Juan Carlos I.

King Juan Carlos I (2009)

Juan Carlos I. [ xwaŋˈkaɾlos ] (born January 5, 1938 in Rome as Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias ; the German form Johann Karl I is not in use in contrast to historical monarchs) was from November 22, 1975 King of Spain until June 18, 2014 . Even after his abdication, he bears the honorary title of king for life . The monarch, who came from the house of the Bourbons , played a decisive role in the transition in Spain , the transition from the Francoist dictatorship toparliamentary hereditary monarchy after the death of Francisco Franco .

After he had announced his abdication on June 2, 2014 , he signed the corresponding law on June 18, with the entry into force of his son Felipe on June 19, 2014 as King Felipe VI. succeeded him by Spain. In August 2020, Juan Carlos left Spain after allegations of corruption. Since then he has lived in the United Arab Emirates .

Life

Spanish royal family

SM el Rey Don Felipe VI. SM la Reina Doña Letizia SAR la Princesa de Asturias SAR la Infanta Doña Sofía SM el Rey Don Juan Carlos S.M. la Reina Doña Sophia

Childhood and adolescence

Juan Carlos de Borbón y Borbón is the eldest son of Juan de Borbón y Battenberg (from the House of Bourbon-Anjou ) and his wife María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orléans (from the House of Bourbon-Sicily ). Three of his four grandparents were native Bourbons.

His grandfather, King Alfonso XIII. , went into exile in 1931 after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic . With the victory of the Franquists in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), Spain had once again become a dictatorship, as had been the case from 1923 to 1930 under Primo de Rivera . This time, however, the Bourbons remained in exile in Rome, where Juan Carlos was born in 1938.

In order to secure his successor, the dictator Francisco Franco had already passed a law confirmed by referendum in 1947, according to which Spain was declared a monarchy again, but the occupation of the throne (by a prince from a royal house) and the time for it were reserved for Franco. The legitimate heir to the throne would have been Juan Carlos' father, whose two older brothers had renounced the succession to the throne. The grandfather, King Alfonso XIII, had been in exile in Rome since the Second Republic was proclaimed . When the ex-monarch died in Estoril in Portugal in 1941 , Juan Carlos' father had become Franco's opponent in so far as he had ceaselessly demanded the restoration of the monarchy from the Spanish dictator. In a long discussion on August 25, 1948, the dictator and the head of the royal family agreed to have the eldest son Juan Carlos, Juan Carlos, trained as his successor by Franco and thus to restore the monarchy after Franco's death . Juan Carlos was to be trained for his role as a fascist king.

Juan Carlos then came to Spain at the age of ten, where he graduated from the San Isidro School in Madrid in 1952 and then the military academies of Saragossa (general, 1955–1957), Marín ( Pontevedra province , Navy , 1957 / 58) and San Javier ( Murcia , Air Force , 1958/59). He then studied 1960 to 1961 at the Complutense University in Madrid (Alcalá de Henares) the subjects Constitutional Law , International Law , economics and taxation .

On March 29, 1956, Juan Carlos' 14-year-old brother Alfonso died in exile in Estoril in a gun accident. Juan Carlos, then 18, was the only witness. The official explanation was that a shot broke off while the gun was being cleaned. The bullet hit Alfonso in the forehead; he died a few minutes later as a result of the injury. This tragedy seldom mentioned in Spain was probably an accident. However , the incident was never judicially investigated, as requested by Juan Carlos' uncle Jaime , the father's older brother. It was also never clarified which of the two youths triggered the shot. The weapon from which the fatal shot came was personally sunk in the sea by Juan Carlos' father.

marriage and family

Palacio Real (Madrid)

On May 14, 1962, Juan Carlos married Princess Sophia of Greece in Athens . From this marriage the children Elena (born December 20, 1963), Cristina (born June 13, 1965) and Felipe (born January 30, 1968). Since the marriage, the royal family has lived and worked in the Zarzuela Palace, northwest of Madrid, a former hunting lodge that Franco had assigned to the newlyweds. After the accession to the throne, Juan Carlos and Sophia decided not to move to the uninhabitable royal palace in the city center, which had no gardens, but which was used for representative purposes and as the seat of the court authorities. They also live in the Alcázar of Seville and a summer residence in Palma de Mallorca .

