The former king of Juan Carlos wrote his, to “explain and defend” his choices, but also to prevent, as he writes, “the theft of his history”. The book, entitled “Réconciliation” and to be released on November 5 in France and December 3 in Spain, describes a life from glory to decline.
Juan Carlos, who was on the throne from 1975 to 2014, as of 2020 lives in self-exile in the United Arab Emirates, on Nuray Island, near Abu Dhabi, under the protection of President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Due to scandals, his stay in the UAE, which was initially supposed to last “a few weeks at most”, has turned into a long exile.
In the 512-page book, excerpts of which were pre-published by France’s Monde, Juan Carlos describes himself as a “monarch who was never master of his destiny”, acknowledging his “weaknesses” (a word that is oft-repeated) and mistakes, his “bad judgment, due to love and friendship” and his “harmful associations”. He admits that he has accepted “gifts that may appear inappropriate” and predicts that these admissions will “undoubtedly rekindle criticism” of him.
His son, King Felipe VI, hoped that the distance he has kept from Juan Carlos would lead to oblivion of the scandal-ridden years of the Spanish monarchy. When he inherited the throne from his father, the institution’s public image was at its nadir, and for the past decade he has been working hard to improve it. This “could be jeopardized, once again, by the publication of the first-person account of Juan Carlos”, writes the Spanish “El Pais”.
Praise for the dictator Franco
The release of the book comes at a sensitive time for Spain, as the country prepares to mark 50 years since the fall of Francisco Franco’s junta and the assumption of the throne by Juan Carlos, but without the presence of the former monarch himself. He himself, in his writings, gives his respect to the dictator without hesitation: “If I was able to become king, I owe it to him”, he writes about Franco, who appointed him as his successor in 1969.
He describes him admiringly: “I respected him immensely, I appreciated his intelligence and political acumen. I never allowed anyone to criticize him before me.” And he adds that “no one was able to dethrone him or destabilize him, which, in such a long period of time (1939-1975), is a remarkable achievement”.
Popularity, impunity and scandals
The course of Juan Carlos has been contradictory. From Franco’s puppet monarch, he became the person who supported the democratic transition. His image changed decisively on the night of February 23, 1981, when he prevented a military coup by publicly demanding, in a televised address, the obedience of the armed forces to the legitimate government. At that moment he established himself, in the eyes of the Spaniards, as the king of the republic.
For nearly three decades, his popularity has been a shield. He was protected by a press friendly to him and the tolerance of the state apparatus. This long immunity, as the Spanish El Pais writes, led him to believe that he was invulnerable. Since the 1990s, however, the first cracks have become visible. His friendly relations with controversial businessmen, who were later convicted of corruption, began to weigh on his public image.
He believes that he was “blinded by malicious associations”, “gave in to pressure” and was thus led to a “financial mess beyond his control”, according to the excerpts published by Monde.
But the biggest scandal began in 2012, when he received 100 million dollars from Saudi Arabia, in a Swiss account, money allegedly related to contracts with Spanish companies, for the construction of the railway line, from Mecca to Medina – although the Geneva prosecutor, who investigated the case, could not prove it.
Juan Carlos called the sum “a generous gift from one monarchy to another”, admitting in retrospect that it was “a gift I could not refuse, but also a serious mistake”. The investigation revealed that much of the funds had been transferred to the account of German businesswoman Corina Larsen, the king’s mistress. The case became public knowledge when, in the same year, 2012, Juan Carlos was injured on an elephant hunting trip in Botswana, while Spain was plunged into the deepest economic crisis in its post-war history, 25% of Spaniards were unemployed and many lost their homes. “It was a trip out of reality,” he admits today.
His complaints about Felipe
The series of scandals eventually led to his abdication on 18 June 2014 in favor of his son, Felipe VI. Although he later paid fines of 5 million euros and was acquitted, he writes in his memoirs that “in the minds of some I remain guilty”. Indeed, its shadow still weighs on Felipe, who has been struggling for a decade to restore the image of a modern and transparent monarchy.
The relationship between the two men is now broken. “My son turned his back on me out of duty,” she writes.
“I understand that as a king he must maintain a stable public position, but I suffered from his insensitivity.” In 2020, Felipe VI stripped him of his annual pension of 161,000 euros, following new revelations about Saudi donations. “I am the only Spaniard who does not receive a pension after almost 40 years of service,” complains Juan Carlos.
