King Juan Carlos - Fiscal Investigations, Inheritance and Exile : 2018-2022

[Blog Real]

What if he's ill again? Will he return to Spain for treatment? Is this really going to work?

There are good hospitals anywhere in the world, so he wouldn't have to go back to Spain.
King Juan Carlos has health problems, so that part must be assured.
If he comes to Portugal, we have good hospitals where he can be treated.

King Juan Carlos is already in the Dominican Republic.

King Don Juan Carlos traveled this weekend to Sanxenxo (Pontevedra). From this destination, one of his favorites to practice one of his main hobbies, sailing, traveled to the Portuguese town of Porto, from where he took a plane to travel to Santo Domingo airport (Dominican Republic), as ABC may have known.

https://www.abc.es/espana/casa-real...xilio-nueva-zelanda-202008040230_noticia.html

This is the refuge of King Juan Carlos in the Dominican Republic.

It is a luxury urbanization that has been, for 50 years, the golden destination of the great Latin American fortunes and celebrities from all over the world.

https://www.larazon.es/gente/20200804/qzbn6e6ldbeuhmk3dzzs5nhfya.html

Journalist Esther Jaén, personal friend of Queen Letizia, believes that there is a part of society that is taking advantage of the conflict with the King Emeritus to attack the institution of the monarchy. The fact is that the king was reacting to signing the statement, appealing to his presumption of innocence.

https://www.antena3.com/programas/e...ocencia_202008045f2936fb3aca640001f61708.html

I will leave here a few points about the press conference held today by the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez.

1 - Pedro Sánchez says he respects the decision of Casa Real.

2 - Pedro Sánchez says he has no information about the place where King Juan Carlos is.

3 - Pedro Sánchez declined to give information about who will now pay King Juan Carlos' security and expenses.

4 - Pedro Sánchez says he has no information on how King Juan Carlos left the country.

5 - Pedro Sánchez declined to reveal whether the title of King Emeritus to King Juan Carlos will be withdrawn.

6 - Finally, the Spanish Prime Minister said that he has confidence in the royal house and the monarchy.

https://elpais.com/espana/2020-08-0...rito-juan-carlos-i-reacciones-en-directo.html

King Juan Carlos featured on the covers in today's major Spanish newspapers.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u5fqvl2_...HXigACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/transferir+%281%29.webp

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wgKT78dR...yQenwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/transferir+%282%29.webp

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uXp9KB8-...dT6WwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/transferir+%283%29.webp

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qkJneZiI...iIn0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/transferir+%284%29.webp

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7r5eXWws...7GnCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/transferir+%285%29.webp

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kfrXKIXv...O0UUwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/transferir+%286%29.webp

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lesnC-sm...SoS05qgMmvGnwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/transferir.webp

Is he trying to avoid prosecution or just trying not to embarrass Felipe?

Juan Carlos is trying to protect Felipe and the monarchy.

 

[Susan D]

Why do you want to 'punish' Queen Sofia who has done nothing wrong?

If Felipe and Letizia wanted to live in Zarzuela I am sure they would have arranged that by now. Apparently the prefer their current living arrangements (a bit more private among other things - and still with full access to Zarzuela Palace for representative functions).

It would look better for the Spanish monarchy is the Juan Carlos "team" were all out of the Zarzuela. Also, I would hope that Queen Sofia does not feel blamed in any way. King Juan Carlos makes the Spanish monarchy look bad and I criticize older royalty for blocking the housing that could be used by the heirs.

 

[Somebody]

It would look better for the Spanish monarchy is the Juan Carlos "team" were all out of the Zarzuela. Also, I would hope that Queen Sofia does not feel blamed in any way. King Juan Carlos makes the Spanish monarchy look bad and I criticize older royalty for blocking the housing that could be used by the heirs.

I'm quite sure all Spaniards know that their marriage has been one in name only for many years... So, I see little reason for anyone to blame Sofía for Juan Carlos' serious mistakes.

 

[Prinsara]

Felipe and Sofia have always been quite close. Wouldn't it be relatively simple for him and Letizia and the girls to move into Zarzuela, supporting her?

Seems like it could fix a few things.

There's also the issue of his aunt Irene, if his mother goes anywhere.