Regency

Prince of Spain (1969–1975)

Francisco Franco and his designated successor Juan Carlos de Borbón holding a military parade of the Spanish Army , June 5, 1969

Since 1947, Spain was officially a kingdom again, albeit without a king. Francisco Franco hesitated to nominate the heir to the throne, Juan Carlos' father, as he was considered an opponent of the Franco dictatorship and called for a parliamentary monarchy . He therefore considered various other options, including Otto von Habsburg , whose house had ruled Spain before the Bourbons, but who showed no interest. Franco then decided to bring some young Bourbon princes back from exile to Spain and to have them trained under his supervision, including his cousins Alfonso , Gonzalo and Carlos in addition to Juan Carlos .

Finally, in 1969, after the birth of Juan Carlos' son Felipe, he stipulated by law that after his death Juan Carlos should assume the office of head of state as king and appointed him Príncipe de España , a title newly created for this purpose. According to the constitution, this should be a royal dictatorship , which is why Juan Carlos' father also refused the required declaration of renunciation for himself. Alfonso, whose father had since renounced his succession to the throne, agreed to the nomination of Juan Carlos, but in 1972 - after Franco had married him to one of his granddaughters - with reservations.

Enthronement (1975)

Franco died on November 20, 1975. Just two days later, on November 22, 1975, Juan Carlos was proclaimed king. From a legitimist point of view , however, his rule was not recognized until 1977 when his father formally renounced the throne. In his speech from the throne, Juan Carlos I emphasized that "a free and modern society requires the participation of all in the decision-making centers, the media, the various levels of education and the control of national prosperity". He saw himself, as he went on, as "King of all Spaniards, guardian of the constitution and fighter for justice".

When the then 37-year-old ascended the throne, which had been orphaned for more than four decades, the Spaniards had no great expectations of him. He was perceived as the “foster son of Franco”, one did not have much more impressions of him. The citizens were surprised at the young king's commitment to a new, democratic Spain. In June 1976, the young royal couple traveled to the United States at the invitation of President Gerald Ford . On July 1, 1976, he forced Carlos Arias Navarro , Prime Minister since the turn of 1973/1974, to resign. One of his wisest decisions was later seen to be the appointment of the ambitious but then unknown politician of the Franco regime, Adolfo Suárez, as his successor. The first free parliamentary elections were held in the summer of 1977.

In retrospect, Juan Carlos defined his role before Franco's death as follows: "I had a lot to say, but I preferred to remain silent, because the smallest sentence, the smallest word could be interpreted to my disadvantage."

king

Don Juan Carlos' role is seen as essential for the democratization of Spain that took place in the following years . In 1978 the Spanish population adopted the constitution with an 88 percent majority , making Spain a parliamentary monarchy. Adolfo Suárez became the first Prime Minister of democratic Spain. Before that, Suárez had succeeded in convincing his own Francoist companions from the past to give up their power. "More than the engine of change, Juan Carlos was his protective shield," wrote the historian Javier Tusell, looking back on the role of the king. Suárez, only 43 years old, gathered a group of politicians of his generation who had expressed their democratic beliefs in various ways. Together with other converted Falangists who joined the Social Democrats, Liberals, and Christian Democrats, he eliminated the Francoist regime between 1976 and 1979, and managed to convince both sides: on the one hand, skeptical Francoists of the need for democratic reforms, on the other hand, democratic and left-wing forces of not settling accounts with the winners of the civil war .

