King Emeritus Juan Carlos returned to Spain after nearly two years of self -exile in the United Arab Emirates

When there was little left for him to complete two years of self-exile away from Spain, King Emeritus Juan Carlos he returned to the kingdom, to Vigo, 655 days after leaving the country. But only for one visit.

This is the first time he has set foot on Spanish soil since he was forced to change his allegedly financially inappropriate address to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, in August 2020.

Now that the cases investigating him have been shelved in Spain, Juan Carlos has returned relieved. The weekend was in Galicia, in the town of Pontevedra Sanxenxo, where the king emeritus had previously enjoyed one of his passions: regattas.

That has yet to be confirmed her son will be together againKing Felipe VI, in Madrid, next week.

Last Sunday, Felipe was in Abu Dhabi, having inherited his father’s lathe when he was still alive in 2014, but he did not recognize it. They only talked on the phone.

It was a lightning trip to the institution, which took two and a half hours, to offer condolences to Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for the death of his half-brother Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, emir of Abu Dhabi and head of state of the United Arab Emirates.

regattas

Because Juan Carlos ’financial and emotional turmoil caused morbidity and gave lyrics to anti-monarchists who wanted to see the end of the Crown in Spain, those who continued to pay homage to the monarchy were doing it more and more quietly. .

In fact, the 50-euro dress which Queen Letizia paired a few days ago with a winner at a ceremony in Mérida has aroused more interest than having Bourbon in Galicia.

Not caring about his level of popularity, the king emeritus, who has turned 84, doesn’t want to miss the regattas to be held this Saturday and Sunday in Sanxenxo and those are the new ones at the world championship in June.

Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo has confirmed that Don Juan Carlos ’boat, El Bribón, is ready for competition.

The last time the king emeritus passed through Sanxenxo was in 2019, when he attended the Rey Juan Carlos regatta and led the 6-meter Spanish Cup trophy ceremony, accompanied by one of his daughters, the infanta Elena.

short visit

Despite the interest generated in the return of the emeritus king, Juan Carlos was in Spain for several days. After her visit to Galicia and meeting her son Felipe on Monday in Madrid, she will return to the United Arab Emirates, where she seems comfortable.

Elena and Cristina, children of Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia, are the only ones in the family who periodically visit the emeritus in Abu Dhabi. And they even staged a scandal in February 2021: on the occasion of visiting their father, the babies were vaccinated against Covid-19 in the Emirates even before the date on which they had to be vaccinated in Spain.

In March, five days after the Supreme Court Prosecutor’s Office filed three ongoing investigations into the accounts of Juan Carlos I, the man Franco chose to rule Spain on his death in 1975, he wrote a letter to his son, the current king, telling him what he was thinking do not move from Emirates. But who wants to go to Spain often.

“I prefer, at this time, for reasons that belong to my private sphere and that only affect me, to continue residing permanently and stable in Abu Dhabi,” Juan Carlos said in a four -paragraph letter that he did not sign as king but as father. .

“I know the importance of past events in my private life and I sincerely regret it,” he admits.

“I also feel legitimate pride in my contribution to democratic unity and freedom in Spain,” he added.

Free from Justice

The Prosecutor’s Office considered it impossible to open a criminal case against Juan Carlos for charging commissions in the works of the fast train to Mecca. And that this cannot be done because of the use of cards with undeclared funds or because of alleged accounts in tax havens.

To the satisfaction of the king emeritus, insufficient evidence was found, the crimes prescribed or Bourbon is protected by the non -compliance of his duty when he performs those acts.

However, Juan Carlos de Borbón knew that will never again live in the Palace of Zarzuela. For this reason, in his letter, he goes on to confirm this: “If in the future I settle again in Spain, I aim to arrange my personal life and my place of residence in private places,” he wrote.

This is not the first time he has used the epistolary route to inform his son of the decision. He had already done so on August 3, 2020 when he announced he was leaving Spain, but did not confess his fate.

“With the same desire to serve Spain that inspired my reign and provided the public impact that certain past events have brought into my private life, I would like to express my full ability to assist in the performance of your duties, from silence and calm that your high responsibility requires, ”the emeritus wrote previously.

He still has to face the harassment complaint filed against him in the United Kingdom by Corinna Larsen, the best friend who has done nothing but complicate his life.

The London High Court confirmed Juan Carlos he has no legal immunity there after his resignation, to continue the harassment lawsuit.

political turmoil

Domestically, the return of the king’s father shook the waters of Spanish politics. No party remains indifferent.

“It would be nice if all the Spaniards knew what his opinion was about the events he was involved in, but other than that, what we have is someone traveling to his country to see his children. I don’t think that’s more relevant, “said Eva Granados, spokesperson for the PSOE, the majority party in the ruling coalition, in the Senate a few days ago.

“For a father to talk to his son is normal. We always respect the decisions made by the Crown in this matter”, said the general coordinator of the Popular Party, Elías Bendodo.

“Come or not come, no one will take away the shame of what he did,” Aítor Esteban, spokesman for the Basque Nationalist Party in Congress, preferred to say.

“Spain is a rotten state that allows the return of a corrupt king,” said Josep Rius, spokesman for Junts per Catalunya, the Catalan pro-independence party founded by former president Carles Puigdemont, a refugee in Belgium from unconstitutionally he declared the independence of Catalonia in 2017.

Madrid, Correspondent