 

[Countessmeout]

What is he doing in the Dominican? Taking a holiday at this time, between his own personal troubles and the virus, seems a bit of a weird decision.

Shocking news but it makes sense. Honestly with all the corruption scandals, to basically exile him from Spain (even if said to be self-imposed). Further promoting the fact he hasn't just abdicated, he is fully retired and gone from any work of his family now. Hopefully it can help Felipe.

I don't see the point of moving Letizia and Felipe at this point. They live on the complex already and can use the bigger palace for events. Its similar to what happened when Paola and Albert became queen and king, they allowed Fabiola to remain in the main palace. I am sure with time maybe even when Leonor is an adult and has a need of her own court, such moving will be more urgent.

 

[eya]

The nieces of the King , Simoneta Gomez Acebo and Maria Zurita with Princess Miriam of Bulgaria send their own messages tothe King:

Simoneta

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDb2LU4q6WH/


Maria Zurita "VERDE"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDcOGGDBIMZ/

Princess Miriam

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for so many good things !! ����"


https://www.instagram.com/p/CDb_589DL2k/

 

[Alison H]

As far as homes go, there's a long tradition in the British aristocracy of "dower houses" for dowagers. OK, that would be the widow of a duke or earl after her son and daughter-in-law moved into the family seat, rather than the duke or earl abdicating, but it's the same idea. Surely somewhere could have been found for Juan Carlos to live.


Estoril is lovely: I've been there! I don't know where else he'd go. South America? He's an elderly man and it seems a bit much to expect him to go too far from his family and friends, even if it is his own fault.

 

[Nice Nofret]

I'm so sorry for Spain; JC did a lot to help build a Spanish democracy after Franco. It is such a shame, that money business. I can understand, how it happend, as the spanish royals were poor, and so he wanted to build a fortune for his family. As a reigning King, you do not have many ways to do business and earning money nowadays. He couldn't abolish cloisters and take the land for himselve or behead people for their money. In modern times royals cannot even open shops or businesses to earn money. So he was in a difficult situation.

 

[HrH christopher c]

Well you have descibed the qualities of a Prince and it is evident in catalunyas uprising as to when a princ is not accorded with his naturakl and ordained powers and duties he then becomes like the people Mud as to whoever invests n the people invests in mud as you can only lead and help them for they are like sheeps.A prince cannot be brought to his own Courts.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url...ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPjXydqCgesCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

this is the crown of spain and it is like inheriting your fathers house and how can you bring an individual to answer to his crown

Well they should call to arms for the benefit of spain,for if the crown fails then catalunya should be attended to,if it was my call i will take to the armed forces as commander in chief.

 

[Denville]

I'm quite sure all Spaniards know that their marriage has been one in name only for many years... So, I see little reason for anyone to blame Sofía for Juan Carlos' serious mistakes.

yes why woudl they blame Sofia? I think its good that he's left but sad...

Well you have descibed the qualities of a Prince and it is evident in catalunyas uprising as to when a princ is not accorded with his naturakl and ordained powers and duties he then becomes like the people Mud as to whoever invests n the people invests in mud as you can only lead and help them for they are like sheeps.A prince cannot be brought to his own Courts.

Juan Carlos is Not King any more so no reason why he can't be brought to court...

As far as homes go, there's a long tradition in the British aristocracy of "dower houses" for dowagers. OK, that would be the widow of a duke or earl after her son and daughter-in-law moved into the family seat, rather than the duke or earl abdicating, but it's the same idea. Surely somewhere could have been found for Juan Carlos to live.


Estoril is lovely: I've been there! I don't know where else he'd go. South America? He's an elderly man and it seems a bit much to expect him to go too far from his family and friends, even if it is his own fault.

I think that he may be trying to keep a distance between himself and Felipe.. and possibly the Spaniards feel that he has been such a disgrace that its not right for him to live there any more. Obviously they coudl find somewhere for him to live, but I can see the POV of preferring him to be out of Spain.

 

[HrH christopher c]

you have not studied conspiracy as a wife cannot be held in conspiracy with her huisband as they are naturaly bound together as their matrimonial vow binds them for better and for worse one of the other has to take the fall,but in the case of a sovereign a fall is almost impposible,for it is his kingdom,his crown and his subject.Unless you want to become american and take to the 5th amendment.