On February 23, 1981, members of the army who mourned the Franco dictatorship attempted a military coup under General Milans del Bosch and the paramilitary police force Guardia Civil under Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero . Tejero stormed parliament, where Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo was about to be elected head of government. Co-conspirator Jaime Milans del Bosch had tanks deployed in Valencia . With the determined appearance of the king as commander in chief of the army, who clearly spoke out in favor of democracy in a televised address broadcast nationwide and pulled the military on his side, the coup was thwarted that night. His then 13-year-old son had to stay with him in his study while the father conferred with his officers for hours. Prince Felipe was near him all night. "He should see how I carry out my office when everything is in question," don Juan Carlos later reported on this educational measure. Only when the coup plotters gave up did the parents send their son, who had been sleeping overnight, to school as usual the next day. The date of the coup is referred to by the Spaniards as the " 23-F ". It is criticized, however, that Don Juan Carlos hesitated several hours before taking a position against the putschists; he obtained an overview of the situation and discussed the appropriate course of action. From weighty contemporary witnesses, as in the literary processing, his achievement, as well as himself - as a guarantor for the democracy in Spain - is appreciated.

The day after the coup, the king warned politics:

"A tough and open reaction against those responsible for the uprising is just as inadvisable as transferring this reaction to the armed forces and security forces in general."

The question of autonomies in Spain was postponed, as was military or police reform.

Fifteen years before the coup - in Franco's time - Don Juan Carlos had complained to a British diplomat that he felt "nowhere a strong spontaneous affection for the monarchy" among the Spaniards. After the failed coup, the monarch won the criticized affection and respect of the Spaniards. The Spanish press also held back criticism for a long time. For example, when a paparazzo took nude photos of Don Juan Carlos sunbathing on his yacht Fortuna in the early 1990s, no Spanish magazine wanted to buy them.

Spain benefited economically from joining the EU in 1986. In 1992, Juan Carlos, as the Spanish head of state, opened the World Exhibition in Seville and the Olympic Games in Barcelona . Ten years earlier, he had opened the 1982 World Cup .

OEI (2004), Don Juan Carlos with the then Argentine President Néstor Kirchner

Organization of Ibero-American States

Similar to the position of the British monarch in the Commonwealth of Nations , the Spanish king has the representative function of honorary president of the Organization of the Ibero-American States . An Ibero-America summit that takes place regularly in this context is a forum for the heads of state and government of 20 Latin American countries as well as the European countries of Spain, Portugal and Andorra. The summits previously took place annually. In view of the waning interest, the XXIII. Summit 2013, from now on only to meet every other year.

In 1995 an ETA plan to assassinate the king was uncovered. Catalan separatists see Don Juan Carlos as the representative of the hated central state and burned pictures of the king in 2007. In broad circles of the population, the king is considered a friend of the direct word. Be at Hugo Chavez directed ¿Por qué no te callas? (Why don't you shut up?) Made headlines at the Ibero America Summit in Santiago de Chile in November 2007 . Many Spaniards downloaded the sound recording onto their cell phones as a ring pattern.

In February 2014, the king published that he had fixed annual salaries for his family members for the first time. Until then, he had not published the donations in detail and had estimated them depending on the number of public appearances. Reason for the new regulation: the new system is more transparent. Sofia received an annual gross amount of 63,000 euros, plus 53,000 euros for representation costs. As in the previous year, he himself received a total of 293,000 euros according to the royal family budget - son Felipe 146,000 euros. The total budget of the royal family in 2014 was 7.8 million euros, 2 percent less than in the previous year, without including costs for business trips, vehicles, security measures and building maintenance. He wanted to set an example before a new Politicians Transparency Act came into force . Expenses in the double-digit million range can be assumed (in Germany, the budget of the Federal President's Office in 2016 was comparatively almost 20 million euros).

Abdication (2014)

Protest rally in Madrid, flags from the 2nd republic period

After the financial scandal surrounding his youngest daughter Cristina and son-in-law Iñaki Urdangarin and the elephant hunt during the luxury safari in 2012 in the midst of the recession, Juan Carlos's reputation suffered greatly. In early 2014, polls showed that 62% of Spaniards were in favor of his abdication, and support for the monarchy slipped below 50% for the first time.

