Spain's scandal-hit former
king Juan Carlos to go into exile
The 82-year-old says he is
moving abroad to help son ‘exercise his responsibilities’ as king
Sam Jones in Madrid
@swajones
Mon 3 Aug 2020 18.09 BSTFirst published on Mon
3 Aug 2020 18.07 BST
Spain’s former king Juan Carlos is to leave the
country and go into exile abroad following a series of damaging allegations
about his financial arrangements that have harmed the reputation of the
monarchy and embarrassed his son, King Felipe.
In March Felipe stripped Juan Carlos of his
annual stipend and renounced his own personal inheritance from his father after
reports that he was in line to receive millions of euros from a secret offshore
fund with ties to Saudi Arabia.
Three months later, Spain’s supreme court
launched an investigation into the former king’s role in a deal in which a
Spanish consortium landed a €6.7bn (£5.9bn) contract to build a high-speed rail
line between the Saudi cities of Medina and Mecca.
On Monday afternoon the royal house published a
letter sent by Juan Carlos to his son saying he would “move away from Spain” in
the wake of the “public repercussions that certain past events in my private
life are causing”.
The 82-year-old king emeritus, as he is now
known in Spain, said he had taken the decision to leave the royal palace and
the country to help Felipe “exercise his responsibilities” as king.
Juan Carlos added: “This is a very emotional
decision, but one I take with great serenity. I have been king of Spain for
almost 40 years and throughout them all I have always wanted what is best for
Spain and the crown.”
The letter did not mention where the former
king would go, nor when exactly he would leave Spain.
A Spanish government source said it “respected”
the decision, adding the move showed “the transparency that has always guided
King Felipe since he became head of state”.
The royal house said Felipe had expressed its
“gratitude and respect” for the decision. It also said the current king was
keen to stress “the historical importance of his father’s reign” and his
service to Spain and to democracy.
Juan Carlos played a pivotal role in restoring
democracy to Spain following the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975, not
least when he stood firm in the face of an attempted military coup in 1981.
But in recent years the revelations about his
private life and financial affairs have tarnished what was once seen as one of
Europe’s model monarchies.
Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of Felipe six
years ago after a series of scandals including over a controversial
elephant-hunting trip to Botswana as Spain was devastated by the financial
crisis.
Felipe’s decision to cancel his father’s
stipend and forego his personal inheritance was viewed as proof of his desire
to take firm action and distance himself from the scandals.
Spain’s Socialist-led coalition government has
rejected calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the king’s finances, but it too
has signalled its distance from Juan Carlos.
“It’s obvious that collectively Spaniards are
hearing some unsettling reports that disturb all of us, and which disturb me
too,” the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said in July.
“But I think there are some things worth
mentioning in all this. First, that there are some media that aren’t looking
the other way – on the contrary, they’re reporting all this. Second, there’s a
justice system that’s taking action. Third – and this is something I’m grateful
for – the royal house itself had distanced itself following these disturbing
reports.”
Sánchez also said the 1978 constitution – under
which “the person of the king is inviolable and shall not be held accountable”
– needed “to evolve in accordance with the standards and political conduct that
society demands”.
Swiss prosecutors are looking into a number of
accounts held in the country by the former monarch and his alleged associates.
It is alleged in documents from the Swiss prosecutors that Juan Carlos received
a $100m “donation” from the king of Saudi Arabia that he put in an offshore
account in 2008. Four years later he allegedly gifted €65m from the account to
his former lover Corinna Larsen.
Juan Carlos has said he never told his son he
was set to benefit from two offshore funds, but he has made no further comment
on the allegations.
Allegations over offshore
funds swirl around Spain's former king
Questions over Juan Carlos’s
finances are having an ‘unprecedented impact’ on the country’s monarchy
Sam Jones and Giles Tremlett in Madrid
Wed 15 Jul 2020 05.00 BSTLast modified on Wed
15 Jul 2020 05.01 BST
Damaging allegations over the financial
arrangements of Spain’s former king Juan Carlos have placed the royal family
under unprecedented scrutiny but are unlikely to result in current or futures
monarchs losing their constitutional immunity, according to legal experts.
Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son,
Felipe, six years ago, renouncing the throne after a series of damaging
scandals including in a controversial elephant-hunting trip to Botswana as
Spain was devastated by the financial crisis.
But allegations of impropriety have continued
to follow the former monarch and have hobbled King Felipe’s efforts to move the
monarchy out of his father’s shadow.
Recent reports in the British, Swiss and
Spanish press have increased the pressure on the royal family. In March, Felipe
stripped Juan Carlos of his annual stipend and renounced his personal
inheritance from his father following reports that he was in line to receive
millions of euros from a secret offshore fund with ties to Saudi Arabia.