As naming a heir shows that he is your regent or else another family should have been appointed by the state.

it"s like saying let us return aztec Gold to them,why don"t we first hang all of you.

 

[Denville]

you have not studied conspiracy as a wife cannot be held in conspiracy with her huisband as they are naturaly bound together as their matrimonial vow binds them for better and for worse one of the other has to take the fall,but in the case of a sovereign a fall is almost impposible,for it is his kingdom,his crown and his subject.Unless you want to become american and take to the 5th amendment.

He's not a sovereign. He abidcated some years ago...

 

[Tatiana Maria]

I criticize older royalty for blocking the housing that could be used by the heirs.

Who is blocking and how?

I guess the decision not to remove his title as king is made partly because Felipe doesn't want his mother to loose the title of Queen.

There is also no historical precedent for it, since every king emeritus or queen emerita, however disgraced, has continued to use his or her title.

 

[Denville]

Who is blocking and how?



There is also no historical precedent for it, since every king emeritus or queen emerita, however disgraced, has continued to use his or her title.

Doesn't the former queen Beatrix of Netherlands go by Princess Beatrix?

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Doesn't the former queen Beatrix of Netherlands go by Princess Beatrix?

I meant Spanish kings emeritus and queens emerita, given the context of the Spanish subforum. Spain seems less subject to foreign influence in title matters than many other European monarchies are.

 

[Denville]

I meant Spanish kings emeritus and queens emerita, given the context of the Spanish subforum. Spain seems less subject to foreign influence in title matters than many other European monarchies are.

sorry, I thought you meant generally... anyway Juan has abdicated, He's not soverign anymore...

 

[Stefan]

Doesn't the former queen Beatrix of Netherlands go by Princess Beatrix?

The dutch monarchs are unique in that case as they are they only one where an abdicated monarch looses his King/Queen Title. In Belgium there are still King Albert and Queen Paola. And in Luxembourg both former Grand Duchess Charlotte as Grand Duke Jean retained their titel of Grand Duhcess/Grand Duke for the rest of their life.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The king's nieces were ill advised to post publicly support for their uncle on social media ,this is a very precarious time for the SRF.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

sorry, I thought you meant generally... anyway Juan has abdicated, He's not soverign anymore...

Yes, I was referring to former (emeritus) monarchs.

King Juan Carlos went from King of Spain to "only" King on abdication, and I believe the same happened to other abdicated monarchs, but all continued to call themselves King or Queen, whether they were in disgrace or not. At times republican governments abolished all titles, but the emeritus monarch was not personally downgraded.

The nieces of the King , Simoneta Gomez Acebo and Maria Zurita with Princess Miriam of Bulgaria send their own messages tothe King:

Simoneta

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDb2LU4q6WH/


Maria Zurita "VERDE"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDcOGGDBIMZ/

Princess Miriam

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for so many good things !! ����"


https://www.instagram.com/p/CDb_589DL2k/

What does "Verde" mean in this context?

 

[WreathOfLaurels]

There’s also been some less than reliable reports about JC planning to hide out in the Dominican Republic to avoid criminal charges. Sounds far fetched but nonetheless I would not put it past the old boy.

And it only took 2, 3 months... much quicker than I thought.

 

[Yashal]

Yes, I was referring to former (emeritus) monarchs.

King Juan Carlos went from King of Spain to "only" King on abdication, and I believe the same happened to other abdicated monarchs, but all continued to call themselves King or Queen, whether they were in disgrace or not. At times republican governments abolished all titles, but the emeritus monarch was not personally downgraded.




What does "Verde" mean in this context?

It's an acronym for Viva El Rey De España (Long live the King of Spain)

 

[Nice Nofret]

Aha, Thank you.. for the explanation of VERDE

 

[Mbruno]

Doesn't the former queen Beatrix of Netherlands go by Princess Beatrix?

A royal decree issued in 2014 allowed Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía to retain for life the titles of King and Queen with the style of Majesty.

Going back to the main topic, has there been any reaction in Spain to the fact that Juan Carlos and Sofía have now de facto separated?

I agree with other posters that it would make sense now for Felipe and his family to move to Zarzuela and for Queen Sofía and her sister to live in a smaller house.