According to reports in the Spanish media, Juan Carlos had been urged to abdicate by his three children born in marriage, Elena , Cristina and Felipe , the then crown prince, after he had informed them that he wanted to divorce his wife Sofía in order to keep his lover and constant companion in the last few years to marry Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn .

On June 2, 2014, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced that Juan Carlos would abdicate and that he had asked for the succession proceedings to be initiated in favor of Prince Felipe . In the line of succession to the Spanish throne , male heirs continue to be preferred over women. This gender-specific regulation is sometimes criticized as sexist . According to Article 57 of the Constitution , an organic law is required for abdication and succession, which is to be passed by Parliament. Thousands of people demonstrated in Madrid for the abolition of the monarchy. Left and green parties in particular had called for spontaneous protests against the monarchy in numerous other cities. Many demonstrators called for a referendum and waved the red, yellow and purple flags from the time of the 2nd republic. 30,000 people are said to have gathered on Madrid's Puerta del Sol alone . The Spanish media response, on the other hand, remained subdued.

An organic law drafted at a later date by the government was submitted to parliament and later to the senate for approval. Complete text:

"1. Su Majestad el Rey Don Juan Carlos I de Borbón abdica la Corona de España.
 2. La abdicación será efectiva en el momento de entrada en vigor de la presente ley orgánica. "

"1. His Majesty the King Juan Carlos I de Borbón abdicates from the Crown of Spain.
 2. The abdication is effective at the moment this Organic Law comes into force. "

- Ley Orgánica 3/2014, de 18 de junio

It came into force on June 19, 2014. This very short supplementary legal text, which among other things lacked pension regulations, was the subject of criticism.

The outgoing royal couple continues to be officially addressed with the honorary title "Majesty". In the ranking of the protocol they are behind Felipe VI., Letizia and their daughters Leonor and Sofía . The Rajoy government bestowed the honorary title of King Emeritus on Juan Carlos .

When Juan Carlos was replaced as king, he lost his constitutionally guaranteed immunity. The government and parliament discussed whether and how a new law or amendment of the law could grant the former monarch special legal protection. The royal house itself stated that maintaining the legal inviolability would be unconstitutional. Nevertheless, it was considered sensible to grant the outgoing king the same privilege that more than ten thousand politicians, judges and prosecutors in Spain have: the right to answer only before the Supreme Court. This legal status, it was said, should come into effect upon abdication and cover Juan Carlos' entire previous term in office.

Transfer of rule over the Netherlands, October 25, 1555, Charles V to Philip II (painting by Louis Gallait , 1841)

In modern history there have already been three such resignations in Spain (without the loss of the throne caused by the repeated abolition of the monarchy): In 1556 Emperor Charles V (in his function as King Charles I of Spain) gave his son Philip II an absolutist ruled world empire, shortly before the climax of the imperial expansion. In 1724 Philip V abdicated in favor of his son Ludwig , but ascended the throne again after the early death of his son in the same year and ruled until the end of his own life in 1746. In 1808, King Charles IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Ferdinand VII .

About 160 invited guests attended Juan Carlos' abdication in the palace. The location is said to be symbolic: the body of the dictator Francisco Franco was laid out in the same hall of columns in 1975 and Spain signed its accession to the then European Community in 1985 . In view of the Spanish economic crisis, everything took place on a comparatively modest scale. Around 6,000 security guards were on hand to ensure that the ceremony went safely. The police banned counter-demonstrations in the center during this time.

From his own experience, he once gave his son and current head of state the advice:

“Here you have to earn the throne over and over again, day after day, month after month, year after year. And if you have the people against you, you can pack up. "

- Juan Carlos I.

retirement

Alleged money laundering proceedings

In August 2008, during the global financial crisis, King Juan Carlos I received 100 million dollars from the then Saudi King Abdullah ibn Abd al-Aziz transferred to the Mirabaud Bank in Geneva to the account of his Panamanian foundation (sole beneficiary: Juan Carlos I). In 2012 he transferred around 65 million euros from this account to his close confidante, Princess Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn . In 2018, the Geneva public prosecutor opened a case of alleged serious money laundering on the basis of these transactions . The public only found out about it in early March 2020.

