Latest news with #JuanCarlos
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
John Downing: Why exiled king Juan Carlos's memoir has Spanish society on edge
The ousted and exiled Spanish king, Juan Carlos, is working on a first-person memoir which has set tongues wagging in Madrid. Now aged 87, a series of financial and personal scandals forced him to quit the throne in 2014, and he has lived in Abu Dhabi since 2020.
Times
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
Juan Carlos memoir: disgraced ex-king of Spain to tell his ‘truth'
The disgraced former king of Spain, Juan Carlos, will publish his much-anticipated memoirs in November. The book, titled Reconciliation and written in collaboration with Laurence Debray, a French author, will be published on November 12, ten days before the 50th anniversary of Spain's parliamentary monarchy. Juan Carlos, 87, served as king of Spain for nearly 40 years and led the country as it transitioned to democracy after Francisco Franco's dictatorship. He abdicated in 2014 after several scandals, including a corruption investigation involving his daughter and her husband and anger that he had gone on a hunting trip to Botswana while his country was in financial crisis. The memoir will be his account of pivotal events in modern Spanish history, including an attempted military coup in 1981. Debray, who had already written a biography of Juan Carlos, spent nearly two years visiting him in Abu Dhabi, where he lived in exile after investigations were opened into his financial affairs. 'One day we talked, the next I wrote, and then he read and corrected,' Debray told El País. 'He is meticulous, serious and hardworking — far from the merely jovial image many Spaniards have of him.' Juan Carlos contacted Debray after reading articles she had written emphasising his role in Spain's transition to democracy after Franco's death in 1975. Encouraged by Juan Carlos, Debray moved to the UAE in 2022 with her husband and children to start work on the book. Despite lacking access to his personal archives — which are still at La Zarzuela Palace, the royal residence outside Madrid — Juan Carlos provided material through friends, family and trusted contacts. 'It was disappointing not to access the archives, even those of his father, Don Juan,' Debray said. • Juan Carlos's lover lifts lid on their relationship with memoir Although she was careful not to reveal specific content, Debray promised that the memoir captured the breadth of Juan Carlos's life, from his royal childhood in exile to his role in the democratic transition and the controversies that tarnished his legacy. The title Reconciliation, she said, encapsulated his wish for Spaniards to view their recent history with pride. 'This isn't a book written to stir controversy,' she said. 'It's a personal account. It may not unveil new secrets, but it allows Juan Carlos to tell his truth — for the first time, in his own voice.' Debray hopes that the memoir will prompt reflection. 'Juan Carlos remains one of the last great political figures of the 20th century,' she said. 'This is his story — and Spain's.' • The Times view on Spain's king: Rey of Sunshine Juan Carlos was protective of his son, Felipe VI, Debray said. 'He is his first fan … and it's moving to see how he supports him and wishes him all success,' she said. Every morning, she said, Juan Carlos read all the Spanish newspapers and commented on his son's performance as king, she said, adding that he was 'hurt' by the loneliness of exile. Juan Carlos once became annoyed with her, she added, because she could not understand his pride in Felipe's education, which included a bachelor's and a master's degree. 'As a somewhat arrogant French woman, I told him, 'Well, it's not like [Felipe] went to the École Normale Supérieure',' she said. 'He got angry with me. It touched his fatherly pride.'
Euronews
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Spain's king Juan Carlos to publish 'uncompromising' autobiography
Spain's former king Juan Carlos I is to launch a book of memoirs entitled "Reconciliation", written in the first person, which will hit bookshops later this year. The work, according to a statement from the publishing house Planeta, will focus on "the private part of a public life" and promises to offer an in-depth view of his personal history and his role in the transformation of Spain. In the announcement, the emeritus monarch explains the reasons behind his decision to write the book, despite his father's advice not to do so: "My father always advised me not to write my memoirs. Kings don't confess. Especially not publicly. Why am I disobeying him today? Why have I changed my mind? Because I feel that my history is being stolen from me. A historical project from exile Planeta describes the release as "a historic event". According to the publisher, the idea originated during his exile in Abu Dhabi, in a context in which "part of the published opinion" and "his own mistakes" have contributed to "overshadow his career and his fundamental contributions to the success of Spanish democracy". The book, they say, will be full of anecdotes and significant episodes from both Spain's recent history and his personal life. It will portray a young Juan Carlos facing the challenges of a country divided by a Civil War and anchored in a destiny he had not chosen, until he became a key figure in the transition to democracy. The publisher promises a memoir "written with an open heart and without concessions". The work moves between the two exiles that marked his life: the forced exile in Estoril during his youth and the voluntary exile in Abu Dhabi in his old age. In the words of King Juan Carlos I himself, the book contains a final confession, which reflects his current position: "I have no right to cry".
