The future of King Juan Carlos is again the subject of debate after a major Spanish newspaper reported that he intends to return home for his birthday.
Juan Carlos turns 84 on January 5th 2022 and El Mundo is reporting that the former monarch plans to be back in Spain to celebrate. The paper, quoting friends of Juan Carlos, says he intends to spend some time in the country he ruled for almost forty years.
Juan Carlos has been in self-imposed exile in Abu Dhabi since August 2020 when he left as allegations about his finances reached crisis point. He has always denied any wrongdoing but said he was quitting Spain because of the impact the interest in his finances was causing. The news of his exile was only announced after he had left Spain and his destination wasn’t confirmed for almost two weeks.
Since then, there have been several reports that Juan Carlos wanted to return home. His two daughters, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina, have visited him during his time in Abu Dhabi but no other family trips have been confirmed. Reports emerged last December that Juan Carlos was hoping to come back to Spain for Christmas or for his birthday but no visit was made.
However, in recent days, Swiss prosecutors have dropped their investigation into allegations of corruption that involved the king. Juan Carlos was alleged to have taken money for his role in securing a contract to build a high-speed rail link in Saudi Arabia. The suspicions centred on $100 million that was deposited into a Swiss bank account by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah in 2008 that Juan Carlos had access. However, investigators have not been able to prove any clear connection between the money and the train contract.
Ongoing investigations in Spain into his finances also appear to be coming to a close.
Over the past months, both Spanish and Portuguese media have reported that Juan Carlos is planning a return home. The Spanish Royal Household has made no comment. King Felipe VI, Juan Carlos’ son and successor, renounced all personal inheritances from his father in March 2020 and also stripped him of his annual royal salary.
Juan Carlos ruled Spain from 1975 until 2014 when he abdicated in favour of Felipe VI. He was widely hailed for helping bring democracy to Spain after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco and was a popular monarch for many years. However, the last part of his reign saw the approval of the King plummet as scandals, including a secret trip to Botswana to hunt elephants, came to light.