Because of the alleged financial irregularities, Spain's King Felipe VI. announced on March 15, 2020 that he would forego any inheritance from his father and withdraw his annual salary (around 194,000 euros in 2019). Felipe VI. is listed as a beneficiary of two offshore foundations at the time of his father's death, but he did not become aware of this until 2019.

In June, the Spanish Supreme Court launched an investigation into, among other things, a corruption allegation against Juan Carlos.

According to press reports, Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon is said to have filed a tax return on December 8, 2020 and paid € 678,393.72 for the period from 2016 to 2018. At the beginning of 2021 it was announced that Juan Carlos had paid a further € 4.4 million in tax liabilities with a voluntary back payment to the Spanish tax authorities.

Leaving the country

On August 3, 2020, the Zarzuela Palace published a letter from Juan Carlos to his son, King Felipe; In this letter, Juan Carlos announced that he would leave Spain and go abroad. The following day it was reported that Juan Carlos had already left the country. He has been in the United Arab Emirates since then , a spokesman for the royal household said in mid-August 2020.

Juan Carlos cited the “public echo of certain episodes” of his earlier private life as the reason for going into exile; he wanted to enable his son to conduct his duties undisturbed. According to his lawyer, Juan Carlos also wants to continue to cooperate with investigative authorities from abroad who are currently investigating the former king on charges made by the public prosecutor of having accepted bribes from Saudi Arabia.

The former Queen of Spain and wife of Juan Carlos, Sofia, is not affected by the events surrounding her husband. She has not left Spain but will continue to live in Madrid and pursue her duties.

Personality and interests

Juan Carlos is a member of the Club of Rome and the Brotherhood of St. Christopher . He is an active radio amateur and honorary president of the Unión de Radioaficionados Españoles . His amateur radio callsign is EAØJC. He is an enthusiastic sailor with his own yacht Bribon (51 foot IMS Racer) and has taken part in regattas several times , such as the Copa del Rey off Mallorca and the Sardinia Cup off Sardinia . At the 1972 Summer Olympics he started in the kite and finished fifteenth.

Juan Carlos is a hunter. After a hunting accident in Botswana in April 2012 , he received a hip prosthesis in a hospital in Madrid . Due to the accident, the trip became public knowledge. The king has been criticized for making this costly trip amid the country's economic crisis. When it became known that he was hunting elephants , the Spanish section of the WWF , whose Honorary President Juan Carlos was 44 , collected thousands of signatures for his removal from this position. After leaving the hospital, Juan Carlos apologized for his behavior. On July 21, 2012, he was relieved of his honorary function by the abolition of this post at an extraordinary general meeting of WWF Spain.

Titles, medals, honors

title

Juan Carlos I has an unusually long list of titles, even for monarchs. Since, according to the Spanish constitution, historical and expired titles are also listed, His Majesty Don Juan Carlos I de Borbón y Borbón was:

• King of Spain ,
• King of Castile , Leon , Aragon , both Sicilies (Naples-Sicilies), Jerusalem , Navarre , Valencia , Galicia , Granada , Cordoba , Jaén , Seville , Toledo , Murcia , Sardinia , Corsica , Algarve , Algeciras , Mallorca , the Canary Islands , the West and East Indies and the New Islands and continental oceans ( America ),
• Archduke of Austria ,
• Duke of Burgundy , Brabant , Milan , Athens and Neopatra ,
• Count of Habsburg , Flanders , Tyrol , Roussillon and Barcelona ,
• Lord of Biscaya and Molina de Aragón ,
• Captain general of the royal armed forces and their commander in chief,
• Grand Master of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece ,
• Grand Master of the Order of Knights of Charles III. , Montesa , Alcántara , Calatrava , Santiago , Maria Luisa ,
• Knight of the Order of St. Xavier , the Order of Anunciada, the Order of the Garter (KG)
• Grand Cross Bailli of the Greek Order of Saint George and Saint Constantine ,
• Honor and Devotion Grand Cross Bailli of the Sovereign Order of Malta ,
• Bearer of the Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur ,
• Bearer of the Grand Cross of the Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem .

