The Spanish Royal Household has confirmed that King Juan Carlos will return from exile for the first time in almost two years.
Officials issued a brief statement less than 24 hours before the former monarch was due to touch down in Spain for a brief visit.
Juan Carlos is set to land in the early evening of May 19th 2022. He’ll spend the weekend in Sanxenxo for a sailing regatta with friends. On May 23rd 2022, he will travel to Madrid where he will spend time with Queen Sofia and King Felipe. However, he won’t spend a night in the Spanish capital, returning that same day to Abu Dhabi where he has lived since August 2020.
The short statement confirming his return said ”His Majesty King Juan Carlos has communicated his wish…to make public his decision to travel to Spain from May 19th until May 23rd. Don Juan Carlos plans to stay in the Galician town of Sanenxo and to travel on May 23rd to Madrid to be with His Majesty the King, with her Majesty Queen Sofia and other members of his family in the Zarzuela Palace. On that same day, His Majesty King Juan Carlos will return to Abu Dhabi where he has made his permanent home.”
Juan Carlos left Spain for Abu Dhabi on August 3rd 2020. However, his whereabouts weren’t confirmed for almost two weeks after his surprise departure. He left as allegations around his finances reached fever pitch with a string of investigations opening into claims of wrongdoing. He denied all the allegations. The cases against him have since been closed.
Earlier this year, Juan Carlos spoke of his desire to return to Spain for brief visits to see friends and family. At Easter, he was joined in Abu Dhabi by his two daughters, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina, as well as five of his eight grandchildren.
His return to Spain is generating big headlines in Spain with many newspapers and radio stations leading with the story.
Juan Carlos was born in exile in 1938 and didn’t live in Spain until he was ten. He became king in 1975 on the death of the Fascist dictator, Francisco Franco, and is widely credited with helping bring democracy to Spain. A string of scandals hit his reputation and he abdicated in favour of his only son, Felipe VI, in June 2014.
