Short trip home for former king of Spain

Juan Carlos expected to return to the country on Thursday for his first visit in nearly two years

FILE PHOTO: Spanish King Felipe (R) is applauded by his father former King Juan Carlos after his speech during a celebration to mark the 30th anniversary of Spain's accession to the European Communities, at Madrid's royal palace, Spain, June 24, 2015.  REUTERS / Andrea Comas / File Photo
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Spain’s former king, Juan Carlos, will return to the country on Thursday for his first visit since leaving nearly two years ago under a cloud following his abdication.

The royal household said Juan Carlos would visit the north-western town of Sanxenxo, where a yachting event is scheduled to take place. On Monday the 84-year-old will travel to Madrid, where he is expected to meet his son, King Felipe VI, and other members of the royal family.

The visit, the household said, reflects the former king's desire to “travel frequently to Spain to visit family and friends”.

Juan Carlos left Spain in August 2020 as Spanish and Swiss prosecutors mounted investigations into his alleged financial dealings amid a debate over whether Spain should have a monarchy.

The Spanish prosecutors did not find evidence to take the former monarch to court because Juan Carlos was protected by immunity as Spain’s king, and other possible fraud fell outside the statute of limitations. Swiss prosecutors also dropped their investigation.

The investigations allowed the recovery of €5.1 million ($5.4 million) in fines and taxes for income that Juan Carlos had failed to declare to Spain’s tax authorities, the prosecutors said in their conclusions.

In March this year, he wrote a letter to Felipe expressing his desire to visit family and friends in Spain after Supreme Court prosecutors closed investigations into his financial dealings.

King Juan Carlos helped steer Spain back to democracy after the death of dictator Gen Francisco Franco in 1975, making him Spain’s most respected public figure. But scandals of one type or another involving the family began to mount in the later years of his reign. He abdicated in 2014, ending a 39-year term as monarch.

Since becoming king, Felipe has tried to distance himself from his father, removing the former monarch from the royal house’s payroll to help rebuild the Spanish crown’s image.

Updated: May 19, 2022, 10:11 AM