Habsburg titles also appear under this title . These are a relic from the rule of the Habsburgs until 1700, which was taken over by the subsequent Bourbons. He is also a holder of various other medal titles.

Namesake

Juan Carlos is namesake for

• the multi-purpose warship Juan Carlos I (L-61) ,
• the Madrid University of Rey Juan Carlos ,
• the Juan Carlos I Prize for Economics .

Honors (excerpt)

• Juan Carlos is an honorary doctor, among others. from the Universities of New York , Harvard , Sorbonne , Oxford , Bologna , Cambridge , Bangkok and Jerusalem .

• 1962 Grand Cross with Collane of the Order of Charles III.
• 1970 Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and the Sword
• 1975 Collane of the Finnish Order of the White Rose
• The special level of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany was awarded to him on the occasion of a state visit on April 19, 1977 by the then Federal President Walter Scheel .
• 1978 Grand Star of the Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria

100 pesetas coin

• 1978 Collane of the Order of St. Jacob of the Sword
• 1978 Collane of the Order of the Infante Dom Henrique
• 1980 Knight of the Nassau House Order of the Golden Lion
• 1980: Elephant Order , highest and oldest Danish knightly order

Elephant Order

• 1982 International Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen
• 1985 Collane of the Order of the Falcons
• 1995 Collane of the Order of the White Lion
• 1996 Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of Christ
• 2000 Collane of the Order of the Tower and the Sword
• 2002 Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia in gold
• 2003 Grand Cross with Collane of the Star of Romania
• 2006 German Media Prize (presented in 2007)
• 2007 Grand Cross of the Order of Avis

Awards

• 1983 International Simón Bolívar Prize of UNESCO
• 1994 Félix Houphouët Boigny Peace Prize with former US President Jimmy Carter
• 1996 Four Freedoms Award , Peace Prize

Ancestors and descendants

Pedigree of Juan Carlos I, King of Spain
Old parents	Infant Franz d'Assisi of Spain (1822–1902) ⚭ 1846 Queen Isabella II (1830–1904)	Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria (1818–1874) ⚭ 1854 Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska Maria (1831–1903)	Prince Alexander of Hessen-Darmstadt (1823–1888) ⚭ 1851 Countess Julia Hauke (1825–1895)	Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861) ⚭ 1840 Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland (1819–1901)	King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (1810–1859) ⚭ 1837 Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1816–1867)	Prince Franz de Paula of the Two Sicilies, Count of Trapani (1827-1892) ⚭ 1850 Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria (1834-1901)	Duke Ferdinand Philipp von Orléans (1810–1842) ⚭ 1837 Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1814–1858)	Antoine von Orléans, Duke of Montpensier (1824–1890) ⚭ 1846 Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain (1832–1897)
Great grandparents	King Alfonso XII (1857–1885) ⚭ 1879 Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria (1858–1929)		Prince Heinrich Moritz von Battenberg (1858–1896) ⚭ 1885 Princess Beatrice of Great Britain and Ireland (1857–1944)		Prince Alfons Maria of Naples and Sicily , Count of Caserta (1841–1934) ⚭ 1868 Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily (1851–1938)		Prince Louis Philippe Albert of Orléans , Count of Paris (1838–1894) ⚭ 1864 Princess Maria Isabella of Orléans-Montpensier (1848–1919)
Grandparents	King Alfonso XIII (1886–1941) ⚭ 1906 Princess Victoria Eugénie von Battenberg (1887–1969)				Prince Carlos Maria of Bourbon-Sicily (1870–1949) ⚭ 1907 Princess Louise Françoise of Orléans (1882–1958)
parents	Juan de Borbón y Battenberg , Count of Barcelona (1913–1993) ⚭ 1935 María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orléans , Princess of the Two Sicilies (1910–2000)
King Juan Carlos I of Spain (* 1938) ⚭ 1962 Princess Sophia of Greece (* 1938)
children	Elena Maria Isabel Dominica de Silos de Borbón y Grecia, Infanta of Spain, Duchess of Lugo (* 1963) ⚭ 1995 Jaime de Marichalar y Sáenz de Tejada (* 1963)			Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia de Borbón y Grecia, Infanta of Spain (* 1965) ⚭ 1997 Iñaki Urdangarin (* 1968)			King Felipe VI. (* 1968) ⚭ 2004 Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (* 1972)
grandson	Felipe Juan Froilán de Marichalar y de Borbón (* 1998) Victoria Federica de Marichalar y de Borbón (* 2000)			Juan Valentín Urdangarin y de Borbón (* 1999) Pablo Nicolás Sebastian Urdangarin y de Borbón (* 2000) Miguel Urdangarin y de Borbón (* 2002) Irene Urdangarin y de Borbón (* 2005)			Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz, Princess of Asturias , Princess of Girona (* 2005) Sofía de Borbón y Ortiz, Infanta of Spain (* 2007)

