King Juan Carlos I of Spain has made his first public appearance in months, sitting in the stands in Abu Dhabi to watch tennis. But his outing ended up making more headlines.
On the 17th December 2021, Spanish player, Rafael Nadal, played Britain’s Andy Murray in the show match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, with Nadal losing in straight sets. The following day, Nadal played against Canadian Denis Shapovalov, losing once again. On both occasions, King Juan Carlos was at the International Tennis Center in Abu Dhabi to support Nadal, one of the icons of the Spanish sports scene and a friend of the former monarch.
On December 18th 2021, following a routine checkup, Rafael Nadal confirmed that he had tested positive for Covid-19. Juan Carlos had had dinner with Nadal on December 17th and so it was decided that, although he was not experiencing any symptoms, he would undergo a PCR test.
On December 20th, the Royal Household confirmed that Juan Carlos had tested negative for the virus.
The former Monarch is fully vaccinated, although it is not yet known whether he received his booster shot.
Juan Carlos has rarely been seen in public since August 2020 when he went into self imposed exile in Abu Dhabi as allegations of financial impropriety grew. He has always denied any wrongdoing.
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.
It has not been made public what plans Juan Carlos has for the holidays, although a few days ago the Court released an image of his and Queen Sofía’s traditional Christmas card.