 

[WreathOfLaurels]

I don’t think Sofia is going to leave the big house . F and L will probably be waiting a long time as I suspect S is going to make it to 100.

Also JC seems to have driven his destination and there seems to be some confusion as to where he is at present - unless he makes some sign that’s he’s still alive in the next few days, I’ve got a feeling that this may be taking an even greater turn for the worse before we know it.

 

[HrH christopher c]

Abdication does not strip you off your title as the line off succesion lies through your family blood u cannot be again a private citizen for you carry a line of inheritance as even ex american presidents get white house briefing.to abdicate can be due to appauling health it is to retire as you cannot carry on state duties but your right o fsovereignty is preserved though your blood line.

 

[Kronprinz]

I agree with other posters that it would make sense now for Felipe and his family to move to Zarzuela and for Queen Sofía and her sister to live in a smaller house.

To be honest since Zarzuela is a private residence, I see little practical sense in doing that.

Felipe has lived in the smaller prince's house in the estate for quite a while now and the family is probably used to it by now. Similarly, Queen Sofia has lived in the main palace for decades.

The King will probably continue to use the palace as working place and nothing more.

If we were talking about the Royal Palace of Madrid, it would be a different story.

 

[marlene]

I read that JC has gone to the Dominican Republic, do we know if this is the case?

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I totally believe this, JC did not sign this voluntarily and Felipe had a hard time convincing his father. The government will have pressured Felipe to no end to further distance himself from his father and even though this is a step to take the pressure off the cooker, the topic itself will not go away with JC exiling himself.

 

[camelot23ca]

This was a very, very bad move. This "exile" is now receiving more international press attention that even the scandal. This is not going to make it easy for the SRF. I am not even sure it will survive this.

My impression is that the Spanish government and press have known about Juan Carlos and his financial dealings for decades. Various governments gave him a wink and a nod, likely because JC made a lot of money for Spain as well as for himself and because it was a way to keep the official costs related to the royal family low, (“look how little they cost us!”), and also because many of the politicians involved were likely doing similar things themselves.

The Spanish press censored itself and protected JC in the same way it’s now protecting Felipe. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of middle ground with the press in Spain - they turned Cristina into a monster and drove her out of the country, as well, despite knowing from the start that there was no evidence that she’d committed a crime. She was linked to a person who committed several crimes in the same way her brother is now linked, through the papers published in the UK, to a person who likely committed several crimes. JC will now be torn to pieces in such a way that his ongoing residence in Spain would be miserable for him and an embarrassing fiasco for the royal family and the government. Felipe, on the other hand, has been declared officially off limits and will continue with business as usual. For now.

As to Sofia’s changing residence - my understanding is that the private part of Zarzuela is currently divided into what are essentially apartments. One for Sofia, one for Irene and I assume one for JC. It would likely require renovations and repairs to make it suitable for a family of four, and these would be paid for with public money. Try selling that to the Spanish taxpayers in the current environment.

To me it would make more sense to have Felipe and Letizia stay where they are permanently and then, with minor renovations, the existing apartments can be used in the future by Leonor until she becomes Queen, assuming that happens, and Sofia until she marries.

 

[altagrace]

Kickbacks at the root of this case

There is something I do not understand in this whole Juan Carlos kickback/bribery/corruption money. Perhaps someone could explain.

It is established fact that KJC received $100 million from the late king of Saudi Arabia some years ago. (well documented press articles referred to the Ministry of finance in Saudi admitting to the transfer *gift*) It is widely rumoured that this has to do with Spanish consortium obtaining a big contract to do a train link in Saudi Arabia.
In cases like that it is the company who seeks the contract who pays the kickback. So logic would tell us that the Spanish consortium who is after the big contract would “give” a bribe/kick back/$favour -whatever you call it- to the decision maker in Saudi Arabia in exchange for them making the decision in favour of said company.. Not the other way around. I could also imagine the Spanish consortium contractor paying a gratification to KJC so that he could use his contacts, intercede in their favour with his friends the decision makers in Saudi Arabia. But why would the decision maker -Saudi Arabia-who awards the contract give a kickback in this case?
Everything in this case defies logic. Then turn around and transfer a huge chunk of the money to your mistress. Oh boy.... There is a lot we don’t know about this case.