literature

• Paul Preston : Juan Carlos, El rey de un pueblo. Barcelona 2003. ISBN 84-01-37824-9 .
• José Luis de Vilallonga: El Rey. Conversaciones con D. Juan Carlos I Barcelona 1993.

Web links

Commons : Juan Carlos I.  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Juan Carlos I in the catalog of the German National Library
• Website of the Spanish royal family
• Un rey golpe a golpe , critical biography (Spanish, PDF, 1 MB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} November 22, 2005 - 30 years ago: King Juan Carlos sworn in
2. ↑ The animal rights activist who hunts elephants . In: Spiegel Online , April 15, 2012.
3. ↑ Cf. Sad Prince, Happy King . In: Berliner Zeitung , May 30, 2003, accessed on April 19, 2012.
4. ^ Charles Powell (1996): Juan Carlos of Spain . Oxford, MacMillan Press, St. Antony's Series, pp. 1-5, 9, 13-14, 27-28, 50-51, 221-222. ISBN 0-333-54726-8 .
5. ↑ ^{a b} quoted from Karin Schneider-Ferber. In: Geschichte 2/2001 , p. 40
6. ↑ ^{a b c} King Juan Carlos abdicates - Felipe takes over
7. ↑ ^{a b} The king of democracy is leaving
8. ↑ What a mistake . In: Der Spiegel . No. 3 , 1977, p. 80-81 ( online ).
9. ↑ ^{a b} The king as the savior of democracy
10. ^ Job starters at 46. In: sueddeutsche.de. June 3, 2014, accessed March 9, 2018 . 
11. ↑ Juan Carlos resignation - a great achievement
12. ↑ Peter Gaupp: Ibero-American summits are becoming rarer . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung (international edition), October 22, 2013, p. 3.
13. ↑ Spiegel report from November 11, 2007
14. ↑ Frankfurter Rundschau: Queen Sofía and Letizia get fixed salaries ( Memento from July 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
15. ↑ Juan Carlos now pays Sofia a fixed salary . In: FAZ, February 4, 2014, p. 7:
16. ↑ Support drops below 50 percent . In: orf.at, February 7, 2014
17. ↑ Infanta Cristina testifies in court . In: SZ , February 8, 2014
18. ↑ Thomas Urban , Juan Carlos threatens complete dismantling sz.de , July 16, 2018.
19. ^ Spiegel online: Spain: King Juan Carlos abdicates
20. ↑ ^{a b} A law like a tweet
21. ^ Text of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 on the website Verassungen.eu , accessed on June 2, 2014
22. ^ Spaniards demonstrate after Juan Carlos' abdication
23. ↑ Thousands of Spaniards demonstrated for the abolition of the monarchy. In: kurier.at. June 3, 2014, accessed December 22, 2017 . 
24. ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado, núm. 148, de 19/06/2014
25. ↑ Juan Carlos and Sofia retain royal titles even after the change of throne
26. ↑ Despite the change of the throne: Juan Carlos I and Sofía are allowed to keep the title of king
27. ↑ El PSOE se une a PP, Vox y Cs en contra de eliminar la inviolabilidad del rey y el aforamiento del emérito
28. ↑ Inexpensive in office and dignity
29. ↑ Spain: King Juan Carlos says goodbye. In: Spiegel Online . June 17, 2014, accessed June 9, 2018 . 
30. ↑ Leo Wieland: Everyone has to earn the throne. In: faz.net. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , June 2, 2014, accessed on March 24, 2021 . 