New Straits Times
01-07-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
'My history is being stolen': scandal-prone Spanish former king to publish memoirs
MADRID: Spain's former king Juan Carlos will publish his memoirs by year end in an unprecedented move by a Spanish monarch, publishing house Planeta said on Monday. Once revered for his role in Spain's transition to democracy, Juan Carlos was forced to abdicate in 2014 following a series of scandals that included an affair with Danish national Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and the shooting of an elephant in Botswana. He is now seen as a liability for his son, King Felipe. Spanish prosecutors investigated allegations of fraud laid against the former king in Spain and Switzerland, but dropped the probe due to insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations. The former king's lawyer said at the time that prosecutors had failed to prove the existence of any wrongdoing or criminal behaviour. "Reconciliation," written in first person, aims to highlight his fundamental contributions to the success of Spain's young democracy during his almost 40-year reign, overshadowed by his self-imposed exile in Abu Dhabi and some of his own mistakes, the publisher said. "My father always advised me not to write my memoirs. Kings do not confess. And certainly not publicly. Their secrets remain buried in the shadows of palaces. "Why am I disobeying him today? Why have I changed my mind? Because I feel that my history is being stolen from me," Planeta quoted the former king as saying. The 87-year-old ex-monarch moved to Abu Dhabi in 2020 and has not participated in any official act with the Spanish royal family since. He only returns to Spain for short visits, mainly to sail his yacht, Bribon - Spanish for "rascal" - on its northwestern coast. The memoirs will tell in detail the private side of a public life, Planeta said, in a book "rich in anecdotes that do not shy away from the most significant episodes of our recent history, nor from the joys and sorrows of his intimate and personal life." World Mar 13, 2025 @ 10:45am New corruption scandal roils EU parliament Football Jun 1, 2025 @ 9:37am JDT bring in a new 'Spanish wall' Tennis Mar 16, 2025 @ 1:11am Alcaraz 'upset about myself' in nervy loss at Indian Wells ASEAN Jan 6, 2025 @ 8:16am Female Spanish tourist killed by elephant at Thai sanctuary
Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘My history is being stolen': scandal-prone Spanish former king to publish memoirs
Spain's former king Juan Carlos will publish his memoirs by year end in an unprecedented move by a Spanish monarch, publishing house Planeta said on Monday. Once revered for his role in Spain's transition to democracy, Juan Carlos was forced to abdicate in 2014 following a series of scandals that included an affair with Danish national Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and the shooting of an elephant in Botswana. He is now seen as a liability for his son, King Felipe. Spanish prosecutors investigated allegations of fraud laid against the former king in Spain and Switzerland, but dropped the probe due to insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations. The former king's lawyer said at the time that prosecutors had failed to prove the existence of any wrongdoing or criminal behaviour. 'Reconciliation,' written in first person, aims to highlight his fundamental contributions to the success of Spain's young democracy during his almost 40-year reign, overshadowed by his self-imposed exile in Abu Dhabi and some of his own mistakes, the publisher said. 'My father always advised me not to write my memoirs. Kings do not confess. And certainly not publicly. Their secrets remain buried in the shadows of palaces. Why am I disobeying him today? Why have I changed my mind? Because I feel that my history is being stolen from me,' Planeta quoted the former king as saying. The 87-year-old ex-monarch moved to Abu Dhabi in 2020 and has not participated in any official act with the Spanish royal family since. He only returns to Spain for short visits, mainly to sail his yacht, Bribon – Spanish for 'rascal' – on its northwestern coast. The memoirs will tell in detail the private side of a public life, Planeta said, in a book 'rich in anecdotes that do not shy away from the most significant episodes of our recent history, nor from the joys and sorrows of his intimate and personal life.'