Last month, Spain’s supreme court launched an
investigation into the role the former king played in a deal in which a Spanish
consortium landed a €6.7bn (£5.9bn) contract to build a high-speed rail line
between the Saudi cities Medina and Mecca.
The inquiry is intended to “define or discard
the criminal relevance of events that occurred after June 2014”, when Juan
Carlos abdicated and ceased to enjoy constitutional immunity from prosecution.
Meanwhile, Swiss prosecutors are looking into a
number of accounts held in the country by the former monarch and his alleged
associates.
It is alleged in documents from the Swiss
prosecutor that Juan Carlos received a $100m “donation” from the king of Saudi
Arabia that he put in an offshore account in 2008. Four years later, he
allegedly gifted €65m from the account to his former lover, Corinna Larsen.
Last week, Spain’s El Confidencial website
reported that Juan Carlos withdrew €100,000 a month from the account between
2008 and 2012, and used the money to pay for some of the royal family’s
expenses.
Juan Carlos has said that he never told his son
he was set to benefit from two offshore funds, but has made no further comment
on the allegations.
Although the Socialist party, which heads
Spain’s minority coalition government, has sided with rightwing parties to head
off a parliamentary inquiry into the king’s finances, it has been blunt into
its assessment of the matter.
“It’s obvious that, collectively, Spaniards are
hearing some unsettling reports that disturb all of us, and which disturb me,
too,” the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said last Wednesday.
“But I think there are some things worth
mentioning in all this. First, that there are some media that aren’t looking
the other way – on the contrary, they’re reporting all this. Second, there’s a
justice system that’s taking action. Third – and this is something I’m grateful
for – the royal house itself had distanced itself following these disturbing
reports.”
Sánchez also said the 1978 constitution – which
stated that “the person of the King is inviolable and shall not be held
accountable” – needed “to evolve in accordance with the standards and political
conduct that society demands”.
Carlos Flores, a professor of constitutional
law at the University of Valencia, said that while there had long been “doubts
or suspicions” about the former king’s private activities, “what’s happening
now with the discovery of all these business dealings is unprecedented”.
But he questioned how any efforts to separate
private behaviour from the public role would work in practice.
“The thing is that the king is the head of
state – he’s a symbol of the state – and it’s impossible to distinguish between
the public and the private,” said Flores.
“The public and the private are intertwined. If
the king goes to open a monument and runs over a pedestrian with his car on the
way, is that a public or private matter? And if he holds a banquet for the head
of a neighbouring country and someone gets food poisoning, is the king
responsible publicly or privately?”
Flores also said it would be “absurd” to try to
change the constitution for the sake of the king’s immunity when there were
many more pressing reasons for it to be overhauled.
Joaquín Urías, a lecturer in constitutional law
at the University of Seville, agreed that while the allegations about Juan
Carlos’s finances were having an “unprecedented impact” on the monarchy, any
revisiting of the Spanish constitution was extremely unlikely given the yawning
divisions in the country’s politics.
“Right now, changing the constitution is
impossible, politically speaking, because of the ideological divisions within
the country,” he said.
“It’s impossible to imagine political agreement
over the king … or over territorial issues, such as Catalonia and the Basque
country.”
Urías said both the government and current king
appeared to be taking a pragmatic line when it came to the former monarch.
“I think the government is doing the only thing
it can, which is trying to separate King Felipe VI from his father,” he said,
“And that’s what the royal house is also doing
– I imagine at the suggestion of the government. It’s the most intelligent play
for anyone wishing to maintain the system.”
Corinna Larsen plans to bring a case in UK
courts alleging a continuous campaign of intimidation directed against her by
elements of the Spanish state since details of the former king’s finances
emerged.
Her legal team says she is relieved that
proceedings have been opened in Switzerland.
I think the government is doing the only thing
it can, which is trying to separate King Felipe VI from his father
“There has been wide-ranging illegal conduct
against her in multiple jurisdictions to cover up the deceitful schemes of
powerful figures in Spain,” said her lawyer, Robin Rathmell. “Those same people
have attempted to make her the scapegoat for their decades-long improper
conduct. She welcomes the opportunity to be heard publicly and for the matter
to be properly investigated.”
The British historian and Hispanist Paul
Preston, who has written biographies of General Franco and Juan Carlos, said
Spain’s disenchantment with its former monarch should not detract from the
“extremely courageous” role the king played in helping Spain in its transition
to democracy.
“Whatever one says, one shouldn’t forget the
historical legacy,” he said. “As far as things are concerned now – and this is
true in a way of all the democracies – with the rise of populism, we’re seeing
a dreadful loss of faith in the political elite for the obvious reason that
they’re a lot of lying, incompetent bastards … The odd thing is why the
disillusion doesn’t go further than it does.”
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