The former Spanish King, Juan Carlos, arrived in his country, Thursday, following nearly two years of his exile in the Emirates, at a time when this first short visit aroused many criticisms.
The royal palace reported earlier that Juan Carlos, who abdicated the throne due to financial and other scandals related to his private life, is visiting Spain “from Thursday, May 19 to Monday, May 23.”
He added that the former king will reside in Sangenjo in northwest Spain, where he will meet his son, King Felipe VI, on Monday in Madrid, before returning to Abu Dhabi.
The king’s private plane, which took off from Abu Dhabi, on Thursday, landed at the small Vigo airport in Galicia, northwest Spain. And Juan Carlos got off slowly, leaning on a stick, before his eldest daughter Elena welcomed him, according to an AFP journalist.
Many curious people came to the place, along with the media, to try from behind the airport walls to see the 84-year-old former king, who has not set foot in Spain since August 2020, and whose return has raised many speculations.
Then Juan Carlos headed to Sangenjo, where he attends a boat race at the weekend. On his arrival in the city, the former king from his car greeted the crowd gathered in front of the house where he was to stay, raising his thumb to indicate that he was fine.
The King had justified his departure as wanting to “facilitate the exercise” of his son Philby’s duties in light of “the general consequences of certain past events in his private life”.
Even before Juan Carlos went into exile, Felipe decided in March 2020 to give up his father’s inheritance and withdraw his annual allowance of close to 200,000 euros.
It was only in the last years of his reign that the previous king’s excesses emerged, which led to the opening of a series of investigations.
“The information that we have obtained in recent years” regarding Juan Carlos “is very worrying … for the royal establishment” and “I think he will have to provide explanations without any doubt,” Economy Minister and second government official, Nadia Calvino, said in a radio interview.
The royal palace stressed on Wednesday that the former king will leave on Monday for Abu Dhabi “where he has settled permanently and steadily,” before confirming that Juan Carlos intends from now on to return “regularly to Spain” to see “his family and friends,” provided that he remains “in a private place of residence.” “.
According to Spanish media, the government of Socialist Pedro Sanchez strongly opposed the possibility of Juan Carlos residing in Lazarzuela Palace, the official residence of the king who is the head of state.
The radical left-wing party “Podemos”, a member of the ruling coalition, sharply criticized the former king.
For its part, the newspaper “El Pais” wrote that “there is no legal reason why the former king should not travel to Spain, but there are a wealth of moral reasons that explain the disturbance caused by the announcement of his visit.”
Felipe VI has distanced himself from his father, in an attempt to restore the image of the Spanish monarchy since assuming the throne in 2014.
