to his son Felipe VI)
Since he arrived last weekend with the excuse that it was a private trip to participate in some regattas, the public has been waiting for him to apologize or give explanations.
“Explanations of what?”, he affirmed when the journalists asked him if he would comment on the matter.
The visit received unprecedented media attention. The landing of the private plane, the reception by his daughter Elena and the host, his friend Pedro Campos, the visit to his grandson in the middle of a handball match and his comings and goings by the Xanxenxo yacht club were broadcast live.
According to a report published by the French magazine paris matchin which he reveals unpublished images of his arrival in Spain, Juan Carlos was well received from the beginning.
“Here are the air traffic controllers from Barcelona. We have a message for His Majesty Juan Carlos: Welcome home. We are happy to have you back”, was the message that the emeritus received over the public address system of the private jet “made available to him by the presidency of the United Arab Emirates”, according to the magazine.
Then, those present during his visit to the yacht club, about fifty, cheered him to the cry of “Long live the king.”
no regrets
Meanwhile, the rest of the citizens wondered who had paid for the trip and how aware they were of how damaged their image is in the country.
In the absence of signs of repentance, the socialist government of Pedro Sánchez, through its interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska lamented that a “golden opportunity” to give explanations had been lost.
And it is that never before has the Executive been so forceful officially against a member of the Royal House.
The Spanish government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, also regretted that the king had missed the opportunity to apologize and stressed that, with this attitude, he only damages his own image.
🔴 DIRECT | Isabel Rodríguez: “It has been verified that the king emeritus had unexemplary conduct. We believe that a person who has held the head of state would deserve an explanation of said conduct” https://t.co/2PhFPzYPmt pic.twitter.com/NgZzSqX2Om
— elDiario.es (@eldiarioes) May 24, 2022
Nor did his reunion with the family in the Palacio de la Zarzuela, where he stayed for eleven hours – without spending the night – calm down, on a scale prior to his return to Abu Dhabi.
According to the newspaper El Periódico, “in the Executive they assume that Felipe VI will have tried to agree with his father to go more unnoticed on his next visit, but they believe that he will not comply.”
The House of the King tried to maintain the greatest possible prudence. In fact, there was a strong contrast between the overexposure prior to the family reunion and the silence since he crossed the door of the royal headquarters.
There was a family meal attended by Felipe VI and Letizia, and her youngest daughter, the infanta Sofía; the infanta Elena and her children; and the infanta Margarita, sister of Juan Carlos I, and her husband, Carlos Zurita.
Queen Sofía, according to the Casa del Rey, “has not been able to share lunch having tested positive for covid-19 upon her return from Miami, although she has remained with the rest of the family in the lunch room provided with the mandatory mask. and the corresponding ventilation measures”.
At the end of the long day, an official statement limited itself to saying that the two kings “have had a long conversation about family mattersas well as about different events and their consequences in Spanish society since the King’s father decided to move to Abu Dhabi on August 3, 2020.
Some speculations emerged: that Felipe VI told him about the damage that his trip caused to the monarchy; that Queen Sofia did not want to see her husband; They asked her not to come back. What had been previously agreed is that the private visit would be discreet and without further public exposure.
Neither was it discreet, nor was it private, nor was it outside the spotlight of the press, nor outside the attention of citizens.
Juan Carlos I has already announced that he will continue to visit Spain frequently and it is known that he will come for the world sailing championship that will take place in Sanxenxo between June 10 and 18.
The emeritus aspired to take the pulse of the situation to measure his next steps. Judging by his attitude, he got the impression that, despite everything that happened, he is accepted in his country.
The facts
In 2008, during one of the most serious economic crises that Spain has experienced in recent decades, Juan Carlos I went hunting in Africa accompanied by his then lover and suffered an accident that forced him to return to the country urgently.
The episode aroused unease among public opinion, which was searching through its pockets for ways to meet day-to-day expenses. She had to apologize when leaving the hospital. For this reason, many now thought that the act of constriction would be repeated.
Around the same time, his son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarin, and the Infanta Cristina were involved in a court case for serious corruption offences.
The popularity of Juan Carlos I collapsed and he had no choice but to abdicate his son Felipe on June 2, 2014. Soon it became known that the king emeritus was being investigated by Spanish and Swiss justice.
It was learned that he had donated 65 million euros to his lover Corinna Larsen, from the commissions received for its intervention in the construction project of a railway line for a high-speed train in Saudi Arabia by Spanish companies.
As she said later, Juan Carlos I had given her the gift because “he still had hope” of getting her back.
The tax authorities opened an investigation and concluded that the king emeritus had never declared that money, which forced him, like all citizens, to pay a tax.
The prison bars were beginning to ring when it was discovered that he had not declared other funds he received from Mexican businessman Allen Sanginés-Krause through credit cards.
Quickly his lawyers, to avoid a possible imprisonment of his client, paid about 700,000 euros to the Spanish Treasury and then 4.4 million euros. In this way they prevented the king emeritus from being accused of a fiscal crime.
In total, three judicial investigations were carried out in recent years. Justice closed the investigations due to procedural forms or because the king was constitutionally protected by the immunity that favored him in the face of alleged crimes committed during his reign.
To the citizens, however, it was clear that the infractions had been committed.
Juan Carlos I managed to avoid all impediments to walk quietly through Spain. After 654 days expatriated, and without caring about the discomfort caused by his presence, he sailed freely on his ship, which bears the paradoxical name of “The Rogue”.
JUANITA SAMPER OSPINA
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
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