31. ↑ Sylvain Besson, Caroline Zumbach: 100 million under kings - justice also determined against Geneva bank . In: Tages-Anzeiger . March 3, 2020, ISSN  1422-9994 ( tagesanzeiger.ch [accessed on March 6, 2020]).
32. ↑ Hans-Christian Rößler, Madrid: Scandal in Spain's royal house: an unsolicited royal gift . In: FAZ.NET . March 5, 2020, ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed March 6, 2020]).
33. ↑ James Badcock: Spanish king named on offshore fund . In: The Telegraph . March 14, 2020, ISSN  0307-1235 ( telegraph.co.uk [accessed March 15, 2020]).
34. ↑ Ute Müller: The king breaks with his father Juan Carlos . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . March 16, 2020 ( nzz.ch [accessed on March 16, 2020]).
35. ↑ Juan Carlos: Did the ex-king of Spain flee to the Dominican Republic? In: The world . August 4, 2020 ( welt.de [accessed August 4, 2020]).
36. ↑ Ralf Streck: The Spanish king of scandals admits tax evasion. telepolis, 2020, accessed on December 21, 2020 . 
37. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: Spain: Ex-King Juan Carlos pays four million euros in taxes. Retrieved March 16, 2021 . 
38. ↑ cf. B. the information on spiegel.de
39. ↑ Mystery no more: Spain's ex-king, Juan Carlos, has been in UAE since Aug. 3. In: Reuters. August 17, 2020, accessed on August 17, 2020 . 
40. ↑ Information on tagesschau.de
41. ↑ Information on elpais.com, as seen on August 5, 2020
42. ↑ Spiegel report from April 15, 2012
43. ^ Criticism of King Juan Carlos' elephant hunt . In: derstandard.at, Critique of King Juan Carlos spiegel.de, accessed on May 9, 2012
44. ↑ After a controversial elephant hunt - WWF says: Adios Juan Carlos
45. ^ Open letter from the Secretary General of the Spanish WWF delegation to Juan Carlos . Accessed April 24, 2012 (English, PDF; 27 kB)
46. ↑ King Juan Carlos asks his people for forgiveness ( Memento of April 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
47. ↑ WWF Spain dethrones King Juan Carlos. In: Spiegel Online . July 21, 2012.
48. ↑ La casa de su Majestad el Rey etc. (Ed.): Abdicación de su Majestad el Rey Juan Calos I y juramento y proclamción de su Majestad el Rey Felipe VI . Madrid 2014, p. 85 (Spanish, [1] [PDF; accessed July 7, 2015]).
49. ↑ A ufstellung all conferred by the President Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF, 6.9 MB)
50. ↑ Jean Schoos : The orders and decorations of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the former Duchy of Nassau in the past and present. Publishing house of Sankt-Paulus Druckerei AG. Luxembourg 1990. ISBN 2-87963-048-7 . P. 344.
51. ↑ Address by Amadou Mahtar-M'Bow on the occasion of the award of the Simón Bolívar Prize, June 20, 1985 (PDF; 171 kB), last accessed: February 15, 2012

predecessor	Office	successor
Juan of Bourbon and Battenberg	Prince of Asturias 1941–1975	Philip of Bourbon and Greece ( Felipe VI. )
Francisco Franco ( dictator )	King of Spain 1975-2014	Felipe VI.